Famous Middle Dutch song
The song Egidius waer bestu bleven (Translation: "Egidius, where have you gone?") is an early rondeau from Dutch literature and a famous Middle Dutch song.
History.
The song was found in the Gruuthuse manuscript, which dates from around 1400 and includes musical notation. It was first published in 1849 by Charles Carton (1802 - 1863), a Belgian catholic priest. In 1966 Klaas Hanzen Heeroma (1909 - 1972), a Dutch poet and linguist, published a new edition of the songs and poems from the Gruuthuse manuscript which reached a broad audience. In 2007 the manuscript was bought from its private owner by the Royal Library of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninklijke Bibliotheek) in The Hague.
The song was written in the late 14th century by an author who was first identified as Jan van Hulst, and later as Jan Moritoen--the manuscript has a number of authors. Egidius was tentatively identified as Gillis Honin, who is known to have died suddenly on October 8, 1385. According to Professor Frits van Oostrom, this is the most anthologized Dutch poem.
Content.
"Egidius waer bestu bleven" is an elegy or lamentation. It is about the death of a friend called Egidius, a Latinised version of the Flemish name Gillis. The poet, who calls out to Egidius rather than just mention him, envies Egidius because he has ascended to the heavens whilst the poet is still suffering on earth. He begs Egidius to reserve a place next to him in heaven.
Music.
The exact melody of the song is still unknown. Not only do we not know which words correspond to which notes, musicologists are also not clear how these notes have to be sung.
References.
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