Grotius on the Dutch Revolt and the
fundamentality of reason of stateThe
Annals of the War in the Low Countries
is one of Hugo Grotius' lesser-known works. Grotius expresses a contrarian view of
the early revolt, which he presents not as a united battle for the true faith
and the ancient liberties of the land but as a protracted and painful struggle,
not only with the great power of Spain, but also with discord, selfishness and
religious fanaticism among the Dutch. To convey this complex and controversial
vision of the foundational years of the Dutch Republic, Grotius chose the
worldview and the prose style of the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus as his
model. His commissioners, however – the States of Holland – did not publish the
work when it was finished in 1612; it appeared in print posthumously in 1657.
This
is the first edition of Grotius' then-influential and well-known Annals
of the Dutch Revolt since its initial publication. It presents a critical
edition of the Latin text, a fresh modern English translation, and an
introduction which covers all aspects of the work, from its conception to its
modern reception, underlining the importance of reason of state for Grotius'
thought in general.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).
Preface vii
Introduction
1. Hugo Grotius’ Annales et Historiae
2. The AH and the States of Holland, the Revolt and the Truce Conflicts
2.1. The main setting
2.2. The publication plans for the AH in 1612–13
2.3. The States and History
2.4. The Truce Conflicts
3. Hugo Grotius 1
4. Tacitism and Reason of State in the Annales et Historiae
5. The Statesman-Historian: Grotius and the historian’s role in society
6. Controversial content and the non-publication of the AH in 1612–1613
7. Tacitism
7.1. Tacitist content and ideas
7.2. Syntax and forms of Grotius’ imitation of Tacitus’ literary style
7.3. Compositorial aspects and narrative structure
7.3.1. Is there dramatic structuring in the AH?
7.4. Conclusion: Grotius’ imitation of Tacitus
8. Some important characters in the AH
8.1. William the Silent
8.2. Philip II
8.3. Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
9. Other aspects
9.1. Grotius and the Twelve Years’ Truce
9.2. The AH’s relationship with Grotius’ other works
9.3. Grotius as Historian
9.4. Is there a sense of ‘Netherlands’ or ‘Dutch’ nationhood in the Annales?
10. Sources of the Annales et Historiae
11. The composition and reception of the Annales et Historiae
11.1. Original composition and manuscripts
11.2. Reception during Grotius’ lifetime
11.3. The survival of the manuscripts
11.4. The printed editions of 1657–1658
11.5. The AH and the Vatican Index of Forbidden Books 1657–1659
11.6. Translations
11.7. Further reception, 17th–21st centuries
11.8. Scholarship on the text
12. Conclusion
This edition
1. Principles of this edition
1.1. Sigla
1.2. Neo-Latin aspects
2. About this translation
Summaries of annales 1–5
Appendix 1. The extant manuscripts of the Historiae
Appendix 2. The Vatican Index reports
Appendix 3. Biographical epilogues on Philip II by Grotius and by Van Meteren
Appendix 4. The Nijmegen copy of Pompeio Giustiniani’s Bellum Belgicum
Appendix 5. Pieter Feddes van Harlingen’s ‘Monster’ print of 1619
Appendix 6. Sententiae and epigrams in Annales 1 and 2
Appendix 7. Book summaries by the editors of 1657
Bibliography
Illustration credits
Index to the introduction
Index of names to the translation and notes
Jan Waszink is a senior researcher at the Historical Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
