La Brabançonne

"La Brabançonne" (French: [la bʁabɑ̃sɔn]; Dutch: "De Brabançonne"; German: "Das Lied von Brabant") is the national anthem of Belgium. The originally-French title refers to Brabant; the name is usually maintained untranslated in Belgium's other two official languages, Dutch and German.[lower-alpha 1]

La Brabançonne
English: The Brabantian
Cover of a score of the Brabançonne, dated around 1910
National anthem of  Belgium
LyricsAlexandre Dechet and Constantin Rodenbach (original version, 1830)
Charles Rogier (current version, 1860)
MusicFrançois van Campenhout, September 1830
Adopted1860, current text in 1921
Audio sample
"La Brabançonne" (instrumental)
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History
Monument for the anthem in Brussels

According to legend, the Belgian national anthem was written in September 1830, during the Belgian Revolution, by a young revolutionary called "Jenneval", who read the lyrics during a meeting at the Aigle d'Or café.

Jenneval, a Frenchman whose real name was Alexandre Dechet (sometimes known as Louis-Alexandre Dechet), did in fact write the Brabançonne. At the time, he was an actor at the theatre where, in August 1830, the revolution started which led to independence from the Netherlands. Jenneval died in the war of independence. François van Campenhout composed the accompanying score, based on the tune of a French song called "L'Air des lanciers polonais" ("the tune of the Polish Lancers"), written by the French poet Eugène de Pradel, whose tune was itself an adaptation of the tune of a song, "L'Air du magistrat irréprochable", found in a popular collection of drinking songs called La Clé du caveau (The Key to the cellar)[1][2] and it was first performed in September 1830.

In 1860, Belgium formally adopted the song and music as its national anthem, although the then prime minister, Charles Rogier edited out lyrics attacking the Dutch Prince of Orange.

The ending, pledging loyalty to "Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté!" ("The King, and Law, and Liberty!") is an obvious parallel to the French "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" – with the republican sentiment of the original replaced in the Belgian version by the promotion of constitutional monarchy (the combination of "The King" and "(the) Law" is what produces "Liberty"). Actually, a slogan similar to the Belgian one – "la Nation, la Loi, le Roi" ("The Nation, The Law, The King") – had been used in the early days of the French Revolution, when that revolution was still considered to be aimed toward constitutional monarchy rather than a republic.

The Brabançonne is also a monument (1930) by the sculptor Charles Samuel on the Surlet de Chokier square in Brussels. The monument contains partial lyrics of both the French and Dutch versions of the anthem. Like many elements in Belgian folklore, this is mainly based on the French "La Marseillaise" which is also both an anthem and the name of a monument – the sculptural group Departure of the Volunteers of 1792, commonly called La Marseillaise, at the base of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Lyrics
Score of the Brabançonne
Lithograph of Jenneval
Lithograph of Campenhout singing the Brabançonne

First version (August 1830)

Dignes enfants de la Belgique
Qu'un beau délire a soulevé,
À votre élan patriotique
De grand succès sont réservés.
Restons armés que rien ne change !
Gardons la même volonté,
Et nous verrons refleurir l'Orange
Sur l'arbre de la Liberté

Aux cris de meurtre et de pillage,
Des méchants s'étaient rassemblés,
Mais votre énergique courage
Loin de vous les a refoulés.
Maintenant, purs de cette fange
Qui flétrissait votre cité,
Amis, il faut greffer l'Orange
Sur l'arbre de la Liberté.

Et toi, dans qui ton peuple espère,
Nassau, consacre enfin nos droits ;
Des Belges en restant le père
Tu seras l'exemple des rois.
Abjure un ministre étrange,
Rejette un nom trop détesté,
Et tu verras mûrir l'Orange
Sur l'arbre de la Liberté.

Mais malheur, si, de l'arbitraire
Protégeant les affreux projets,
Sur nous du canon sanguinaire,
Tu venais lancer les boulets !
Alors tout est fini, tout change,
Plus de pacte, plus de traité,
Et tu verras tomber l'Orange
De l'arbre de la Liberté.

Worthy children of the Low Countries[lower-alpha 2]
Whom a fine passion has aroused,
To your patriotic fervour
Great successes lie in store.
Remain under arms, so that naught shall change!
Let us keep to the same will,
And we shall see Orange bloom anew
Upon the tree of Liberty.[lower-alpha 3]

To cries of murder and pillage,
The wicked had rallied around,
But your forceful courage
Has pushed them far away.
Now, pure of this filth
That was soiling your city,
Friends, we must graft Orange
Onto the tree of Liberty.

And you, in whom your people place their hopes,
Nassau, set firm our rights at last;
Remaining the father of the Belgians,
You'll be the example of kings.
Forswear a foreign minister,
Reject a too hated name,
And you will see Orange ripen
Upon the tree of Liberty.

