Paul Fredericq

{{short description|Belgian historian}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}} {{Infobox writer  | name = Paul Fredericq | honorific_prefix = | honorific_suffix = | image = Paul Fredericq.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Portrait drawing by Willem Steelink, Jr. | native_name = | native_name_lang = | pseudonym = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1850|08|12|df=yes}} | birth_place = Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium | death_date = {{death date and age|1920|03|23|1850|08|12|df=yes}} | death_place = Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium | resting_place = | occupation = Historian and political activist | language = French, Dutch | nationality = Belgian | ethnicity = | citizenship = | education = University of Ghent<br/>University of Liège | alma_mater = | period = | genre =  | subject =  | movement = | notableworks =  | spouse =  | partner =  | children = | relatives = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | years_active = | module = | website = | portaldisp =  }}

'''Paul Fredericq''' (12 August 1850 – 23 March 1920) was a Belgian historian at Ghent University active in the promotion of the use of the Dutch language in Belgium.

==Early life== Paul Fredericq was born in the Sleepstraat in Ghent, Belgium. A student at the ''Koninklijk Atheneum'' of Ghent, where Max Rooses and Jacob Heremans influenced him. He became a Protestant in his youth and his tendencies in religion, as in politics, were liberal.<ref name=eb/> In 1871 he graduated as a high school teacher from the University of Liège and started working as a teacher in Mechelen and Arlon. In 1875, Fredericq received a special doctorate in historical sciences, with his study ''Essai sur le rôle politique et social des ducs de Bourgogne dans les Pays-Bas'', and he became professor of history at the University of Liège.<ref name=eb/>

==Academic career== thumb|left|upright|Cover of Fredericq's history of the Flemish Movement After Jacob Heremans became emeritus, Paul Fredericq became professor of history at Ghent University in 1883. His courses included Dutch literature and practical exercises about Belgian history. Characterizing his sociability: Fredericq also taught in the relaxed surroundings of his home. It was probably during this period that he befriended the students of the '''t zal wel gaan'' movement.

Fredericq was very active in the liberal wing of the Flemish Movement. During the period of 1891–95, he was a liberal member of the city council, and became president of the local ''Willemsfonds'' organization and editor in chief of the liberal magazine ''Het Volksbelang''. Then founded the ''Hooger Onderwijs voor het Volk'' ("higher education for the people") in 1894, an experiment to close the education-gap between the elite and the workforce. However, Fredericq was especially important during the struggle to include Dutch into the Belgian education system. His activism culminated with his ''Schets eener Geschiedenis der Vlaamsche Beweging'' (1906–09), a short history of the Flemish Movement.

During World War I, on the invasion of Belgium by the Germans, Fredericq was active in encouraging the patriotic feelings of his countrymen in occupied Belgium and supporting non-violent resistance to the invader. As a result, he was deported to Germany on 16 March 1916, together with his colleague, the historian Henri Pirenne. He was interned successively at Gütersloh, Jena and Bürgel.<ref name=eb>{{Cite EB1922|wstitle=Fredericq, Paul|last=Pirenne |first=Henri |authorlink=Henri Pirenne}}</ref> The ordeal weakened him both physically and mentally.

After the war, he became rector at Ghent University in 1919. But quickly resigned after only a few weeks, disappointed by the anti-Flemish backlash. He died shortly afterwards in Ghent.

==Works== thumb|291x291px|Excerpt from his autobiography, written at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Autobiografie 1850-1919, met bijlagen|url=https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:C8E4FC5E-43B2-11E6-AFA9-368DD43445F2#?c=&m=&s=&cv=5&xywh=885,-10,6053,3379|access-date=2020-08-28|website=lib.ugent.be}}</ref> Besides the works mentioned above, he wrote: *''De Nederlanden onder Keizer Karel'', vol. i. (1885) *''Verzameling van stukken betreffende de pauselijke en bisschoppelijke Inquisitie in de Nederlanden'' (1889–96) *''Onze historische volksliederen van voor de zestiende eeuw'' (1894) * ''Corpus documentorum inquisitionis haereticae pravitatis Neerlandicae : Verzameling van stukken betreffende de pauselijke en bisschoppelijke inquisitie in de Nederlanden''. - Gent : Vuylstekes'Gravenhage : Nijhoff, 1889. [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:061:1-71465 Digital ed.] ** [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:061:1-71676 1. 1025-1520. 1889] ** [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:061:1-71507 2. Stukken tot aanvulling vanhet 1. deel (1077-1518). 1896] ** [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:061:1-71371 3. 1236-1513. 1906] ** [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:061:1-71385 4. 1514-1525. 1900] ** [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:061:1-71394 5. 1525-1528. 1902]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite web | title=Literair Gent | work=Fredericq, Paul | url=http://www.literair.gent.be/html/lexiconprint.asp?ID=5&AID=344 | accessdate=14 October 2007 | language=nl | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080121172740/http://www.literair.gent.be/html/lexiconprint.asp?ID=5&AID=344 | archivedate=21 January 2008 }} * {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Fredericq, Paul|year=1905 |short=x}}

==External links== * {{Gutenberg author | id=31944| name=Paul Frédéricq}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Paul Frédéricq}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fredericq, Paul}} Category:1850 births Category:1920 deaths Category:20th-century Belgian historians Category:20th-century Belgian male writers Category:University of Liège alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of Liège Category:Academic staff of Ghent University Category:Rectors of Ghent University Category:World War I civilian detainees held by Germany Category:Belgian people of World War I Category:Belgian Protestants Category:Liberal Party (Belgium) politicians Category:Historians of Belgium Category:19th-century Belgian historians Category:19th-century Belgian male writers Category:Belgian male non-fiction writers