Laurens Bake
Who was Laurens Bake?
Dutch writer
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Laurens Bake (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Laurens Bake, also known as Baak or Baeck, was born in Amsterdam in 1629 into an influential family. His father, Joost Baeck, was a successful merchant, and his mother, Magdalena van Erp, was related by marriage to the well-known Dutch author and historian P.C. Hooft. His grandfather, Laurens Baeck, was friends with Joost van den Vondel, the leading Dutch poet of the 17th century. These connections placed Bake at the center of Amsterdam's lively intellectual and artistic community from a young age.
Bake began his education in Utrecht in 1647, where he was exposed to the scholarly and legal culture of the Dutch Republic. Later, he became known as the lord of Wulverhorst, an estate near Utrecht that his father bought in 1671, highlighting the family's ambition to achieve land-owning status alongside their mercantile success. This blend of wealth and humanist learning was typical of the Amsterdam elite to which the Bake family belonged.
As a writer, Bake explored various genres, including poetry, translations, and sacred verse. He was a member of the theater company Nil volentibus arduum, founded in Amsterdam in 1669 to reform Dutch theater along French classical lines. He was also part of the literary society In Magnis Voluisse Sat Est. His involvement in these groups showed the efforts of Dutch writers of his time to enhance their literature by engaging with rigorous artistic standards and contemporary European, especially French, influences.
Among his works, his collection of sacred hymns is particularly notable. His other poems were published posthumously in a volume titled Mengel-poëzy, released in Amsterdam by Van den Broek in 1737, over 30 years after his death. This suggests his work remained appreciated in Amsterdam's literary circles well into the 18th century. Bake died in Amsterdam and was buried in the Oude Kerk on 18 December 1702, confirming his family's deep roots in the city.
Before Fame
Laurens Bake grew up in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age, a time of great commercial growth and cultural activity. His family connections gave him direct access to the top literary figures of the time. His grandfather was friends with Vondel, and his mother's ties to Hooft placed him in the highest levels of Dutch literature even before he wrote anything himself. Being part of literary life was likely a natural continuation of his family tradition rather than an unusual goal.
He studied in Utrecht starting in 1647, gaining the legal and humanist education typical for well-educated men of his status. The University of Utrecht, founded in 1636, was a well-established center of learning by then. His time there probably strengthened his scholarly viewpoint and his skill in classical and modern languages, which later influenced his work as a poet and translator.
Key Achievements
- Authored a collection of sacred hymns regarded as his most significant literary contribution
- Member of the influential Amsterdam theatrical reform society Nil volentibus arduum
- Member of the literary society In Magnis Voluisse Sat Est
- Posthumous publication of collected poems Mengel-poëzy by Van den Broek, Amsterdam, 1737
- Worked as poet, jurist, and translator, contributing to multiple literary and scholarly disciplines
Did You Know?
- 01.Bake's grandfather shared a close personal friendship with Joost van den Vondel, often considered the greatest poet in the Dutch language, giving the family two generations of connection to the literary elite.
- 02.His mother Magdalena van Erp was a sister-in-law of P.C. Hooft, the Renaissance poet and historian who presided over the famous Muiderkring literary circle.
- 03.Bake adopted the aristocratic title lord of Wulverhorst based on an estate near Utrecht his father purchased in 1671, though the family's origins and wealth were firmly mercantile.
- 04.His collected poems, Mengel-poëzy, were not published until 1737, some thirty-five years after his death, indicating a posthumous editorial effort to preserve his work for later readers.
- 05.Bake was a member of Nil volentibus arduum, an Amsterdam society notorious for its polemical campaign to reform Dutch theater by imposing the strict rules of French classical drama.