Ellen van Heteren
A mystery traveller
In the mid-seventeenth century, the Dutch city of Haarlem was a centre of culture, learning and art. In this city lived Theodorus Schrevelius, humanist and poet. Born in Haarlem in 1572, Schrevelius studied the classic languages. He became conrector and later rector of the Latin School in his home city. After twenty-four years of service, he was fired because of his remonstrant religious orientation and moved to Leiden, where he also filled the role of rector. Later, he was able to move back to Haarlem. Nearing the end of his life, he wrote the Harlemias, which added to a long list of publications by his hand. After over three hundred years, a copy of this book ended up in the special collections of the Royal Dutch Institute in Rome (KNIR). What is the story of this mystery traveller?
The Harlemias, printed in Haarlem by Thomas Fonteyn in 1648, was written because of Schrevelius’s love for the city in which he was born and raised. The author wrote a history of this city from its first building blocks to his own time. In doing so, he covered many different aspects of this history, which he divided into six ‘books’. The first book tells the tale of the city’s origins, the second of the famous siege of Haarlem, and the third that of the Dutch Revolt and reformation that followed. From the fourth book on, the subjects get more thematic: The fourth book summarizes all the city’s privileges and nobility; the fifth describes the rise of institutions such as the military, schools and police; the sixth book is all about the civility of Haarlem, its important magistrates, learned men, artisans and artists, and all other workers. The work was originally written in Latin and published in 1647, but soon it was rewritten in vernacular Dutch, because the author wanted to share his love for his city with everyone and not just the learned elite, as Schrevelius shares in his foreword to the reader. The books are accompanied by several poems and laudatory speeches.
After this engraving follows the typographical title page on which it, of course, states the entire title, the author and the impressum. On the back of this folio, someone has left their initials or some type of illegible signature. The engraving was an intricate part of the book as the same engraving is found in all other books from the print of 1648. A reprint from 1754 shows a different engraving. The larger part of the book is printed in a gothic letter, but some exceptions occur when names, poems or any type of citation is written.
Overall, the book and its paper are in excellent condition. There are no tears or breaks and no signs of biological infestations except for a little bookworm who left tiny holes in pages 247-383. With the exception of the end leaves and title pages, not a single marginalium can be found. These first few pages do carry interesting information about the provenance of the book. Most of these are, unsurprisingly, stamps and pencil-written signatures of libraries that held this book. Far more interesting, however, is a loose piece of paper that was put between the pages of the book. It contains an invitation for two persons to a concert that was organised by the Acedemie de France a Rome. A previous owner thus was somehow related to the French Academy of Rome. The catalogue of the KNIR library only reveals that the object was added to the collection in 2018, although I find this somewhat unlikely. Unfortunately, the KNIR does not seem to keep any other information about when or how this book came into the possession of the KNIR, whether it has ever been in the French Institute, or when it was bought by or donated to either institution.
Knightly orders and noble crests
Dutch heraldry of 1645
The previous anecdote is an example of the two camps, the camp of noble heraldry and one of civic heraldry, that started to divide heraldic tradition. In his introduction, De Rouck writes that his heraldic research is based primarily on the work of the English Robert Glover, even though there are slight differences between Dutch and English heraldry. De Rouck’s basis in English and other foreign heraldry, where civic heraldry was less recognized and often not tolerated, explains why De Rouck sided with the camp of noble heraldry. This siding is illustrated by his focus on noble genealogy in the book.
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Because 17th century books were printed in black and white, and coloring was expensive, a hatching system was used to indicate colors. The discovery of a hatching system in heraldry was essential, because colors could be of great significance. Two orders could, for example, have a very similar coat of arms, but with completely different colors. Throughout time, several systems have been used to indicate color, but many were confusing, such as using symbols or letters in the drawing. One of these hatching systems was devised by De Rouck, and used for the first time in this book. (Fig. 1) His system was not widely used and initially added to the confusion brought on by the multiplicity of systems. Yet, it eventually contributed to the universal use of a hatching system within heraldic books.
The book itself consists of a number of different sections that explain the origins of the noble rank and the use of family crests. De Rouck starts in the first century, writing about the nobility in classical times. Chronologically moving through time, he ends in the 17th century. He also recorded the complete attire of some knightly orders, like the Order of the Golden Fleece. (Fig. 2) This makes it possible to understand the significance of clothing in their times. In the back of the book, the second part, one finds a heraldic glossary with an explanation of the placement of attributes on the shield of the coat of arms.
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Thomas de Rouck's Den Nederlandtschen herauld, ofte Tractaet van wapenen, en politycken adel [Dutch Heraldry, or tract of coats of arms and political nobility] was published in 1645 and is the first major Dutch work on heraldry. The book lists the knightly orders and their corresponding coats of arms of the 17th century and provides an overview of noble genealogical trees and lists of names. These also have their accompanying illustrations.
