This exhibition, 'PEREN OP DE BEUKEN', recreated the world of Hendrik van Veldeke. The region in which he lived, the area round the river Meuse, was one in which the vernacular (Dutch/Diets) literature flourished unusually early. It was a creative hub where Romance and Germanic culture met. The exhibition set Hendrik van Veldeke in his cultural-historical context and gave a good picture of the rich art of the Maas area in the 12th and 13th centuries.
A complete hall was given over to the legend of St. Servatius (Hendrik van Veldeke). Amongst the objects displayed were the key of Maastricht, the manuscript and fragments of Hendrik’s Life of the saint as well as the block-printed book and the manuscript with the Vita Servatii. Attention was also given to the pilgrimage to the grave of St. Servatius in Maastricht, and in this exhibition two Servatius badges from the Van Beuningen Family Collection could be admired.
