Editing Constantijn Huygens (section)

==Education==
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Constantijn was a gifted child. His brother '''Maurits''' and he were educated partly by their father and partly by carefully instructed governors. When he was five years old, Constantijn and his brother received their first musical education.

===Music education===
They started with singing lessons, and they learned their notes using gold-coloured buttons on their jackets. It is striking that Christiaan senior imparted the "modern" system of 7 note names to the boys, instead of the traditional, but much more complicated [[hexachord]] system. Two years later the first lessons on the viol started, followed by the lute and the harpsichord. Constantijn showed a particular acumen for the lute. At the age of eleven he was already asked to play for ensembles, and later—during his diplomatic travels—his lute playing was in demand; he was asked to play at the Danish Court and for [[James I of England]], although they were not known for their musical patronage. In later years he also learnt the more modern guitar. In 1647 he published in Paris his ''Pathodia sacra et profana'' with his compositions of [[airs de cour]] in French, [[madrigals]] in Italian and Psalms in Latin.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

===Art instruction===
They were also schooled in art through their parents' art collection, but also their connection to the magnificent collection of paintings in the Antwerp house of diamond and jewellery dealer, Gaspar Duarte (1584–1653), who was a Portuguese Jewish exile.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

===Language lessons===
Constantijn also had a talent for languages. He learned [[French language|French]], [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]], and at a later age [[Italian language|Italian]], [[German language|German]] and [[English language|English]]. He learned by practice, the modern way of learning techniques. Constantijn received education in [[maths]], [[law]] and [[logic]] and he learned how to handle a [[pike (weapon)|pike]] and a [[musket]].

In 1614 Constantijn wrote his first Dutch poem, inspired by the French poet [[Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas]], in which he praises rural life. In his early 20s, he fell in love with Dorothea; however, their relationship did not last and Dorothea met someone else.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

In 1616, Maurits and Constantijn started studies at [[Leiden University]].<ref name=EB1911/> Studying in Leiden was primarily seen as a way to build a social network. Shortly after, Maurits was called home to assist his father. Constantijn finished his studies in 1617 and returned home.<ref name=EB1911/> This was followed by six weeks of training with Antonis de Hubert, a lawyer in [[Zierikzee]]. De Hubert was committed to the study of language and writing, having held consultations with [[Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft]], [[Laurens Reael]] and [[Joost van den Vondel]] concerning language and orthography in 1623.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}