Nouschka van der Meij
Heraldry originated in the knightly class, starting on the battlefield. It evolved from the battlefield, to jousting competitions and noble houses. This was not a linear development and each region had different customs for the use of a coat of arms. However, one can speak of a formal Western tradition in the use of coat of arms, in which the English and French set the tone.
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In the seventeenth century, the use of family and order coat of arms was considered a privilege of the noble class, although it was increasingly appropriated by the lower classes: the so-called civic heraldry. Especially after the division between the Northern and Southern Netherlands, two different legislations appeared for the use of family crests. In the South, at the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century, new laws were made for the use of family crests for civilians and new nobility. These were monitored by the authorities in Bruxelles. However, the further from Bruxelles, the harder it became to control the families in their use and creation of crests. After the split in 1568, new legislation was passed in the Northern Netherlands and any and all were enjoying their right to have a coat of arms.
Bibliography
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Bergh, Laurens Philippe Charles van den. Grondtrekken der nederlandsche Zegel- en Wapenkunde. ’s Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff, 1881.
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Breugel, Guus van. “Schildhouders, Bijzondere Pronkstukken.” CBGFamiliewapens.nl, gebruikt op 28 November, 2021. https://cbgfamiliewapens.nl/artikelen/19-schildhouders-bijzondere-pronkstukken.
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Briquet, Charles-Moïse. Les filigranes. Paris, Alphonse Picard et fils, 1907, archive.org/details/BriquetLesFiligranes1/page/n261/mode/2up.
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“Den Nederlandtschen herauld : ofte Tractaet van wapenen, en politycken adel.” Koninklijkeverzamelingen, www.koninklijkeverzamelingen.nl/collectie-online/detail/8a9229da-f9d4-58e3-b201-af34b1e0b1c8. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
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Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles. A Complete Guide to Heraldry - Illustrated by Nine Plates and Nearly 800 Other Designs. Amsterdam, Netherlands, Adfo Books, 2013,
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“Thomas de Rouck, Oud-Burgemeester Bergen Op Zoom, Contra Bestuur van Bergen Op Zoom, Interveniërende Voor Robert van Schilperoort, Buitenburgemeester van Bergen Op Zoom: Uitreiking 2 Provenen, Gefundeerd Door David de Rouck, 1658.” Archieven.nl, laatste wijziging 12-03-2021, gebruikt op 28 November, 2021. www.archieven.nl/nl/zoeken?mivast=0&mizig=210&miadt=235&miaet=1&micode=19&minr=868331&miview=inv2&milang=nl.
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Pama, Cornelis. Heraldiek. Geschiedenis der familiewapens van de middeleeuwen tot heden. Houten, Netherlands, Spectrum, 1958.
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Rouck, Thomas De. Den Nederlandtschen Herauld: Ofte Tractaet Van Wapenen, En Politycken Adel. Amsterdam, Jan Janssen, 1645.
1 - Hatchingsystem of De Rouck, p. 55.
The copy of the book that resides in the library of the Royal Dutch Institute Rome is bound in an unoriginal cardboard binding. The book is written in two main languages: Dutch and Latin, with occasional passages in French. It makes use of Gothic and cursive fonts, and there is a significant variety in the thickness of the pages throughout the book.
2 - Complete attire of the knightly order of the Golden Fleece. P. 184.
Consisting of two parts, the book is printed by two different printers. Jan Janssen in Amsterdam printed the first part and Willem Christiaens van der Boxe printed the second part in Leiden. There are no visible differences between the parts; even the watermark in the paper is the same. This is a coat of arms consisting of a shield with a bend, diagonally dividing it in two. On the one side is a clover, the other side is empty. The shield is crowed by a cardinal hat, which is exclusively used in Italian watermarks. (Fig. 4) The watermark has not yet been traced back to a production cite, however the hat and the clover have been used together in multiple forms in the Italian city Vicenze.
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Thomas de Rouck’s book of heraldry and genealogy is a great addition to the heraldic works of the 17th century. It is a good example of an interpretation of the traditions and changes happening in the field, which is focused on noble heraldry.
There have probably been two owners who made notes in the margins. One of them wrote in brown ink and another in pencil. There is also a name of a possible owner on the first page, written in pencil, which reads J. Smit. In brown ink are written a few corrections to the text, and in pencil there are some cross figures and lines. Especially in lists of noble names, there are pencil lines next to some of them. (Fig 3.)
3 - Pencilmarks in the book. p. 280.
4 - Watermark in the
paper of the title page.