Albrecht Rodenbach

poet, playwright and politician (1856–1880)

Albertus Petrus Josephus Mansuetus Ferdinandus (Berten or Albrecht) Rodenbach (27 October 1856, Roeselare - 23 June 1880, Roeselare) was a Belgian poet. He is remembered as a symbol of the Flemish Movement.

Hugo Verriest called him the poet, the soul, the heart, the mind, the word of Reborn Flanders. Rodenbach was inspired by the writers Guido Gezelle and Hendrik Conscience.

Rodenbach was born to a family of 10 children. His parents were wine merchants. He was a cousin to the writer Georges Rodenbach.

He graduated from the Catholic minor Seminary in Roeselare. He met the writer Pol de Mont at the Catholic University of Leuven. Together they were involved in the Flemish movement. Rodenbach was the leader of the Flemish student’s association.

He was 23 when he died.

  • Eerste gedichten (1878)
  • Gudrun (play) (1882)