SPIEGHEL, HENRIC LAURENSZOON

also spelled Hendrik Laurenszoon Spiegel born March 11, 1549, Amsterdam, Neth. died Jan. 4, 1612, Alkmaar poet of the northern Dutch Renaissance whose highly individual spiritual beliefs set him apart from his contemporaries. In Spieghel's greatest work, Hertspiegel (1614; Heart-Mirror), a long, often allegorical poem written in hexametres, he set out his philosophical vision in simple, direct style. His strong religious faith is based on an amalgamation of Christian and Platonic ideas, together with an underlying pantheism that sees God manifested in all things. Spieghel was also active in the movement toward the purification and wider use of the Dutch language, principles that he advocated in his Twe-spraack van de Nederduitsche Letterkunst (1584; Dialogue on Dutch Literature).