Jan de Lichte
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Comment: might be notable , but needs referencing DGG ( talk ) 04:45, 5 October 2020 (UTC)- Comment: KittenKlub has made some very helpful additions to this article. I think there should be no objection in moving it back into the mainspace? —Brigade Piron (talk) 17:06, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
Jan de Lichte | |
|---|---|
 Jan de Lichte as depicted by Roel D'Haese | |
| Born | Johannes de Lichte 7 April 1723 |
| Died | 13 November 1748 (aged 25) |
| Occupation(s) | Outlaw and gang leader |
| Years active | 1737–1748 |
Johannes "Jan" de Lichte (7 April 1723 – 13 November 1748) was an 18th-century Flemish outlaw and gang leader.[1] Motivated by poverty during the upheavals of the Austrian War of Succession, he and his comrades committed burglaries, robberies, and several murders.
Biography
Jan de Lichte was born on 7 April 1723 in Velzeke from parents with a long criminal history.[2] In 1737, he was arrested for the first time in Wetteren for theft.[2] In 1743, De Lichte and his gang shot at two pilgrims in Zottegem during a robbery.[1] Between 2 and 22 June 1744, the army of Hanover was stationed in Velzeke where de Lichte lived at the time, and left the village ruined and plundered. The war also caused an overall lawlessness which resulted in an increase of the activities of de Lichte and his gang.[2] Jan de Lichte used the dense forests of the Munkbosbeek Valley as a hiding place.[3]
On 28 September 1748, the French occupation forces organized a manhunt against de Lichte and his gang.[2] Soon after, he was arrested, and found guilty of four murders, two attempted murders, and at least 30 counts of robbery and burglary. De Lichte was executed on 13 November 1748 on the wheel in the market in Aalst.[1] Between 8 October and 14 December 1748, 101 members of the gang were tried, six including De Lichte were put on the wheel, 19 were hung, and the remainder were sent to the galleys.[1]
Aftermath
The activity of the gang and its end were the source of inspiration for legends and folk legends. Nowadays Jan de Licht is also known by Louis Paul Boon's literary interpretation in his 1957 novel De bende van Jan de Lichte,[4] which presents Lichte as not merely a highwayman but as a champion of the oppressed lower classes, a kind of Flemish Robin Hood.[5]
Roel D'Haese was commissioned to create a statue of Jan de Lichte by the Louis Paul Boon Society. It was supposed to be placed on the market in Aalst,[6] however the municipality refused to honour a criminal. Next it was offered to Zottegem only to be refused again. In 1987, it was placed in the Middelheim Open Air Sculpture Museum. In 2009, the statue was finally publicly displayed in front of the Palace of Justice in Antwerp.[7]
The Flemish channel VTM made the 10-part historical costume series Thieves of the Wood, which was released on Flemish television and Netflix on 2 January 2020.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d "Jan De Lichte". Stad Zottegem (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d "De visie van L.P. Boon op de geschiedenis van de bende van Jan de Lichte". Digital Library for Dutch Literature. Ons Erfdeel. Jaargang 22. 1979. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "Munkbosbeekvallei". Natuurpunt (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Louis (Paul) Boons Jan de Lichte". Knack (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ Jean Weisgerber (1964). "Aspecten van de Vlaamse roman, 1927-1960". Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "De waarheid over het standbeeld van Boons Jan de Lichte". Knack (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ "Standbeeld Jan De Lichte op de dool". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ "De Bende van Jan de Lichte". Mijn Series (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 October 2020.
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