Editing Wilhelmus (section)

=== Origins of melody ===
The melody of "Wilhelmus" was borrowed from a well-known [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] French song titled ''Autre chanson de la ville de Chartres assiégée par le prince de Condé''<ref>{{YouTube|sgECAmtABEM|"O la folle entreprise du Prince de Condé" (Wilhelmus van Nassau), c. 1568}}</ref>{{efn|Translated as "Another Song of the Town of [[Chartres]] Besieged by the Prince of Condé".}} (or ''Chartres'' in short). This song ridiculed the failed [[Siege of Chartres (1568)|Siege of Chartres]] in 1568 by the [[Huguenot]] (Protestant) [[Louis, Prince of Condé (1530–1569)|Prince de Condé]] during the [[French Wars of Religion]]. However, the triumphant contents of "Wilhelmus" differ greatly from the content of the original song, making it subversive at several levels. Thus, the Dutch Protestants had taken over an anti-Protestant song, and adapted it into propaganda for their own agenda. In that way, "Wilhelmus" was typical for its time: it was common practice in the 16th century for warring groups to steal each other's songs in order to [[Contrafactum|rewrite]] them.<ref name="uva.nl" />

Even though the melody stems from 1568, the first known written down version of it comes from 1574; at the time the anthem was sung at a much quicker pace.<ref>{{YouTube|0YgurxOm_e4|"Het Wilhelmus" (reconstruction)}}, in the pace of the 16th century version</ref> Dutch composer [[Adriaen Valerius]] recorded the current melody of "Wilhelmus" in his ''Nederlantsche Gedenck-clanck'' in 1626, slowing down the melody's pace, probably to allow it to be sung in churches.

[[File:Jacob spoel marnix van sint-aldegonde declaiming het wilhelmus to will.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Philips of Marnix, Lord of Saint-Aldegonde|Philips of Marnix]] presents "Wilhelmus" to [[William the Silent]], by Jacob Spoel (ca&nbsp;1850).]]