Leerlingen in de ban van Beatrijs? Een literair-historische schoolklassieker als didactische uitdaging

Beatrijs is a text that at first sight secondary school pupils tend to find unattractive. Teachers wishing to incorporate this text in the curriculum will therefore need to find a challenging approach to the text. In this article we argue in favour of a didactic method of alienation and recognition. If pupils are to internalise the text properly, it is important for them to engage with the text through creativity or active investigation. Two illustrative examples, based on classroom practice, are discussed: first, a well-tried assignment aimed at creative internalisation, in the course of which the medieval tale is paraphrased by pupils and brought up to date in a short film, and, secondly, an assignment that is currently being developed for the website lezenvoordelijst.nl. Here pupils explore a literary (leit)motiv, starting from a recent archaeological find (a gold ring inscribed with the name beatris). Finally, with regard to the choice of a Beatrijs text, we would suggest making a virtue of necessity. In view of the lack of didactically suitable editions of the text for educational purposes – the recent Beatrijs-Bulkboek falls short on a number of counts –we recommend combining different manifestations of the text, ranging from manuscript and diplomatic copy to free translations and adaptations for young people.