Melis Stoke was probably born in the Dutch province of
Zeeland around 1235. He died somewhere around 1305. He started writing in 1290 in
Middle Dutch a
chronicle in
rhyme on the countship of
Holland. His most famous work was the
Rijmkroniek, the
chronicle in rhyme, among the first books written in the Dutch language. In it is the account of the murder of count
Floris V. Stoke found his information from written sources, eyewitness accounts and his own observations. Melis Stoke was a
clerk in Floris V's service. He probably learned to read and write in a monastery. Sources do not mention whether Stoke was a monk himself. There is evidence he had been in the service of the city of
Dordrecht. == External links ==