Borger, G..

Henk van der Linden en de historische geografie. De betekenis van het werk van prof mr. H. van der Linden (Alphen a/d Rijn 14 februari 1922 - Velp 27 maart 2012).

Historisch Geografisch Tijdschrift 33 (2015) 67 - 76.

In maart 2012 overleed Henk van der Linden, oud-dijkgraaf van het Grootwaterschap van Woerden en emeritus hoogleraar oudvaderlands recht aan de Vrije Universiteit te Amsterdam. De ontginning van het Hollands-Utrechtse veengebied stond centraal in zijn onderzoek en vormt de rode draad in zijn omvangrijke wetenschappelijke oeuvre. In de titel van geen van die publicaties komt de aanduiding historische geografie voor, maar zijn bijdrage aan de beoefening van dat vakgebied is onmiskenbaar groot.

Henk van der Linden and the historical geography. The significance of the work of professor H. van der Linden LL.D (Alphen a/d Rijn 14th February 1922 - Velp 27th March 2012).

The research by Henk van der Linden, former professor of ancient Dutch law, still dominates the Dutch literature dealing with the reclamation and colonization of the Dutch peat lands. He made out a strong case for the perception that the colonists were owners of the cultivated lands from the very first start of the reclamation process (Van der Linden, 1956). In his view the reclamation of the peat lands was initiated by the sovereign lords who contracted a group of colonists. Those contracts laid down the position of the new settlements in relation to public law and established the fabric of the colonist society as well. The newly founded villages had to pay annually a small amount of money, in recognition of the authority of the lord. Further research raised new questions. It was established that not only free men have been active in the reclamation process, but serfs as well. However, the social relations between both groups of colonists in the newly created society are still obscure. Also, reclamation of peat lands was started in parts of the Netherlands where sovereign lords were weak or even absent. It is unclear in what way the legal position of the settlers and their villages was arranged in those areas. Another question that remains is the land use at the very first start of the reclamation process. Van der Linden introduced the concept of the cope as a transaction under public law. As a legal notion this concept has not been of much use in geographical research. Therefore, historical geographers mostly employ the term cope to designate a linear peat settlement on land divided in regular strips.