parents are also unknown. His language was analyzed by the Dutch linguists Amand Berteloot and Evert van den Berg, who came to the conclusion that he learned to speak in the County of Flanders, somewhere south of the city of Bruges, Belgium. Jacob's place and time of death is also unknown. Tradition holds that Jacob must have been alive in 1291, because he is considered to be the author of the poem Vanden lande van Overzee (On the Land across the Sea), which discusses the fall of the last Christian city in the Holy Land, Saint-Jean d'Acres. This poem, which survived in only one manuscript (UB Groningen, Ms. 405), has no name attached to it. None of the texts in this manuscript bears the name of its author. However, he has historically been seen as the author of this poem, particularly by Nineteenth-century Dutch scholars. This claim was based on a verse in the 19th and last stanza: "Ghi heren, dit is Jacobs vont,", meaning 'Gentlemen, this is Jacob's creation'. For the 19th century, this was more than enough proof that the poet could not have been anybody else than Jacob van Maerlant. This is most likely an unsound theory as Jacob only referred to himself as such in his early life. By the time it is purported he wrote this poem, he was just using his last name 'Maerlant'. A recent examination of this manuscript by historian Jos Biemans confirmed that it is unlikely he was the author of this poem. Attributed works Alexanders Geesten Historie van den grale Merlijns boeck Istory van Troyen Der naturen bloeme Rijmbijbel Spieghel historiael Sinte Franciscus' Leven Wapene Martijn Tweede Martijn Van der Drievoudecheide Verkeerde Martijn Der Kerken claghe Van den lande van overzee Heimelykheid der heimelykheden Lapidarijs Leven van Ste. Clara Sompniariis'TorecVan neghen den bestenSee also Dutch literature Flemish literature Bibliography Evert van den Berg, "Waar kwam Jacob van Maerlant vandaan?", in Amand Berteloot: Verslagen en mededelingen van de Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse taal- en letterkunde 1993, p. 30-77. Jos Biesmans, 'Het Gronings-Zutphense Maerlant-handschrift. Over de noodzakelijkheid der handschriftenkunde', in: Queeste 3 (1996), p. 107-219. Frits van Oostrom, Maerlants wereld. Amsterdam 1996. Karina van Dalen-Oskam, Studies over Jacob van Maerlants Rijmbijbel. Hilversum 1997. Ingrid Biesheuvel, Maerlants werk. Juweeltjes van zijn hand. Amsterdam 1998. Willem Kuiper, 'Die Destructie van Jherusalem in handschrift en druk', in: Voortgang, jaarboek voor de neerlandistiek'' 25 (2007), p.