Joost van den Vondel

Born in Cologne in 1587 to Mennonite parents from Antwerp, he grew up in Amsterdam after his family moved there while he was still young. Largely self-educated, he built an extraordinary literary career and came to be seen as one of the central writers of Dutch literature.

He is especially remembered for his plays and poems, including Gijsbrecht van Aemstel, Lucifer, and Adam in Ballingschap. His writing drew on the Bible, classical authors, and the public life of the Dutch Republic, and he was also known for literary translations that brought major ancient works to Dutch readers.

Later in life he converted to Catholicism, a decision that shaped some of his most important religious writing. He died in Amsterdam in 1679, but his reputation endured so strongly that he is still often described as the Netherlands' greatest poet and a defining figure of the Dutch Golden Age.