Lyric Research program 16^th century Album Amicorum Johan van Lynden started (September 2007).

Prof. dr. Johan Oosterman, professor ancient Dutch literature, at the Radboud University Nijmegen and prof. dr. Willem Frijhoff, emeritus professor History of modern times (1500-1870), at the VU University Amsterdam announced to join the Steering committee of the project that will lead to a publication of the oldest Album amicorum in the Netherlands. This album consist of lyric texts, written by students and friends of Johan van Lynden, living in the eastern part of the Netherlands (Gelre), and dates back to the year 1556.

The research after the creation history of the texts and the nature of the tradition of the songs, has already been started.

Every fragment of the texts will be investigated thoroughly. The scientific staff will compare these texts with other versions of the same text, in what way they have been changed by verbal tradition to next generations. Are there traces of willingly made changes, and so on.

Thorough investigation of a complex network of short lyric text will reveal how the lyric culture operated in the Noble society in the Netherlands and the lowlands of the river Rhine in the 16^th century.

To enable this investigation a network of related Alba amicorum will be studied and songs will be translated.

Four Master students of the Radbout University have started the transcription of this album.

The ultimate goal is a scientific digital publication of al texts and parallel texts. This must provide more knowledge about the history of these texts. The songs on a DVD will be inserted in the traditional publication on paper.