123-4 (2008)

Hieronder vindt u de artikelen die verschenen zijn in BMGN/LCHR 123-4 (2008).
Indien u lid bent van het KNHG, kunt u de artikelen downloaden en lezen via leden.knhg.nl. U dient hier uw lidnummer en wachtwoord op te geven.

Artikelen

• Th. de Hemptinne, J. Dumolyn, Historisch adelsonderzoek over de late middeleeuwen en de vroegmoderne periode in België en Nederland: een momentopname – Historical Research into the Nobility during the Late Mediaeval and Early Modern Period in Belgium and the Netherlands: A Snapshot
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  This introduction to a special issue on the history of the nobility in the Netherlands and Belgium gives a ‘snap-shot’ of the subject in two different ways. On the one hand, the collected essays demonstrate the state-of-the-art in the research carried out in 2008 on the nobility, on the other, they focus on the mediaeval and early modern periods. The major themes and problems of this historiographical tradition are evoked, emerging from the study outlined in another special issue of a historical journal, the Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis of 1980, which looked at perspectives for future research. This introduction mainly examines the methods used by historians to confront inevitable questions such as: ‘What exactly is the nobility?’ and ‘How can this historical phenomenon be situated within processes and historical movements such as economic structures and conjunctures, social mobility and political centralization and decentralization?’
• P. Janssens, De la noblesse médiévale à la noblesse moderne. La création dans les anciens Pays-Bas d’une noblesse dynastique (XVe-début XVIIe siècle) – Nobility in the Low Countries from Medieval Times to the Modern Era. The Creation of a Dynastic Nobility (from the 15th to the 17th Century)
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  In order to gain the allegiance of the major families during the creation of their new state in the Netherlands, the Burgundian dukes lavishly awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece. Charles V and Philip II, on the other hand, preferred to bestow an aristocratic title upon distinguished families from the Netherlands. Less eminent families were decorated with a lower noble rank or a knighthood. Up until the end of the 16th century, these lower level decorations tended to be given out sporadically. The princely patents of nobility made their breakthrough after 1595 thanks to the demise of the traditional form of acquiring a noble rank or knighthood by means of performing feudal duties. Henceforth, anyone who was decorated for a service to the sovereign could enter the ranks of the nobility. This is how a new nobility based on patents came into being, in which service to the monarchy was the deciding factor.
• M. Damen, A. Janse, Adel in meervoud. Methodologische beschouwingen over comparatief adelsonderzoek in de Bourgondische Nederlanden – Plural Nobility. Some Methodological Remarks on Comparative Research of the Nobility in the Burgundian Low Countries
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  When applying the prosopographical method to the late medieval nobility of the Low Countries, several methodological problems come to the fore. Late medieval sources usually do not label individuals as noble, thus complicating efforts to define a clear-cut population. Therefore, researchers usually combine different criteria to reconstruct the nobility. When comparing nobilities in different principalities of the Low Countries, as is our aim, this approach will inevitably result in serious distortions. Therefore, in this article we propose to create four different populations, each based on a single, uniform and sourcebased criterium: knightly title, possession of a seigniory, possession of a castle and participation in the Estates. This will enable us to make well-founded comparisons of the nobility in different principalities and in different times, thereby providing a solid base for more general conclusions to be drawn about the dynamics of the nobility in the late medieval Low Countries.
• V. Flammang, Partis en Hainaut? La place de la noblesse hainuyère dans la lutte entre Jacqueline de Bavière et Jean IV de Brabant (1424-1428) – Hainault Factions? The Role of the Hainault Nobility in the Struggle between Jacqueline of Bavaria and John IV of Brabant (1424-1428)
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  From March until June 1425, part of Hainault was devastated by the war that was waged between Jacqueline of Bavaria, heiress to the county, and her exhusband, John IV of Brabant, both of whom were pretenders to the sovereignty of the county. On this occasion, part of the county’s nobility split up and chose to support one of the opposing sides. Among the various incentives that might have influenced the nobles, two predominant elements seem to have motivated their choice of camp: the territorial base of the nobles concerned and John IV’s personality. The weakness of his character may have attracted some nobles who planned to take advantage of the situation or, conversely, it may have failed to please some members of the high-ranking and ancient nobility of Hainault, among whom chivalric ideals were still very much alive.
