In the Dutch national anthem, the singer, speaking the words of William of Orange, professes eternal loyalty to the King of Spain. Why?

Het Wilhelmus originated early in the Eighty Years' War. One of the better known features of the song is that the first letters of each stanza spell the (original) name of Prince William of Orange: 'Willem van Nassov". Less well-known is the fact that the song has a lot more structure to it.

The song is essentially a piece of propaganda. It is written from the perspective of William of Orange. The song explains how he came to be the leader of the revolt against the Spanish king and it shows the pious nature of William. More on that later, but let's get to the structure first.

Structure

The fifteen stanza's of the song are mirrored around the central, eighth, stanza.

The eighth stanza is arguably the most important one. It compares William to the biblical David: just as David had to flee from the tyrant Saul, so too had William to flee from king Philip II. But, the stanza reminds us, David was rewarded by God (and thus so will William and his followers).

The seventh and the ninth stanza concern the future death of William. In the seventh stanza, God is asked to protect William against assailants. In the ninth stanza, God is asked to give William an honourable death.

The sixth and tenth stanza concern the Spanish tyranny. In the sixth stanza, William trusts that God will allow him to stay brave and defeat the tyranny. In the tenth stanza, William laments impoverishment and molestation of the Netherlands.

The fifth and eleventh stanza concern William's bravery. The fifth stanza describes William's heritage and his heroism. The eleventh stanza says how William and his brave horsemen did battle.

The fourth and twelfth stanza are about fate. The fourth stanza mentions William's brother Count Adolf, who died in battle. The twelfth stanza says William would have prevented or ended the turbulent period of the revolt if God had willed it (but He didn't).

The third and thirteenth stanza concern piousness. In the third stanza William asks his subjects to live devoutly and pray to God. In the thirteenth stanza William says he has prayed to God to proclaim his innocence.

The second and fourteenth stanza concern trust in God. In the second stanza William says he trusts that God will reinstate him in government. In the fourteenth stanza the people are asked to put their trust in their Shepherd.

The first and fifteenth stanza concern loyalty. In the first stanza William states he has always been loyal to the King of Spain. In the fifteenth stanza he states that he has had to obey "God the Lord, the highest Majesty" in justice.

Some context, and an answer

This song about tyrants and piousness should be seen in the context of the time. Kings had (more or less) supreme power and this power was derived from God. Kings ruled over their subjects 'by the grace of God'. With this power also came the obligation to take care of their subjects. What is argued in Het Wilhelmus is essentially that Philip II failed his duties as king. Instead of ruling over his people and taking care of them, he became a tyrant.

Normally loyalty to the king meant loyalty to God, since the king ruled by the grace of God. However if the king is failing his duties, loyalty to him is no longer necessary. A tyrant clearly cannot have God on his side. So the right thing to do is to switch loyalty directly to God. God is the supreme Majesty and denouncing the king is allowed as long as the king acts unjustly and as long as you stay loyal to the supreme Majesty and justice.

So to answer your question: William says he's always been loyal to the Spanish king in the first stanza to establish that he didn't start this. Everything was fine: he was loyal to the king, the king ruled by the grace of God. Then however the king went and did all these bad things, forcing William to side with God against the king. Since nowadays only the first (or the first and sixth) stanza are sung, it is not clear that the first stanza sets the stage for the rest of the song. The second to fourteenth stanza all show the misdeeds of Philip II and the Spaniards and the piousness of William of Orange and his followers. Then finally, in the fifteenth stanza, it is made clear that there is higher loyalty than the loyalty to the King: loyalty to God.

/r/AskHistorians Thread