This new English translation of Huizinga’s 'Autumntide of the Middle Ages' ('Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen') celebrates the centenary of a book that still ranks as one of the most perceptive and... Show moreThis new English translation of Huizinga’s 'Autumntide of the Middle Ages' ('Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen') celebrates the centenary of a book that still ranks as one of the most perceptive and influential analyses of the late medieval period. Its wide-ranging discussion of fourteenth and fifteenth century France and the Low Countries makes it a classic study of life, culture, and thought in medieval society. The new and now unabridged translation of the original text captures the impact of Huizinga’s deep scholarship and powerful language. The translation is based on the Dutch edition of 1941 – the last edition Huizinga worked on. It features English renderings of the Middle French poems and other contemporary sources, and its colour illustrations include over three hundred paintings and prints, illuminated manuscripts, and miniatures pertinent to Huizinga’s discourse. A complete bibliography of Huizinga’s sources will facilitate further research, while an epilogue addresses the meaning and enduring importance of this classic work. Show less
The interdisciplinary research project Chronicling Novelty. New Knowledge in the Netherlands,1500-1850 examines how new knowledge was disseminated among a wider audience of non-expertsin the early... Show moreThe interdisciplinary research project Chronicling Novelty. New Knowledge in the Netherlands,1500-1850 examines how new knowledge was disseminated among a wider audience of non-expertsin the early modern Netherlands based on a source corpus of over 200 Dutch-language localchronicles. Most of this corpus, a total of over 35,000 scans of manuscripts collected from Dutchand Belgian archives, have been transcribed and annotated with the help of volunteers. To takefull advantage of the potential time, knowledge and skills of volunteers, a considerable investmentis needed on the part of researchers. A survey conducted among our volunteers showed that mostof them considered information, instruction, feedback, and appreciation much more importantthan a material reward. Furthermore, we found that differentiation between volunteers is important.Some people like to perform relatively simple tasks, while others want to be more activelyinvolved and contribute their expertise and ideas. Closer contact with researchers can reveal thisenthusiasm as well as the knowledge and experience people have, which can be used. More communication, involvement and ownership of certain tasks is then desirable. Own initiatives andprojects could emerge from this. The biggest bottleneck for citizen science is the available timeand resources of researchers. Current funding instruments for researchers do not meet this need. Show less
Historians have hypothesised that the increase of medical knowledge in the early modern period led to a shift away from religious towards ‘scientific’ explanations and prophylactic measures. The... Show moreHistorians have hypothesised that the increase of medical knowledge in the early modern period led to a shift away from religious towards ‘scientific’ explanations and prophylactic measures. The writings of contemporaries belonging to the ‘middling’ ranks of society tell a different story. This chapter presents a long-term perspective on how 104 non-medical experts coped with and reflected upon epidemics in the Low Countries. By using the corpus of the Chronicling Novelty project, I demonstrate that the middling sort used both religious and non-religious practices side-by-side. I show that between 1500 and 1850, natural explanations became more detailed and complex, but they remained in service of, or subordinate to, divine explanations. Moreover, although the idea of an angry and vengeful God was never far away, the notion of a benevolent God gained prominence in the seventeenth century. Show less
Before the introduction of Roman temples in the Low Countries, there used to be ‘open air cult places’ in the Iron Age. That is at least the assumption based on descriptions given by classical... Show moreBefore the introduction of Roman temples in the Low Countries, there used to be ‘open air cult places’ in the Iron Age. That is at least the assumption based on descriptions given by classical writers and several archetypical sanctuaries that were excavated in France. However, the rectangular structures regularly encountered in Belgium and the Netherlands that are so often interpreted by archaeologists as cult places are not comparable to the French examples. The evidence these structures deliver does not testify to long usage, modifications, disarticulated human remains, animal bones or Iron Age weaponry that is to be expected of such a place. Rather, short term utilisation, pottery depositions and a vaguely defined relation to cremation graves typify the rectangular structures. These finds and features could fit in the ancestral worship belief system, although what does that actually entail? How did Iron Age people actually conceptualise or practice interaction with ancestral spirits? In this thesis the use of rectangular structures during the Iron Age is explored and the meaning of related depositions interpreted. The structures fulfilled a special sociocultural position in Iron Age society, emphasised by the deliberately chosen liminal location in an increasingly structured landscape. Show less
