What is peculiar about 'Wilhelmus', the Dutch national anthem?

--simone--

"Het Wilhelmus (English translation: The William, viz. 'song') is the national anthem of the Netherlands and is the oldest national anthem in the world, though the words of the Japanese national anthem (not the music) date back to the ninth century. Although it was not recognized as the official national anthem until 1932, it had remained popular with the Dutch people since its creation. It is also one of the very few anthems that does not focus on the history or military accomplishments of the people it represents, on the contrary, it tells of William of Orange, his life and why he is fighting for the Dutch. As a result, the anthem is written as if it were sung by William himself. The song is remarkably peaceful and has an introductionary sentence saying "Een nieuw christelijk lied" ("A new Christian song")." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Het_Wilhelmus Mar 10 08, 4:47 PM

author

The most peculiar thing might be that it is an Acrostic. See link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrostic This means that the first letter in the 15 strophes gives the name Willem van Nazzov. You will find all 15 strophes in this German Wikipedia page. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Het_Wilhelmus Mar 11 08, 7:24 AM