Nicholas van Rijn (2376 to c. 2500 AD) is a fictional character who plays the central role in the first half of Poul Anderson's Technic History.
His speech is bombastic and heavily laced with unconventional constructs, puns, oaths, and words from various Northern European languages: in particular Dutch, German, and possibly Danish.
Van Rijn is well-educated in Earth's literature and history and also displays considerable cunning and capacity for bullying armed aliens into doing his bidding.
He describes commerce as "swindling each other", enjoys watching yacht races, is two metres tall and "globular" in shape, has a goatee beard, dresses in colourful and anachronistic fashions, wears numerous rings, and is called "Old Nick" by his employees.
He routinely speaks in a loud, basso voice which Anderson often likens to the sound of a hurricane or avalanche, much as his physical bulk is often compared to a mountain or a Jovian planet.
In the Dominic Flandry novel A Plague of Masters, taking place centuries after van Rijn's death in the waning days of the Terran Empire, it is noted that van Rijn's adventures have entered deeply into the popular culture of humanity and become the staple of storytellers plying their trade in the marketplaces of more backward planets.