The eighteenth-century passion to order and systematize as well as to measure and calculate has been explained as a result of both the Scientific Revolution and the emergence of centralized states.... Show moreThe eighteenth-century passion to order and systematize as well as to measure and calculate has been explained as a result of both the Scientific Revolution and the emergence of centralized states. The first, enabled the new experimental philosophy that quantified the 'sciences', while the latter created the need for statistics (e.g., demographic data). This paper explores the diffusion of the ‘quantifying spirit’ among the wider public in the eighteenth century and offers alternative explanation for the interest of the population at large in structured quantitative data. Using a corpus of 188 handwritten chronicles, produced by a heterogenous group of middle-class authors from the Low Countries, between 1500-1800, it analyses how early modern chroniclers used Western/Hindu-Arabic numerals in their writings, and under which circumstances this changed in the eighteenth century. From the analysis it appears that chroniclers used meteorological measurement and demographic data for different purposes than natural philosophers and (centralized) governments. Moreover, it transpires that the collection of quantitative data was initially stimulated by local governments, subsequently made public by various media, and picked up by the society at large and higher authorities. Show less
This article seeks to examine seventeenth-century public diplomacy through the combined lens of print and pageantry. Both are rarely discussed alongside each other in contributions on early modern... Show moreThis article seeks to examine seventeenth-century public diplomacy through the combined lens of print and pageantry. Both are rarely discussed alongside each other in contributions on early modern diplomacy, news media, and correspondence networks. It will be shown that ceremonial rituals and theatrical entertainments were nonetheless oft-discussed subjects in French-language pamphlets of the seventeenth century on diplomatic events, policies, and debates. This study argues that such events could constitute the focus of a pamphlet or surface as an important theme or reference point on the basis of which authors could build arguments, introduce or defend diplomatic agendas, or propose new solutions to a political conflict or dilemma. Pamphlets on the Habsburg-Bourbon marriages of 1614–1615, held at Marsh’s Library in Dublin within the collection of the English theologian and scholar Edward Stillingfleet (1635–1699), and the tour of Marie de Médicis (1575–1642), the exiled Queen Mother of France, across the Low Countries in 1638, kept in the Bibliotheca Thysiana of the Leiden University Library, will be discussed as tools for the public diplomacy of a wide range of transnational stakeholders. Show less
The correspondence of the Frisian aristocrat Carolina van Hogendorp, née Van Haren (1741-1812), and that of her daughter Annette (1766-1802) abound with information on the education of the Dutch... Show moreThe correspondence of the Frisian aristocrat Carolina van Hogendorp, née Van Haren (1741-1812), and that of her daughter Annette (1766-1802) abound with information on the education of the Dutch upper classes, particularly its female members. The letters are mainly written in French and illustrate the prominent use of that language in Holland, which by the end of the eighteenth century was being encroached by German and English. They equally provide interesting material as to the quality of their command of written French. Show less
One of the reasons why early modern people chronicled current events in their communities, was to search for patterns. Chroniclers frequently recorded odd weather patterns (scorching summers or... Show moreOne of the reasons why early modern people chronicled current events in their communities, was to search for patterns. Chroniclers frequently recorded odd weather patterns (scorching summers or frigid winters), famines, troop movements, wars, epidemics, prices, prodigies, monstrous births, and other premonitions to search for elements that could help them to comprehend current, and to anticipate on, future events. In this paper I will explore how chroniclers from the Low Countries constructed causal relations between various phenomena and events, and how that changed between 1500 and 1850. I will do so by combining computational and historical methods to analyse 250 early modern Dutch chronicles, focusing especially on authors of the middling sort (e.g., farmers, merchants, and local officials). As a result, we gain insight on how they tried to get grip on current events in