Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven, ook bekend as ‘Sagmoedige Neelsie’, was ‘n digter, prokureur, stigterslid van die dagblad ‘Die Burger’ & senator wat steeds gesien word as een van die reuse van die Afrikaanse skryfkuns.

Sy bydrae tot die erkenning van Afrikaans as taal was deurslaggewend, en slaag hy ook daarin om Afrikaans i.p.v Hollands as tweede taal by Kaapse skole aanvaar te kry.

Langenhoven se werke span oor verskeie genres, van teer gedigte tot spookstories, en word sy skryfstyl geken aan sy meesterlike gebruik van humor & spitsvondigheid (hy het tot ‘n gedig vir sy hond geskryf!).

Hy verhuis in 1912 na Oudtshoorn, en noem sy huis ‘Arbeidsgenot’ – en is sy naam sedertdien aan dié dorp gekoppel. Hy het ‘n denkbeeldige olifant “Herrie” gehad, wie se naam hy op ‘n klip naby Meiringspoort uitgekap het, wat tans as ‘Herrie se Klip’ bekend staan.

Hy ontvang ‘n eredoktorsgraad van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch in 1931, en meld die spreker tydens die leentheid: ”… want senator Langenhoven skryf nie, maar hy praat, ook waar hy die pen hanteer. Sodat met waarheid van hom gesê kan word dat hy sy volk leer lees het.”

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Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven, also known as ‘Sagmoedige Neelsie’ (Gentle Neelsie), was an Afrikaans poet, attorney, senator & founding member of the newspaper, Die Burger.

His contribution to the acknowledgement of Afrikaans as independent language was crucial, and he also succeeded to have Afrikaans replace Dutch as second language at schools in the Cape.

Langenhoven’s work spans a multitude of genres, from love poems to ghost stories, and his style of writing is still known for his cunning use of humour & satire – he even wrote a poem for his dog!

In 1912 he moved to Oudtshoorn, and named his house ‘Arbeidsgenot’, and has since become the little Karoo town’s most famous inhabitant. He had an imaginary elephant that he called ‘Herrie’, who features in many of his stories, whose name he also carved into a rock near Meiringspoort (now known as ‘Herrie’s Klip).

He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Stellenbosch in 1931, where it was said: “…not only is Langenhoven a writer, but he also speaks where he handles the pen – which proves that he taught his people how to read.”