Amaat Joos

Amaat Honoraat Joos (3 May 1855 in Hamme – 15 August 1937 in Ghent) was a Flemish priest and prelate who became well known as an educationalist, dialectologist and folklorist.

After ordination to the priesthood in 1881 he became head of the diocesan normal school in Sint-Niklaas.

He wrote important works on Flemish linguistics and promoted the use and formal teaching of Dutch in Catholic schools, himself compiling grammar textbooks for the purpose.

Joos was a prolific contributor to the periodicals Het Belfort and Rond den Heerd, and in 1899 he founded a short-lived monthly periodical of Flemish folklore, Vlaamsche Zanten, stopping publication in 1901 for lack of funds.

In 1908 he became a corresponding member of the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde, based in Leiden.