Batava Tempe: 't Voor-hout van 's Graven-Hage - Huygens, Constantijn 1596-1687; Cats, Jacob 1577-1660 (Middelburg Van der Hellen Van de Venne, 1622)
The title of this great work of poetry, 'Batava Tempe', an ode to a beautiful and famous street in the old city centre of The Hague, the Lange Voorhout, accurately conveys the content. The word Tempe is derived from a beautiful valley in northern Greece, Thessaly to be precise, which was so called in antiquity. Apparently Huygens relates this beautiful valley to the Voorhout in The Hague. So the poem is about the Voorhout, which is also called Batave Tempe and is located in The Hague. Constantijn Huygens could also have chosen another place to write a great poem about, but apparently the Voorhout surpassed all other places and played the most important role for him in his life.
One of the two collections with which Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687) broke through as a poet
2 remarkable engravings included: title page (elaborate printers-logo) and first page (town-view of the Voorhout square in The Hague).
Bound in with 'Kerkuraia mastix' and 'Groete aen de ioffrouwen'
Originally published in 1621
Poëtelick aff-ghemaelt door Constantin Huygens
Keywords: 17th Century (1601-1700); Poetry; The Hague (Netherlands)