But woe to you if, wilfully,
Pursuing dreadful plans,
You turn on us
The bloody cannon's fire!
Then all is over, all is changing;
No more pact, no more treaty,
And you shall see Orange fall
From the tree of Liberty.

Second version (September 1830)

Qui l'aurait cru ? ...de l'arbitraire
Consacrant les affreux projets,
Sur nous de l'airain militaire
Un prince a lancé les boulets.
C'en est fait ! Oui, Belges, tout change,
Avec Nassau plus d'indigne traité !
La mitraille a brisé l'Orange
Sur l'arbre de la Liberté.

Trop généreuse en sa colère,
La Belgique, vengeant ses droits,
D'un roi, qu'elle appelait son père,
N'implorait que de justes lois.
Mais lui dans sa fureur étrange,
Par le canon que son fils a pointé,
Au sang belge a noyé l'Orange
Sous l'arbre de la Liberté.

Fiers brabançons, peuples de braves,
Qu'on voit combattre sans fléchir,
Du sceptre honteux des Bataves,
Tes balles sauront t'affranchir.
Sur Bruxelles, au pied de l'archange,
Ton saint drapeau pour jamais est planté,
Et, fier de verdir sans l'Orange,
Croît l'arbre de la Liberté.

Et vous, objets de nobles larmes,
Braves, morts au feu des cannons,
Avant que la patrie en armes
Ait pu connaître au moins vos noms,
Sous l'humble terre où l'on vous range,
Dormez, martyrs, bataillon indompté !
Dormez en paix, loin de l'Orange,
Sous l'arbre de la Liberté.

Who could have believed it? ... wilfully
Pursuing dreadful plans,
On us, with cannon's brass,
A prince has opened fire.
It has been done! Yes, Belgians, all is changing;
No more unworthy treaty with Nassau!
Grapeshot has shattered Orange
Upon the tree of Liberty.

Too generous in her anger,
Belgium, avenging her rights,
From a king, whom she called her father,
Sought no more than just laws.
But he, in his unexpected fury,
By the cannon aimed by his son
Has drowned Orange in Belgian blood
Beneath the tree of Liberty.

O proud, brave people of Brabant,
Seen not to flinch amid the fight,
From the Batavians' shameful sceptre
Your bullets will set you free.
On Brussels, together with the archangel[lower-alpha 4]
Your holy flag is planted for ever;
And, proud to grow green without Orange,
Grows higher the tree of Liberty.

And you, objects of noble tears,
The brave, who died under cannon fire,
Before the Fatherland, under arms,
Could know at least your names,
Beneath the humble earth where you are laid,
Sleep, martyrs, unbroken battalion!
Sleep in peace, far from Orange,
Beneath the tree of Liberty.

Third version (1860)

Après des siècles et des siècles d'esclavage,
Le Belge sortant du tombeau
A reconquis par sa force et son courage
Son nom, ses droits et son drapeau.
Et ta main souveraine et fière,
Désormais, peuple indompté,
Grava sur ta vieille bannière :
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !
Grava sur ta vieille bannière :
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !

After century on century in slavery,
The Belgian, arising from the tomb,
Has reconquered through his strength and courage
His name, his rights and his flag.
And now, undaunted people,
Your hand, sovereign and proud,
Has inscribed on your ancient banner:
The King, and Law, and Liberty!
Inscribed on your ancient banner:
The King, and Law, and Liberty!

Current version

Various committees were charged with reviewing the text and tune of the Brabançonne and establishing an official version. A ministerial circular of the Ministry of the Interior on 8 August 1921 decreed that only the fourth verse of the text by Charles Rogier should be considered official for all three, French, German and in Dutch. Here below:

French (La Brabançonne)

Noble Belgique, ô mère chérie,
À toi nos cœurs, à toi nos bras,
À toi notre sang, ô Patrie !
Nous le jurons tous, tu vivras !
Tu vivras toujours grande et belle
Et ton invincible unité
Aura pour devise immortelle :
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !

Noble Belgium; O, mother dear;
To you we stretch our hearts and arms,
With blood to spill for you, O fatherland!
We swear with one cry, you shall live!
You shall live, so great and beautiful,
And your invincible unity
Shall have for device immortal:
The King, the Law, the Liberty!

Dutch (De Brabançonne)

O dierbaar België, O heilig land der Vaad'ren,
Onze ziel en ons hart zijn u gewijd.
Aanvaard ons kracht en het bloed van onze ad'ren,
Wees ons doel in arbeid en in strijd.
Bloei, o land, in eendracht niet te breken;
Wees immer uzelf en ongeknecht,
Het woord getrouw, dat g' onbevreesd moogt spreken,
Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht!

