BILDERDIJK, WILLEM

(1756–1831)

   Poet and historian. Bilderdijk studied law at Leiden University and acquired fame as the legal de fender of certain Orangistagitators who were prosecuted by the new Patriot rulers in the 1780s. After the Restoration, Bilderdijk did not receive the post as professor that he thought he deserved. He lived in Leiden as an independent scholar, organizing collegia privatissima on Dutch history for interested young students. As a critic of ration alism, he influenced young men such as the Calvinists Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer and Isaac da Costa, who were to play an im portant role in Christian politics and cultural life.