Rederijkers, Kannenkijkers : drinking and drunkenness in the sixteenth and seventeenth-century Low Countries

This article discusses drinking practices and conceptions of drunkenness in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Low Countries from the perspective of the rederijkers or guildsmen who would regularly gather together to practice the vernacular art of rhetoric. The essay surveys the regulations and accounts of the chambers of rhetoric in which these gatherings took place, as well as the literary texts the rederijkers produced (including poetry, songs and theatre plays). It also examines the intersections with contemporary genre painting. The central argument of this paper is that drinking, and even drunkenness, was an essential aspect of rederijker culture and the urban middling groups represented by this culture. This argument nuances the influential thesis of the pervasiveness of a Dutch burgermoraal or bourgeois morality. Even though they created comical caricatures of drunkards, rederijkers indulged in heavy drinking themselves. These guildsmen were well aware of the need for moderation, but their regulations and literary texts go beyond moral didacticism and often reveal double layers and self-parody

Mensen maken de stad. Gender en diversiteit in de geschiedenis van de Leidse stadscultuur

Cities, Migration and Global Interdependenc

At Home in Renaissance Bruges

How did citizens in Bruges create a home? What did an ordinary domestic interior look like in the sixteenth century? And more importantly: how does one study the domestic culture of bygone times by analysing documents such as probate inventories? These questions seem straightforward, yet few endeavours are more challenging than reconstructing a sixteenth-century domestic reality from written sources. This book takes full advantage of the inventory as a source and convincingly frames household objects in their original context of use. Meticulously connecting objects, people and domestic spaces, the book introduces the reader to the rich material world of Bruges citizens in the Renaissance, their sensory engagement, their religious practice, the daily activities of men and women, and other social factors. By weaving insights from material culture studies with urban history, At Home in Renaissance Bruges offers an appealing and holistic mixture of in-depth socio-economic, cultural and material analysis. In its approach the book goes beyond heavy-handed theories and stereotypes about the exquisite taste of aristocratic elites, focusing instead on the domestic materiality of Bruges’ middling groups. Evocatively illustrated with contemporary paintings and images of furniture and textiles from Bruges and beyond, this monograph shows a nuanced picture of domestic materiality in a remarkable European city

At Home in Renaissance Bruges

How did citizens in Bruges create a home? What did an ordinary domestic interior look like in the sixteenth century? And more importantly: how does one study the domestic culture of bygone times by analysing documents such as probate inventories? These questions seem straightforward, yet few endeavours are more challenging than reconstructing a sixteenth-century domestic reality from written sources. This book takes full advantage of the inventory as a source and convincingly frames household objects in their original context of use. Meticulously connecting objects, people and domestic spaces, the book introduces the reader to the rich material world of Bruges citizens in the Renaissance, their sensory engagement, their religious practice, the daily activities of men and women, and other social factors. By weaving insights from material culture studies with urban history, At Home in Renaissance Bruges offers an appealing and holistic mixture of in-depth socio-economic, cultural and material analysis. In its approach the book goes beyond heavy-handed theories and stereotypes about the exquisite taste of aristocratic elites, focusing instead on the domestic materiality of Bruges’ middling groups. Evocatively illustrated with contemporary paintings and images of furniture and textiles from Bruges and beyond, this monograph shows a nuanced picture of domestic materiality in a remarkable European city

Om beters wille

In the 15th and 16th century a special institute developed in Flanders and Brabant: the chamber of rhetoric. Regular citizens started theater and lyricks, in small closed groups and in public. This study gives an overview of 227 chambers of rhetoric, the rhetorical culture in the Southern Netherlands and gives a fresh new look on the cultural history of the Netherlands.In de vijftiende en zestiende eeuw ontwikkelde zich in Vlaanderen en Brabant een bijzondere instituut: de rederijkerskamer. Gewone stedelingen legden zich in gildenverband toe op toneel en lyriek, zowel in besloten kring als publiekelijk, naar aanleiding van allerlei feestelijkheden. In deze studie wordt, vertrekkend van een repertorium van 227 rederijkerskamers, de rederijkerscultuur in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden in kaart gebracht. Het uitvoerige bronnenmateriaal biedt nieuwe, vaak verrassende inzichten in het ontstaan van de rederijkerscultuur, de sociale achtergrond van de rederijkers, de verhouding van de rederijkerskamers tot stad en vorst, de betrokkenheid in de Reformatie en de Opstand en, tenslotte, de veranderende functie in de zeventiende eeuw. Dit leidt ook tot een verfrissende kijk op de cultuurgeschiedenis van de Nederlanden. De auteur komt tot de conclusie dat zich in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden een bijzonder dynamische stedelijke cultuur vormde waarbinnen de basis werd gelegd voor het 'mirakel' van de Gouden Eeuw

Om beters wille

In the 15th and 16th century a special institute developed in Flanders and Brabant: the chamber of rhetoric. Regular citizens started theater and lyricks, in small closed groups and in public. This study gives an overview of 227 chambers of rhetoric, the rhetorical culture in the Southern Netherlands and gives a fresh new look on the cultural history of the Netherlands