The Rhetoric of Religious Dissent: Anti-Calvinism, Satire and the Arminian Controversy in the Dutch Republic

Abstract

Tbis study investigates tbe influence of tbe Arminian controversy (1609-1619) on tbe literary culture of tbe Dutch Republic. Focusing on tbe work of pivotal figures like Dirck Coornhert, Reinier Telle, Samuel Coster and Joost van den Vondel, it is argued that political and religious controversy gave rise to a culture of religious satire tbat directly shaped the outcome of tbe conflict. Analyzing the similarities between satire and the practice of religious parrbesia, it aims to examine the paradoxes inberent in tbe early modern debate on toleration.