Nicolaas Beets

Nicolaas Beets was a Dutch theologian, writer and poet. He published also under the pseudonym Hildebrand.

Life

Nicolaas Beets was born in Haarlem, the son of a pharmacist. From 1833 till 1839 he studied theology at the university of Leiden where he received his doctorate.
In 1840 he became a minister at the Dutch Reformed Church in Heemstede. In 1848 he became correspondent of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands, when that became the Royal [Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences] in 1851 he joined as member. In 1854 he moved to Utrecht where from 1874 till 1884 he was a professor in church history at the University of Utrecht.
He wrote prose, poetry and sermons. As a poet, Beets came under the influence of Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Byron]ism.
His most famous work is Camera Obscura, which he wrote under his pseudonym during his student years. Of his poems, "De moerbeitoppen ruischten" is well-known and popular; it is heavily anthologized, and even called "immortal" by one critic.
The archive of Nicolaas Beets is available at Leiden [University Library] and digitally accessible through Digital Collections.

Personal life

In 1840 he married Aleida van Foreest, granddaughter of Johannes Hendricus [van der Palm], with whom he had 9 children. In 1859 he remarried with Jacoba Elisabeth, a sister of Aleida, with whom he had another 6 children. Beets had a sister, Dora Beets, who was also a writer.
Beets died of a brain haemorrhage at age 88, in Utrecht.