O dear Belgium; O, holy land of the fathers,
Our soul and our heart are devoted to you!
Accept our strength and the blood in our veins,
Be our goal, in work and struggle.
Prosper, O land, in unbreakable unity;
Always be yourself and serve no other,
Faithful to the word that you may speak boldly,
For King, for Freedom and for Law!

German (Die Brabançonne)

O liebes Land, o Belgiens Erde,
Dir unser Herz, Dir unsere Hand,
Dir unser Blut, o Heimaterde,
wir schwören's Dir, o Vaterland!
So blühe froh in voller Schöne,
zu der die Freiheit Dich erzog,
und fortan singen Deine Söhne:
Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch!

O, dear country; O, Belgium's soil;
To you our heart, to you our hands,
To you our blood; O, native land,
We swear to you; O, fatherland!
So gladly bloom in beauty full,
Into what freedom has taught you to be,
And evermore shall sing your sons:
To Law and King and Freedom, hail!

Modern short trilingual version

In recent years, an unofficial short version of the anthem is sung during Belgian National Day on 21 July each year, combining the words of the anthem in all three of Belgium's official languages, similar to the bilingual version of "O Canada". The lyrics are from the 4th verse of the anthem.

Language No. Line Translation
Dutch 1 O dierbaar België, O heilig land der Vaad'ren, O dear Belgium, O holy land of the fathers –
2 Onze ziel en ons hart zijn u gewijd. Our soul and our heart are devoted to you!
French 3 À toi notre sang, ô Patrie ! With blood to spill for you, O fatherland!
4 Nous le jurons tous, tu vivras ! We swear with one cry – You shall live!
German 5 So blühe froh in voller Schöne, So gladly bloom in beauty full,
6 zu der die Freiheit Dich erzog, Into what freedom has taught you to be,
7 und fortan singen Deine Söhne: And evermore shall sing your sons:
French 8 Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! The King, the Law, the Liberty!
Dutch 9 Het woord getrouw, dat g' onbevreesd moogt spreken, Faithful to the word that you may speak boldly,
10 Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht! For King, for Freedom and for Law!
German 11 Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch! To Law and King and Freedom, hail!
French 12 Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! The King, the Law, the Liberty!

2007 Yves Leterme incident

On the 2007 Belgian national day (21 July), Flemish politician Yves Leterme, who would become Prime Minister two years later, was asked by a French-speaking reporter if he knew the lyrics of the Belgian national anthem, whereupon he began to sing La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, instead of the Brabançonne.[3] The lyrics are not taught in Belgian schools and many people don't know them. In 2018, the Minister of Education of Wallonia and Brussels proposed to make it mandatory for students to be taught the lyrics at school.[4]

See also

Notes
  1. In English, one may refer to Brabant by the adjectives Brabantine or Brabantian, but only the latter term is (nearly) as general as French Brabançonfr, which can also be a substantive for e.g. the dialect, a man, or a horse or its breed from Brabant. In French, Brabançonne is the feminine gender of adjective Brabançon and matches the preceding definite article la, thus might fit an implied e.g. chanson, ('song') (cf. the official name of the French hymn: "la Marseillaise", "(song) having to do with the city of Marseille"). But neither the female definite article in German die Brabançonnede nor the male den Brabançonne in Brabantian or Brabantine dialects of Dutch can fit 'song', which is Lied in German and lied in Dutch, both of neutre genus. In today's standard Dutch, de Brabançonnenl does not betray whether the gender is male or female, but cannot be used for a neuter substantive either, and referring to de Brabançonne by hij confirms the male interpretation of Dutch dialects. For the anthem name in English, as in Dutch, German, and of course French, Brabançonne can be considered a proper noun.
  2. The Belgian Revolution was not originally separatist, but was a movement for further liberalization of the Netherlands and more rights for French language. The name of "Belgium/Belgia/Belgique" at this time is poetic Latin name of Netherlands and official name of Netherlands in French language.
  3. At this time was popular symbol of the French Revolution.
  4. St. Michael the Archangel, a patron saint of Brussels. The image seems to be of the Belgian flag flying from the towers of the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, Brussels.

References
  1. "Courrier des Pays-Bas: La Brabançonne". Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  2. Francis Martens, La Belgique en chantant, pp. 19–40, in Antoine Pickels and Jacques Sojcher (eds.), Belgique: toujours grande et belle, issues 1–2, Éditions Complexe, Brussels, 1998
  3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6911509.stm
  4. https://fr.newsmonkey.be/apprendre-la-brabanconne-a-lecole-la-nouvelle-idee-de-la-ministre-de-leducation/
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