Henric Laurenszoon Spieghel

Dutch poet
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Also known as: Hendrik Laurenszoon Spiegel
Quick Facts
Also spelled:
Hendrik Laurenszoon Spiegel
Born:
March 11, 1549, Amsterdam, Neth.
Died:
Jan. 4, 1612, Alkmaar (aged 62)
Notable Works:
“Hertspiegel”

Henric Laurenszoon Spieghel (born March 11, 1549, Amsterdam, Neth.—died Jan. 4, 1612, Alkmaar) was a poet of the northern Dutch Renaissance whose highly individual spiritual beliefs set him apart from his contemporaries. In Spieghel’s greatest work, Hertspiegel (1614; “Heart-Mirror”), a long, often allegorical poem written in hexametres, he set out his philosophical vision in simple, direct style. His strong religious faith is based on an amalgamation of Christian and Platonic ideas, together with an underlying pantheism that sees God manifested in all things. Spieghel was also active in the movement toward the purification and wider use of the Dutch language, ...(100 of 106 words)