Chamber of rhetoric

The first chambers of rhetoric were founded in Flanders around the 15th century; they later flowered in Holland, where they were an important part of the literary scene in the Dutch Golden Age and experimented with poetic form and structure. Most Dutch cities sponsored a chamber of rhetoric, and many cities had more than one, which competed with each other during prize contests. The building that currently houses the Frans Hals Museum was built with the proceeds of a lottery in which chambers of rhetoric participated from all over the country. The Haarlem society Trou moet Blycken still has many of the blazons that it kept as host of that lottery. At the start of the 16th century, Antwerp had three rederijker societies, the "Violieren", the "Olijftak", and the "Goudbloem", while Brussels and Ghent each had four rederijker societies. ==Social functions==

Apart from providing entertainment (recitations, plays, performances) during civic festivities, and maintaining literary contacts between cities, chambers of rhetoric had many of the typical social functions of a guild, confraternity, the Puy, or the Meistersingers such as attending members' funerals, holding collections for sick or impoverished members, and providing wedding presents for members getting married. ==See also==