their attempt to limit future harm.In this paper I will focus especially on how chroniclers collected data on epidemics, meteorological phenomena, and food- and fuel prices, knowledge which they regarded as useful. Using this evidence, I will argue that throughout the period, this group continued to believe in the idea that disruptive events could have both human and natural but also supernatural origins. Both faith and reason conditioned responses to potential hazards, and the solutions chosen were discussed side-by-side, usually without an apparent sense of conflict. However, natural explanations became more complex over time, which resulted in more detailed explanations on the causes and consequences of (future) hazards. By focussing on the information that chroniclers regarded as useful, and studying the causal relations they constructed, we can not only reconstruct how chroniclers coped with contemporary hazards and crises, but also how they used their chronicle as a compass and anchor to get some grip on events as they sailed into an uncertain future. Show less
In recent decades, historians have made significant contributions to the understanding of the production and circulation of knowledge in the early modern period. This article aims to go further, by... Show moreIn recent decades, historians have made significant contributions to the understanding of the production and circulation of knowledge in the early modern period. This article aims to go further, by demonstrating how a non-medical expert acquired and applied new medical knowledge, and how chronicles can be used as a source to study the reception of (medical) knowledge in the early modern period. To do this, I have used the corpus of the research project Chronicling Novelty which contains 311 early modern chronicles from the Low Countries, written by a heterogenous group of authors from the ‘middling’ ranks of society. The farmer and alderman Lambert Rijckxz Lustigh (1656–1727) tried to make sense of the rinderpest outbreak that spread across the Low Countries in 1713. In contrast to most of his contemporaries, he combined a corpuscular theory of medicine with other forms of knowledge to demonstrate how God’s ‘invisible particles’ caused an epidemic. This paper presents how expert knowledge became part of a complex chain of cultural translation and retranslation in society. Moreover, by examining Lustigh’s explanations in relation to his contemporaries and other chroniclers, this paper offers an additional perspective on the preconditions for the acceptance of new knowledge and change among the middling ranks of society. Show less
In the sixteenth century, thousands of migrants moved away from the Southern Low Countries, the region most affected by the upheavals related to the Dutch Revolt. As their area of origin was marked... Show moreIn the sixteenth century, thousands of migrants moved away from the Southern Low Countries, the region most affected by the upheavals related to the Dutch Revolt. As their area of origin was marked by multilingualism, many of these migrants were used to navigating between Latin, Dutch, and French, and were bi- or multilingual themselves. A new project investigates how they exploited their linguistic capacities as a commodity, a form of immaterial starting capital in their new places of residence: while some left everything behind, they brought their language skills with them. The project concentrates on the three regions that welcomed the most migrants from the Southern Low Countries: the British Isles, Germany, and the Northern Low Countries. Each of these regions had its own linguistic marketplace, in which certain languages were valued more than others. Especially the French tongue, that was spoken as a second language by many migrants whose mother tongue was Dutch, could be useful for its professional and social value. By analysing the strategic language choices of a selection of migrants, this project aims to reveal how multilingualism was part of their coping mechanism, helping to rebuild their lives abroad. Show less
This article considers the Dutch translation of the section on the emperors of Martin of Opava's Chronicon in the so-called 'Berghse kroniekenhandschrift' within the Latin tradition of this text... Show moreThis article considers the Dutch translation of the section on the emperors of Martin of Opava's Chronicon in the so-called 'Berghse kroniekenhandschrift' within the Latin tradition of this text and the various ways in which it appeared in manuscripts produced in the Low Countries. Particular attention is awarded to the 'glocal' tendencies in these manuscripts: in the continuations the universal history of popes and emperors is complemented with local and regional events. Additionally, the structure of the Bergh manuscript is compared with similar multi-text manuscripts with Latin texts and Latin compilations. Show less
