‘Vrouwen baren het rijm’

‘Women bear the rhyme’ Prudens van Duyse (1804-1859) as mediator of female authors The Flemish poet, Prudens van Duyse (1804-1859), was a leading literary figure in the first half of the nineteenth century. In addition to his work as a writer, he also acted as a cultural mediator and it is striking that, in his work, he paid exceptional attention to female authors. This article examines, on the one hand, the relationship between Van Duyse's formulated beliefs and norms about female authors; and on the other, his motives and intentions for bringing these authors so prominently into the spotlight. In addition, it reveals how he incorporated female authors into his romantic poetics and employed them in his cultural-nationalist program.