• A. van Steensel, Edelen in het laatmiddeleeuwse graafschap Zeeland. Een analyse van hun politieke en sociaal-economische positie rond het jaar 1475 – Noblemen in the Late Medieval County of Zeeland. An Analysis of their Political and Socio-Economic Position around the Year 1475
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  The late medieval period is often portrayed as a period of crisis or transition for the nobility. This contribution represents a first step towards testing this assumption empirically. The political power and feudal property of the noblemen in the county of Zeeland around the year 1475 are mapped for this purpose. The analysis shows that the noblemen had a strong grip on the county through their offices and the Estates of Zeeland and that their income came primarily from their feudal rights. The growing power of the prince and the towns did not affect the position of the noblemen fundamentally. The long-term development of the composition and power of the noble population can be established by constructing a number of such snapshots. A regional perspective on the history of the nobility also counterbalances the emphasis placed by some historians on the importance of state service for noblemen.
• J. Haemers, Opstand adelt? De rechtvaardiging van het politieke verzet van de adel in de Vlaamse Opstand (1482-1492) – Can a Revolt be Ennobling? Justification of the Political Opposition of the Nobility during the Flemish Revolt (1482-1492)
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  This article analyses the political ideas of the late mediaeval nobility. In 1491, Archduke Maximilian of Austria accused three noblemen, Louis of Bruges, Adolf of Cleves and his son Philip, of lese majesty. The pleas made by the above-mentioned noblemen in this particular case are used to reconstruct their political ideology. The three noblemen maintained that service to the sovereign was one the most noble virtues of a nobleman, but they also considered that this political service had to be reciprocal. Using customary law, judicial treatises and political practices, they argued that the sovereign was the keystone of the political order, as long as he obtained advice from the noblemen when setting out his policies. He was also not allowed to violate any laws, traditions or privileges. These ideas had a long history in mediaeval political thought, and they would continue to dominate sixteenth-century society.
• F. Buylaert, J. Dumolyn, Beeldvorming rond adel en ridderschap bij Froissart en de Bourgondische kroniekschrijvers – The Representation of Nobility and Chivalry in the Literature of Froissart and the Burgundian Chroniclers
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  This article discusses the representation of nobility and chivalry in the historiographical literature of Jean Froissart and his fifteenth-century followers. By analysing the discourse of those chronicles, this article intends to focus on the social functions of this literary tradition for its intended public; the nobles and state officials of the Burgundian-Habsburg court. As such, this publication questions the existing interpretation of the remarkable emphasis of those chroniclers on virtue as the source of ‘true nobility’ as an attempt by ambitious officials and intellectuals to obtain a noble status. The social significance of those chronicles resides in the fact that they were important for the definition and dissemination of a set of norms that governed the public behaviour of nobles.
• L. Duerloo, Het blazoen ontsmet. Adellijke heraldiek als toe-eigening van eer en deugd, 1550-1750 – Purified Blazons: Noble Heraldry as the Appropriation of Honour and Virtue, 1550-1750
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  Noblemen were the most important users of heraldry in the Middle Ages, yet they did not enjoy a monopoly on bearing coats of arms nor did they employ a distinct heraldic language. All of this changed towards the end of the sixteenth century. Taking its cue from heraldic treatises, the nobility appropriated exclusive heraldic rights by law. In the Habsburg Netherlands, they obtained the prerogative to use external ornaments around their shields. In other regions, the noble quest for distinction could lead to anything from a total ban on non-noble arms to restrictions on the display of certain external ornaments. The interplay between state formation and the relative share of the nobility in the total population seems to have determined the outcome of this process. At the same time, the symbolism of noble arms became distinct from that of other groups of armigers. The noble shield lost its direct – often canting – message and became a mirror of the privileged status of the bearer. Henceforth, it was not the personal achievements of the individual, but the honour and virtue of the noble estate that dictated heraldic compositions.