Deventer City Walk

Deventer humanism starts with a book burning. Around 1365, Geert Groote burned a stack of books on black art to mark his spiritual conversion. Humanists do not know whether they can pass someone who burns books as a humanist; his misogyny was also unparalleled. Geert Groote was a fierce, yes perhaps a hysterical fighter against dissenters, such as the followers of the "Sect of the free spirits", who equated man with God. The Reformer nevertheless stood at the cradle of a movement in the church, the Modern Devotion, which considered one's own conscience more important than being accountable to the church. It was also the movement that created an atmosphere in which humanism and other spiritual innovations could flourish. Geert Groote preached in the national language and strived for simplicity. After him followed a whole series of persons who increasingly emphasized the individual and put human dignity at the center, against institutions and higher powers. Their ideas were radical for that time. The city of Deventer has chased or murdered several of these thinkers from the city, but has offered hospitality just as often. Due to the many trade contacts, in the Hanseatic period and in later periods, wave movements created room for other ideas, and there was an eye for diversity. This space for free thinking has remained a common thread in Deventer over the centuries. An internationally renowned school, the Athenaeum Illustre, attracted people like Erasmus; the many books printed in this city spread bold ideas and trade contacts did the rest. The remains of Deventer humanism can be found more in the libraries and minds of people than on the street. Nevertheless, we would like to walk through the streets of Deventer from time to time to reflect on the places where the humanist thinkers were once. We walk through part of the historic heart of the old Hanseatic city, where this walk emphasizes the humanist tradition. Look and enjoy streets, squares and houses, consider the locations and be surprised by the quotes in this book. At each place we will also figuratively reflect on a characteristic statement of a Deventer humanist. That these sayings sometimes provoke contradiction enlivens and deepens the walk. That is why dissenters are cordially invited to participate.