Piet Paaltjens
Illustration — François Haverschmidt. François Haverschmidt, also written as HaverSchmidt (14 February 1835 in Leeuwarden – 19 January 1894 in Schiedam), was a Dutch minister and writer, who wrote prose under his own name but remains best known for the poetry published under the pen name of Piet Paaltjens. Following his wife's death, he suffered from depression.
Piet Paaltjens
uploader: Glatisant. Lithograph by J.M. Schmidt Crans · Piet Paaltjens (=F. HaverSchmidt): Snikken en grimlachjes. 1st edition. 1867. · Public domain
- Full name
- François Haverschmidt.
- Born
- 1835. · Leeuwarden.
- Died
- 1894. · Schiedam.
- Nationality
- Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- Occupation
- poet and writer.
- Fields
- Dutch literature and Dutch poetry.
- Education
- Leiden University.
- Known for
- Snikken en grimlachjes.
- Languages
- Dutch.
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Illustration — François Haverschmidt. François Haverschmidt, also written as HaverSchmidt (14 February 1835 in Leeuwarden – 19 January 1894 in Schiedam), was a Dutch minister and writer, who wrote prose under his own name but remains best known for the poetry published under the pen name of Piet Paaltjens. Following his wife's death, he suffered from depression.
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wikidata · Q1622461 · wikipedia · Piet Paaltjens
In this article
Life and career
Life and career
He committed suicide in 1894.
Piet Paaltjens studied at Leiden University. Willy Hofman-Poot is recorded as having studied under Piet Paaltjens. The recorded working language is Dutch. The field of work recorded is Dutch literature and Dutch poetry. Residence is recorded at Leeuwarden. Works named in the authority record are Snikken en grimlachjes.
• Illustration — Poem by Paaltjens (Immortelle XLIX in a window in The Hague (2019) Haverschmidt studied Calvinist theology at Leiden University, graduating in 1858. He successively became minister in Foudgum, Den Helder and Schiedam. During his student days, he had some of his poetry published in student magazines under the pen name of Piet Paaltjens, around whom a playful but elaborate mystification was created as Haverschmidt kept his poetry separate from his "serious" prose and sermons, not unlike Nicolaas Beets. He became a prime suspect for being the anonymous author of the Oera Linda Book, the inferred reason being a practical joke (a parody of the Bible to lampoon fundamentalist Christians). However, many of his contemporaries believed the book to be authentic. This would have prevented Haverschmidt and his collaborators (if they were indeed the authors of the supposedly millennia-old text) from unmasking their hoax, which consequently completely backfired. Haverschmidt became progressively more depressed, especially after his wife's death in 1891, and ultimately committed suicide in 1894.
As Piet Paaltjens
As Piet Paaltjens
• Snikken en grimlachjes: poëzie uit den studententijd ("Sobs and Bitter Grins: Student-Days Poetry", 1867)
As François Haverschmidt
As François Haverschmidt
• Familie en kennissen ("Relatives and Acquaintances", short stories, 1876) • Uit geest en gemoed ("From Mind and Heart", sermons, 1894) • Uit den studententijd in Alexander Johan Berman: Landjuweel
As both
As both
• Nagelaten snikken van Piet Paaltjens: poëzie en proza, tekeningen en curiosa uit de nalatenschap van François HaverSchmidt ("Posthumous Sobs of Piet Paaltjens: Poetry and Prose, Drawings and Curiosities from François HaverSchmidt's Estate", early poetry and prose and Paaltjens "outtakes", 1961)
English translation
English translation
A section of Snikken en grimlachjes has been translated into English by Jacob Lowland as Everlastings (1850–1852) (Amsterdam: Aarts, 1982)
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Named by the record
Places
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Leeuwarden.
Residences
Schiedam.
Death place
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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