In late medieval and early modern times, books, as well as the people who produced and read (or listened to) them, moved between regions, social circles, and languages with relative ease. Yet, in... Show moreIn late medieval and early modern times, books, as well as the people who produced and read (or listened to) them, moved between regions, social circles, and languages with relative ease. Yet, in the multilingual Low Countries, francophone literature was both internationally mobile and firmly rooted in local soil. The five contributions collected in this volume demonstrate that while in general issues of ‘otherness’ were resolved without difficulty, at other times (linguistic) differences were perceived as a heartfelt reality. Show less
Dans le contexte multilingue des Provinces-Unies, le français devient progressivement seconde langue des élites néerlandaises. Au cours du 18e siècle, la critique des valeurs culturelles françaises... Show moreDans le contexte multilingue des Provinces-Unies, le français devient progressivement seconde langue des élites néerlandaises. Au cours du 18e siècle, la critique des valeurs culturelles françaises va de pair avec l’intérêt croissant pour l’allemand et l’anglais, et la revalorisation du néerlandais. Nous étudions l’influence de ce multilinguisme sur la construction identitaire de Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp (1762-1834) : identité sociale et culturelle façonnée par sa mère Carolina van Haren, puis par un mentor qui consolide ses connaissances des langues classiques et l’initie à l’allemand et à l’anglais. Alors que se diffuse l’idée qu’une nation est une communauté liée à une langue, on constate chez Van Hogendorp, une prise de conscience de son identité nationale liée à une maîtrise de plus en plus affinée du néerlandais. Show less
This chapter focuses on translation in the Low Countries from c. 500 CE to 1550 CE. While the focus is on literary translation from Latin and French into Dutch, there is also attention for... Show moreThis chapter focuses on translation in the Low Countries from c. 500 CE to 1550 CE. While the focus is on literary translation from Latin and French into Dutch, there is also attention for translation into French and Latin, devotional and religious texts, practical 'Artes' literature, and the translation of official documents. Show less
Margaret of Burgundy (1374-1441) is known mainly for two reasons. Firstly, her marriage in 1385 to William of Bavaria, eldest son of the Count of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland, laid the foundation... Show moreMargaret of Burgundy (1374-1441) is known mainly for two reasons. Firstly, her marriage in 1385 to William of Bavaria, eldest son of the Count of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland, laid the foundation for the transfer of power in these principalities to the Burgundian dynasty some 50 years later. Secondly, she supported her only child Jacqueline of Bavaria, who fought many battles in order to prevent this. The combination of these two roles points to a conflict of interest. By supporting her daughter as the rightful Bavarian heir, Margaret inevitably came into conflict with members of her own dynasty of origin, the Valois Burgundians. The overarching question in the research presented in this thesis is what tilted the scales for Margaret as a political player in different phases of her life: was it her loyalty to the Burgundian or to the Bavarian dynasty, her connection with the Hook party in Holland, or was she driven mainly by self-interest, as is sometimes suggested? Related to this is the question whether her means were substantial enough to allow her to play her own game. In this biographical study, a chronological and a thematic approach have been combined. The loyalty question serves as guideline for the first part, in which the story of Margaret’s life is told chronologically within the broader context of political developments. The thematic second part is dedicated to her financial position as a widow, her court, and her religious and literary patronage. Show less
This new English translation of Huizinga’s Autumntide of the Middle Ages (Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen) celebrates the centenary of a book that still ranks as one of the most perceptive and... Show moreThis new English translation of Huizinga’s Autumntide of the Middle Ages (Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen) celebrates the centenary of a book that still ranks as one of the most perceptive and influential analyses of the late medieval period. Its wide-ranging discussion of fourteenth and fifteenth century France and the Low Countries makes it a classic study of life, culture, and thought in medieval society. The new and now unabridged translation of the original text captures the impact of Huizinga’s deep scholarship and powerful language. The translation is based on the Dutch edition of 1941 – the last edition Huizinga worked on. It features English renderings of the Middle French poems and other contemporary sources, and its colour illustrations include over three hundred paintings and prints, illuminated manuscripts, and miniatures pertinent to Huizinga’s discourse. A complete bibliography of Huizinga’s sources will facilitate further research, while an epilogue addresses the meaning and enduring importance of this classic work. Show less
