Tweet10-09-2009 om 17:48 by Stafford Wadsworth

The word Burgundian, * which is used frequently in the Dutch language, is difficult to translate into English, with the sense of the Dutch.  Basically, it seems to represent that traditional image of continental Europe that the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and our forefathers had, perhaps, in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century. This was of a slightly more relaxed lifestyle, probably referred to in those days as “the continental lifestyle”.  I suppose that it evoked pavement cafes; good eating and drinking; a fine glass of wine; and perhaps a little bit of ‘nice naughtiness’ on the side, with the young ladies who might have circulated in the cafes and music halls; and, in fact, even today, institutions like the Moulin Rouge, the Crazy Horse and the Folies Bergère, still do good business and provide attractive information, based on that tradition.  That is, perhaps, the mid-century Englishman or American’s idea of continental life, and perhaps it is, in a sense, representative of continental life of the European, as opposed to a rather, at that time, more sober English speaking world.

Of course, times have changed, and England has lost its reputation, if it had one, for sobriety.  But that ‘naughty but nice’ world of Paris is probably emblematic of Europe to the outsider, and it’s also probably what Burgundian means. Sometimes, here in Maastricht, one hears people complain about the image of a local Burgundian lifestyle; to the Calvinist here, it might not sound serious enough; there might be concern that people are not getting on with their work, but enjoying themselves by drinking and flirting too much. Nevertheless, it is a persisting image of Europe, and the interesting thing is that, if you transfer the sort of Parisian pavement-cafe life, continental lifestyle, and attach it to Maastricht, instead of the word Burgundian, you are getting what you have, because Maastricht is quintessentially, that old fashioned, rather attractive Europe that we all miss; and perhaps we should be talking about the Maastricht pavement cafes, rather than those in Paris.

* Strangely there is no memory of the sack and razing of the capital of the Principality of Liège by the Burgundians under ‘Charles the Bold’ in 1467.

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