The Literature of the Arminian Controversy

Abstract

This book highlights the importance of the Arminian controversy (1609–19) for the understanding of the literary and intellectual culture of the Dutch Golden Age. Taking into account a wide array of sources, ranging from theological and juridical treatises, to pamphlets, plays, and libel poetry, it offers not only a deeper contextualization of some of the most canonical works of the period, such as the works of Dirck Volckertsz Coornhert, Hugo Grotius, and Joost van den Vondel, but also invites the reader to rethink the way we view the relation between literature and theology in early modern culture. The book argues that the controversy over divine predestination acted as a catalyst for literary and cultural change, tracing the impact of disputed ideas on grace and will, religious toleration and the rights of the civil magistrate in satirical literature, poetry, and plays. Conversely, it reads the theological and political works as literature, by examining the rhetoric and tropes of religious controversy. Analysing the way in which literature shapes the political and religious imaginary, it allows us to look beyond the history of doctrine, or the history of political rights, to include the emotive and imaginative power of narrative, myth, and metaphor.

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