Jaap Renaud | |
|---|---|
 Jaap Renaud at symposium in 1966 | |
| Born | 20 February 1911 |
| Died | 25 April 2007 (aged 96) |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Alma mater | University of Amsterdam |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archaeology |
Jacob Gerard Nicolaas (Jaap) Renaud (Voorburg, 20 February 1911 - 25 April 2007) was a Dutch archaeologist and adjunct professor at Utrecht University.
Renaud's father was a house painter supervisor. His grandfather was a school teacher, whom the young Renaud often visited. Together they would visit many castles near The Hague. Renaud would recreate these in his attic from the wood of cigar boxes, including the siege equipment. At the young age of 14 he already visited The Hague municipality archives to study the history of Binckhorst Castle and its inhabitants. [1]
In the tradition of his family Renaud also became a school teacher, but during the Great Depression he could not acquire a fixed position. He married Hanna Maartense whom he had met at the Nederlandse Bond van Abstinent Studerenden (NBAS), a student movement for alcohol abstinence. Together they visited European castles by bicycle and tent. [1]
Due to cost constraints academic studies were not possible for Renaud. However, his brother in law W.F. Maartense was a Geography teacher. He brought him into contact with professor Nicolaas Bernardus Tenhaeff (1885-1943) from Amsterdam University taught him in private. [2] [3] In 1938 Renaud gave his first lecture, treating medieval pottery. [2]
Two publications were important for Renaud's early career. The first was about Binckhorst Castle, published in 1936. The other was about the construction history of Egmond Castle. These brought him into contact with the famous archaeologist A.E. van Giffen (1884-1973) from the University of Groningen, and Professor Engelbert Hendrik ter Kuile (1900-1988) from the Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg (the national organization for the preservation of monumental buildings). [4]
After the Dutch defeat in May 1940 Renaud was demobilized. He then got a job as a contractor [5] at the Rijksbureau voor de Monumentenzorg. [3] His first assignment was to describe medieval houses in Maastricht. [2] The next assignments were connected to the German bombing of Rotterdam. In its wake he led archaeological excavations at Spangen Castle and Bulgersteyn Castle and had the daily supervision of the excavations at Starrenburg and Weena. [6]
During the war period Renaud learned a lot from the advice of architectural history Professors E. ter Kuile from Delft University and M.D. Ozinga from Utrecht University. He also learned a lot about masonry and other crafts from the overseers of the works in Rotterdam. [3]
In 1950 Renaud got an appointment at the Rijksdienst voor Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek (ROB), a national government organization for archaeology. [5] This would remain his full time job till his retirement in 1976. In the 1950s he also became involved with the Nederlandse Kastelen Stichting (NKS) (Dutch Castle Foundation) an organization that aimed to preserve the remaining Dutch castles. He would become a member of the board of this foundation, and would lead some of its important publications / journals. [7]
Later in the 1950s the Dutch Research Council (NWO) provided funding for Renaud to work in Caen, Normandy, France. Professor of Norman and medieval history Michel de Boüard (1909-1989) of Caen University had asked him to assist in the excavation and restoration of the Château de Caen. Renaud led part of these from 1958 to 1962. [8] Afterwards, De Boüard became his doctoral advisor. [9] In August 1963 Renaud was made a Doctor Honoris Causa of Caen University. [10]
In 1965 Renaud was appointed as lecturer in the science of castles (castellogy) at Utrecht University. It was an appointment for one hour a week, made on the insistence of the NKS. Meanwhile, Reanud continued to work at the ROB. [11] Therefore, the appointment generated more prestige than income, but prestige of course came in handy, when the NKS wanted to discuss preservation. In 1980 Renaud's position at Utrecht was upgraded to that of a professor. [7] From 1971 to 1981 he was also connected to Delft University of Technology. [12]
In March 1976 Renaud retired as scientific employee of the ROB. He nevertheless continued to work on publications. First amongst these was Castellogica, a journal about castles that appeared from 1983 to 2000. [7] He also stayed on for some years as professor in Delft and Utrecht. [13]
In 2019 Renaud's student Jean Roefstra summarized Renaud's work as follows: 'Renaud was one of the first Dutch archeologists who was convinced that investigation into the phenomenon castle castle required a broad approach. He thought that the castle had to be considered from a historic, archaeologic, typologic and literary perspective in order to understand the object in its entirety. This line of thought was the basis for the current integral and multidisciplinary approach of castle investigations. [12]
In 2016 De Gast had concluded that Renaud had indeed been a savior for many castles. His work had also saved a lot of information that would otherwise have been lost, and he had been crucial for getting public support for conservation and science. On the other hand, from the 1960s onwards, his focus on construction history, and his failure to pick up on new scientific methods of archaeology led to suboptimal results. The possible explanation is that Renaud had been trained as a historian, not as an archaeologist. [14]
Muiden Castle is a castle in the Netherlands, located at the mouth of the Vecht river, some 15 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, in Muiden, where it flows into what used to be the Zuiderzee. It is one of the better known castles in the Netherlands and featured in many television shows set in the Middle Ages.
