- First name
- Constantijn
- Last name
- Huygens Sr
- Date of Birth
- 1596
- Date of Death
- 1687
- Born in
- The Hague
- Died in
- The Hague
Constantijn Huygens Sr was Lord of Zuilichem and Zeelhem, and personal secretary to the Dutch stadholders Frederik Hendrik and William III. He was a poet, composer, musician and collector. During the so-called ‘stadholderless period’ (1650–72, the political displacement by the States of Holland of the stadholder and the dominant regent House of Orange due to crisis between Republicans and Orangists), Huygens Sr did not play any official role. Throughout his life, he kept a vast correspondence with many people of which more than 8,000 letters have been preserved. See: Descartes, 2003, pp. 269–76. For the role of the illustrious Huygens family: Bachrach, 1980.