_Conclusion_
The constitution of 1421 continued to be the legal constitution of the
city of Brussels until the old order of things was swept away at the
close of the seventeen hundreds, save only for a short period--not quite
four years--during the reign of Marie of Burgundy. The defeat and death
of that stalwart hero, whom men in his lifetime had called the Bold, and
afterwards the Rash, was a source of great consolation to all his
subjects, for Charles had dreamed dreams of empire, and the people had
had to pay for his vain attempts to realise them. The daughter who
inherited his throne and his misfortunes was but eighteen years of age,
and, with a shattered army and an empty purse, she was wholly dependent
on their goodwill.
The times, then, were propitious for asking favours; every commune in
the Netherlands was obtaining fresh privileges; and when Marie visited
Brussels in the June of 1477 she did not refuse to legalise the result
of a successful riot of the year before. But though plebeians could now
sit in the College of Aldermen, and the people could now take part in
municipal elections, it is worthy of note that the new magistrates were
almost all of them members of the old ruling class. Further changes were
made in 1480 (this time of a reactionary character), and in the
following year the old constitution was once more re-established.
V.--Genealogical Table of the Dukes of Brabant from Philip II. to Philip
III.
$Philip II.$(Philippe l'Asseuré), = Isabel of Portugal
_d._ 1467 | (3rd wife)
|
(1) Catherine, daughter = $Charles I.$ = (2) Isabel of
of Charles VII. of (le Téméraire), | Bourbon
France _d._ 1477 | = (3) Margaret of
| York (sister
| of Edward IV.
| of England),
| _d._ 1503
+--------------------------------- +
|
$Marie$, = Maximilian of Hapsbourg, Emperor
_d._ 1482 | from 1493, _d._ 1519
|
+---------- +-------------- +
| |
$Philip III.$ Marguerite, = Philibert, Duke
(Philippe le Beau) Regent of | of Savoy
the Low | (2nd husband)
Country |
from 1517, |
_d._ 1529 |
|
|
Emmanuel Philibert,
Duke of Savoy,
Regent of the
Low Country from 1557
to 1559
The great struggle between the patricians and the craftsmen was never
again to be renewed. The former, now that they had lost their monopoly,
dissociated themselves more and more, as time went on, from trade and
from municipal affairs, and, becoming more and more chary in admitting
to their order outsiders from below, were little by little absorbed in
the ranks of the territorial aristocracy. Before two generations had
passed away their numbers had become so reduced that there were not
twenty-one patricians in Brussels qualified to sit in the College of
Aldermen, and under these circumstances Charles V. deprived them of
their last political prerogative: in 1532 he decreed that henceforth any
nobleman, whether he were a member of a _lignage_ or not, should be an
eligible candidate for the magistracy. The city was not indeed free from
dissensions in the ages which followed, but the strife which divided the
people was not the outcome of class hatred, but of differences of
opinion in religious matters, and of the impolitic measures taken to
restore religious unity by alien rulers, who had no sympathy with the
customs and traditions of the Netherlands.
It happened thus: Duchess Marie, who in 1477 had married Maximilian of
Hapsburg, son of the Emperor Frederick III., died two years later,
leaving two children--Van Orley's friend Marguerite, whose acquaintance
we have already made; and Philip, surnamed the Handsome, who, inheriting
his mother's domains, ruled them from the time that he attained his
majority in 1493 till his death in 1506. Philip had married Juana, the
daughter and heiress of Isabel, Queen of Castile, and of Ferdinand, King
of Aragon; and the eldest born of this union was the famous Charles
Quint.
If old King Ferdinand and Cardinal Ximénez had been allowed to have
their way, the Spanish succession would have been settled on Charles's
younger brother, and Spain and the Netherlands would perhaps have been
spared many years of misery. To this arrangement Charles, naturally
enough, objected; and no sooner had he attained his majority than he
despatched, 'par devers le roy d'Arragon, pour aucuns grans affaires
secretz dont n'est besoin ici faire declaration'--thus it was given
out--his tutor, Adrian Boyens. This remarkable man, it will be
interesting to note, was the son of a brewer of Utrecht; in his early
days he had been curate of the Grand Béguinage at Louvain--a portion of
the house which he then occupied is still standing (No. 153 Rue des
Moutons)--towards the close of his life he ascended the pontifical
throne, under the title of Adrian VI., and at the time of which we are
writing he held, along with other preferments, a canon's stall in the
old Collegiate Church of Saint Guy at Anderlecht. The ex-curate of
Louvain ought certainly not to have been a match for the experienced
statesman and diplomatist who at this time held the destinies of Spain
in his hands, but, somehow or other, he managed to convince him of the
justice of his master's claim: presently, with the approval of his
all-powerful minister, Ferdinand consented to acknowledge his eldest
grandson as his heir; and when he died, two years afterwards, Charles
ascended the throne.