Heeze Castle is situated in the Netherlands, south of Eindhoven. It used to be the centre of the seigneury of Heeze, Leende and Zesgehuchten, part of the Duchy of Brabant. In the Middle Ages, it was owned by the de Horne family. In the seventeenth Century Pieter Post designed a new castle, of which the first part was built in 1665. After Pieter Post died, the work was completed by his son Maurits Post.
A rijksmonument is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the Bureau voor den Waterstaat and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands. Its role is the practical execution of the public works and water management, including the construction and maintenance of waterways and roads, and flood protection and prevention. The agency was also involved in the construction of big railway projects such as the Betuweroute and the HSL-Zuid.
Zuylen Castle is a Dutch castle at the village of Oud-Zuilen just north of the city of Utrecht. It is located along the river Vecht at the southern end of the Vechtstreek.
Egmond Castle, also called the Ruins of Egmond, is a ruined medieval castle in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is located in Egmond aan den Hoef in the municipality of Bergen and lies about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of Alkmaar. The castle dates from the 11th century and is the ancestral seat of the Egmond family, whose members became sovereign Dukes of Guelders, Counts of Egmond and Princes of Gavere, Counts of Buren and Leerdam. It is a national monument of the Netherlands.
Hubert-Jan Henket is a Dutch architect. He is a specialist in the relations between old and new buildings, the redesign of buildings, renovation and restoration. He is the founder of DOCOMOMO international.
Keppel Castle is a castle in the town of Laag-Keppel in the municipality of Bronckhorst, in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The castle stands on an island between two branches of the Oude IJssel. The current building was rebuilt in the 17th century after it was destroyed in 1582.
Heusden Castle is a ruined major castle in Heusden.
Aldendriel Castle is late medieval castle in Mill, North-Brabant, Netherlands
Boxmeer Castle is an originally 13th century castle in Boxmeer, North-Brabant, Netherlands. It is situated on a former island in the Meuse.
Polanen Castle was a castle located in today's Monster, South Holland in the Netherlands. The ancestral home of the Polanen family, it suffered a siege in 1351 and was demolished in 1394. It was replaced by a small manor somewhat to the south.
Binckhorst Castle is a 16th and 17th century manor built on top of a demolished medieval castle.
Spangen Castle was a medieval castle near the village Overschie. It has disappeared completely. The Rotterdam city quarter Spangen was named for the castle.
Zandenburg was a famous castle just south of Veere. Nothing remains of it, except some foundations below ground level.
Hellenburg is a ruined castle near Baarland, in Zeeland, Netherlands.
Sint-Maartensdijk Castle was a castle with a rich history. Except for a part of the moats nothing remains of it.
Windenburg was a rather typical small castle in Dreischor, the Netherlands.
Sabbinge Castle is a small castle in Oud-Sabbinge, on the former island Wolphaartsdijk
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
