Patronage versus Professionalism: Discourses about Poets, Profits and Independence in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic

Description

In the seventeenth century Dutch Republic, literary authors were able to profit from their writings in various ways. They could, occasionally and informally, turn for support to all kinds of wealthy patrons within and outside the country. At the same time, the Dutch book market was booming, and an increasing number of authors succeeded in profiting from it. Literary authors and their contemporaries, however, did not generally emphasize their possibilities to profit from publishing literary writings in either way.
This paper is based on the analysis of a textual corpus consisting of contemporary mentions of, reflections on and discussions about literary authorship and profitability. It argues that authors’ intellectual independence of their supporters was regarded pivotal in the legitimation of writing for money, either by patronage or the market. It also raises the question how this idea is related to the practice of patronage in the Dutch Republic.

Period	21 Apr 2021
Event title	RSA Annual Conference
Event type	Conference
Degree of Recognition	International