La Fière

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Lore & Background

According to legend, the Belgian national anthem was written in September 1830, during the Belgian Revolution, by a young revolutionary called "Jenneval", who read the lyrics during a meeting at the Aigle d'Or café. Jenneval, a Frenchman whose real name was Alexandre Dechet (sometimes known as Louis-Alexandre Dechet), wrote the Brabançonne. At the time, he was an actor at the theatre where, in August 1830, the revolution started, which led to independence from the Netherlands. Jenneval died in the war of independence. François van Campenhout composed the accompanying score, based on the tune of a French song called "L'Air des lanciers polonais" ("the tune of the Polish Lancers"), written by the French poet Eugène de Pradel, whose tune was itself an adaptation of the tune of a song, "L'Air du magistrat irréprochable", found in a popular collection of drinking songs called La Clé du caveau (The Key to the cellar) and it was first performed in September 1830. In 1860, Belgium formally adopted the song and music as its national anthem, although the then prime minister, Charles Rogier, edited out lyrics attacking the Dutch House of Orange, inspired by the version written by Louis Hymans. "The Brabançonne" is also the name of a monument (1930) by the sculptor Charles Samuel on the Surlet de Chokier square in Brussels. The monument contains partial lyrics of both the French and Dutch versions of the anthem. Like many elements in Belgian folklore, this is mainly based on the French "La Marseillaise" which is also both an anthem and the name of a monument – the sculptural group Departure of the Volunteers of 1792, commonly called La Marseillaise, at the base of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

In Their Own Story

A ministerial circular of the Ministry of the Interior on 8 August 1921 decreed that only the fourth verse of the text by Charles Rogier should be considered official for all three, French, German and in Dutch. In recent years, an unofficial short version of the anthem is sung during Belgian National Day on 21 July each year, combining the words of the anthem in all three of Belgium's official languages, similar to the bilingual version of "O Canada". The lyrics are from the 4th verse of the anthem.

Reader's Guide

The source provides the history and official status of the anthem but does not contain a guide or practical instructions for its use. It notes that various committees were charged with reviewing the text and tune of the Brabançonne and establishing an official version, and that the ministerial circular of 8 August 1921 established the official version.

Did You Know?

• The anthem's original French title refers to the Duchy of Brabant.
• The lyrics were written by a French actor named Alexandre Dechet, known as 'Jenneval', who died in the war of independence.
• The music was composed by François van Campenhout, based on a tune from a French drinking song collection called La Clé du caveau.
• Prime minister Charles Rogier edited out lyrics attacking the Dutch House of Orange when the anthem was formally adopted in 1860.
• A 1921 ministerial circular decreed that only the fourth verse of Charles Rogier's text is official for all three languages.