UNIT 7: Jan Jansz Orlers, Beschrijvinge der stad Leyden (1614)

 

 

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Introduction to the Text

 

In this Unit you will be reading a modernised and adapted fragment from J.J. Orlers’ Beschrijvinge der stad Leyden (Description of the city of Leiden). In this work Orlers describes the origins and development of the city as well as the wars that were waged in and around Leiden from the Middle Ages until his time. The work is of importance for anyone with an interest in the history of Leiden and not unimportantly, its university, as the work contains various sections on the founding and development of this famous university.

In the fragment presented here Orlers describes the organisation of Leiden’s 'Groote Schoole' or 'Triviale Schoole'. In the Trivial School, named after the Latin word 'trivium' (i.e. three ways), students were taught grammar, logic and rhetoric. These subjects were considered a preparation for the 'quadrivium', which consisted of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. Together the trivium and quadrivium made up the liberal arts, the core curriculum of the medieval universities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Facsimile from J.J. Orlers’ Beschrijvinge der stad Leyden (1614) containing the fragment read in this Unit.

This image was borrowed with permission from the Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren at http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/origineel.php?origineel=orle001besc01_01_scan0036.

 

 

Text Fragment

 

De school is opgedeeld in zes afzonderlijke klassen of graden, die alle scholieren moeten doorlopen. Elke klas heeft een bepaalde naam en wordt onderwezen door een schoolmeester. Tweemaal per jaar, in de weken voor Pasen en in de week voor Kerstmis, moeten de scholieren examens afleggen. Ze worden dan door het hoofd van de school ondervraagd. Hij die het beste geleerd heeft, wordt met giften beloond en in een hogere klas geplaatst.

 

 

The original text can be found in:

Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren at http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/orle001besc01_01/.

 

 

Task 1: Vocabulary

 

Print this page or write down the five sentences below. Read the sentences, underline the words you do not understand and write down the meaning of the words you already know. 

   

  1. De school is opgedeeld in zes afzonderlijke klassen of graden, die alle scholieren moeten doorlopen.
  2. Elke klas heeft een bepaalde naam en wordt onderwezen door een schoolmeester.
  3. Tweemaal per jaar, in de weken voor Pasen en in de week voor Kerstmis, moeten de scholieren examens afleggen.
  4. Ze worden dan door het hoofd van de school ondervraagd.
  5. Hij die het beste geleerd heeft, wordt met giften beloond en in een hogere klas geplaatst.

 

Click here to compare your answers and to find out the meaning of the words or phrases you do not understand.

 

 

Task 2: Grammar and Syntax

 

Now answer the following grammatical and syntactical questions. Note that this Task contains several questions on the passive voice, and comparative.

 

Sentence 1:

  1. What tense and voice is is opgedeeld?
  2. Which word/words used earlier in the sentence does die refer back to?
  3. Identify the subject of the relative clause.

 

Sentence 2:

  1. Is this a coordinating or subordinating sentence?
  2. Identify the agent of the passive voice.
  3. Identify all adjectives.

 

Sentence 3:

  1. Identify the subject.

 

Sentence 4:

  1. Identify the passive voice.

 

Sentence 5

  1. Identify the subject.
  2. Identify the passive voice.
  3. Find a comparative.

  

After finishing the exercise you can check your answers on the Feedback Page.

 

 

Task 3: Word Forms

 

You will now have to identify the head-words or stems of a series of words from the text.

 

  1. opgedeeld (sentence 1)
  2. afzonderlijke (sentence 1)
  3. graden (sentence 1)
  4. onderwezen (sentence 2)
  5. examens (sentence 3)
  6. giften (sentence 5)

 

After you have finished, please go to the Feedback Page, where you will also find some annotations to this exercise.  

 

 

Task 4: Text Comprehension

 

Now that you have worked your way through the first three Tasks of this Unit, you should be able to answer the following questions on the content of the text. Try to answer in Dutch using a sentence, a part of the sentence or a word from the text.

 

  1. How many grades do the pupils have to pass through (see sentence 1)?
  2. When do the pupils have to take exams (see sentence 3)?
  3. And who tests them (see sentence 4)?
  4. What happens to the pupil with the best results (see sentence 5)?

 

After finishing, look at the Feedback Page to check your answers.

 

 

Task 5: Translation

 

Try to make a clear, comprehensive and fluent English translation of the text. After finishing, click here to compare your translation.

 

 

Task 6: Glossary

 

Finally, you should try to memorise the following words from the text.

 

1.      de school: een plaats waar kinderen les krijgen [school; noun]

2.      de klas: een groep leerlingen die samen les krijgen [class; noun]

3.      elk: ieder [every; pron]

4.      de naam: het woord dat zegt hoe iemand heet [name; noun]

5.      de week: de periode van maandag tot zondag [week; noun]

6.      voor: [before; prep]

7.      het examen: de test [exam; noun]

8.      het hoofd: (here) de leider van iets [head; noun]

9.      met: [with; prep]

10.  hoog: <=> laag [high; adj]

 

Now test your knowledge of some of the new verbs by clicking here.

 

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