Loyalty, bravery and female cleverness. Grotius’s maidservant and Remonstrant identity

Abstract

The article analyses the involvement of Hugo Grotius's maidservant Elselina van Houweningen in his escape from Loevestein Castle in 1621. Her role is placed in the context of a process of redefining a Remonstrant corporate identity after the changes connected with the Synod of Dort in 1619. It is argued that her example, among others, fit the Remonstrant self-image of a group of martyrs who, although persecuted, in most cases cleverly manage to escape from prison. Both elements, persecution and escape, consequently are incorporated into the Remonstrant identity in which women receive a particularly prominent position.