Poem by legal historian H. J. Scheltema unveiled in Groningen

Herman Jan Scheltema was not only a renowned legal historian from Groningen; under the pseudonym N.E.M. Pareau, he also wrote poetry. One of those poems is now being unveiled at the H.W. Mesdagplein in Groningen.

_{By Esther van der Meer}

The poem is an initiative of the Schildersbuurt neighborhood association, of which Professor of Public Administration Heinrich Winter is a member. “The H.W. Mesdagplein has undergone a facelift, making the square much greener. For the front of the small park, we selected a sculpture by artist Jan van Baren from Kunstpunt Groningen. It is about 80 centimeters tall and depicts a little man. I remembered that Scheltema wrote the poem ‘The Little Man,’ which also mentions H.W. Mesdagplein. So it’s perfect to place there.”

Professor, Joker, and Poet

H.J. Scheltema (1906–1981) was one of the legendary professors at the University of Groningen. As the editor of the Basilica—the compendium of nearly the entire body of Byzantine legal scholarship—he became the most important legal historian of his generation.

He was also an almost childlike joker. Anecdotes about him are still circulating. How he walked around with a bicycle light in his nostril to see who dared to address him about his snot, for example. Or how, during exams, he opened the door wearing a summer outfit and sent the student—who was standing on the sidewalk dressed in the then-mandatory morning coat—back to put on something lighter. Upon returning, that student found the professor dressed in a tailcoat. Confusion all around.

Unveiling of ‘The Little Man’

And he was a poet with a small, idiosyncratic body of work, such as the well-known View of Groningen. Winter: “His funny side also comes through in his poetry.” You can see that in ‘The Little Man’ as well, which, in a free translation, reads as follows:

The little man, the little man
Is sitting at the back of the tram.
The weather is lovely; the sunshine
Warms the H.W. Mesdagplein
And makes the pavement glow.
No crisis can touch us now!
Christien sits inside on the sofa;
For she is lame.

The unveiling will take place on June 26 at 4:30 p.m. and will be conducted by Willem Zwalve, professor emeritus of Roman Law in Leiden, who, in his own words, is Scheltema’s last surviving doctoral student.

Everyone is welcome.