Johannes Kinker: Lawyer, Literary Author, and Society Man

Who was Johannes Kinker (1764-1845) and why should we consider him one of the agents in the field of Dutch studies who deserves a chapter in the present volume? Arguing that he was the first professor to hold the chair in Dutch language and literature at the University of Liège seems a convincing, formal argument. In Kinker's case, however, I would like to add that his importance is not restricted to academic life and Dutch studies. Kinker was a multi-facetted and versatile spirit who participated intensively in social and cultural life and adopted an active stance in times of political turmoil. A revealing example of the latter is his poem Stille bemoediging na de inlijving van Holland in het Fransche keizerrijk (‘Quiet Encouragement after the Annexation of Holland into the French Empire’), which he wrote in response to Holland's occupation by the French. He starts this poem, which consists of twelve five-line stanzas, by stressing the relationship between fatherland or nation and language:

This evidently sounds like a strong voice of nationalism. At the same time, Kinker has been characterised as the foremost representative of the international Enlightenment around 1800 and as an advocate of universal cosmopolitism.