Thus were Spain and the Netherlands united under one sceptre; and the
inhabitants of the greater realm were the first to rue it; for Charles,
who was a native of Ghent and had been brought up at Mechlin, had little
liking for Spain, and took no pains to conceal his sentiments: he
refused to speak the Spanish tongue, flouted the aged Cardinal Ximénez
(a statesman of whom Spaniards were justly proud, and whom the people
regarded as a saint), filled the land with foreign officials, levied
illegal taxes, violated the most cherished constitutional rights--in a
word, treated his southern domain almost like a conquered country; and
when at last the Castilians rebelled, and after a bitter struggle were
crushed, he deprived them of their time-honoured liberties.
[Illustration: AT MECHLIN]
In the Netherlands the course of events was much the same, but the
situation developed later, and only became acute during the reign of his
son Philip. Karlekin, as the Flemings called their Sovereign, at all
events was one of them; and though the Ghenters experienced his lash
when they refused to pay his illegal imposts, and though his 'placards'
against heresy were stamped with the cruel rigour of the penal code of
the day, they only touched a small minority, and to the end of his reign
he remained with the bulk of the people sufficiently popular. Upon the
rare occasions when he visited Brussels he was welcomed with _fêtes_ and
enthusiasm.
Often away from home, he was fortunate in his choice of
Regents--Marguerite of Austria, his aunt, and, when she died, his
sister, Marie of Hungary. These ladies resided for the most part at
Mechlin, in a beautiful Gothic palace, which had formerly been inhabited
by Marguerite of York, the widow of Charles the Bold, and which is still
standing; and the Court of each of them was rendered brilliant by the
artists and scholars who frequented it. They were deservedly loved by
their subjects, for they held the reins of government with a gentle
hand; and it was in large measure owing to their prudence that when
Charles put off his crown, the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands
were among the most prosperous in Europe.
When on the 25th of October 1555, leaning on the shoulder of that Prince
who was so soon to become the mortal enemy of his race, the Emperor, not
old in years but worn out by disease and the weight of a realm on which,
as he used to say, the sun never set, bade farewell to the men of
Brussels in the great hall of the Coudenberg--we have it on the
testimony of an eye-witness--all those who heard him wept. Well might
the people weep, if they had only known: they were assisting at the
opening scene of a tragedy which lasted a hundred years.
[Illustration: BY THE DYLE AT MECHLIN.]
The new Sovereign had been born and bred in Castile, and despite his
Flemish ancestry and his Flemish face he was a true Castilian. Of course
he knew nothing of Flemish, and he either could not or would not speak
French: he was as much a foreigner in the Low Countries as his father
had been in Spain. Like him, he had the instincts and the inclinations
of a despot; but whereas Charles delighted to mix with his fellow-men
and, when he would, could win their affection, Philip was cold, grave,
aloof, and kept even the highest of his Court nobles at arm's length;
nor were the Netherlanders sorry when, four years after his
inauguration, he bade them farewell. But if they imagined that their
Sovereign's fingers were not long enough to reach them from Madrid, in
this they were mistaken, as presently they learned to their cost, for it
was no vain boast when Philip said that 'everywhere in the vast compass
of his dominions he was an absolute King.'
The native aristocracy was indeed represented in the Council of State,
but there were foreign councillors as well, and one of them, Cardinal
Granvelle, had Philip's ear. It was he who governed the
Regent--Marguerite of Parma, a natural daughter of Charles V.--and to
all intents and purposes the country was ruled from Madrid. Hence not a
little heartburning.
Meanwhile the new doctrine was rapidly making headway. The number of
Protestants amongst the working population of the great cities must at
this time have been considerable; there were thousands in all classes
halting between two opinions, and honest men all over the country, who
had no sympathy with the tenets proscribed, were sickened and astounded
at the cruel rigour with which Charles's 'placards' were being now
enforced, and in the midst of it all, and in spite of the opposition of
Granvelle himself, Philip took a step which he ought to have known would
be certain to breed trouble: he obtained from Pope Paul IV. a Bull
(1562) to increase the number of bishoprics from three to fifteen, and
the measure was at once opposed by all sorts and conditions of men:--by
the secular clergy, because they believed that the presence of so many
bishops amongst them would lessen their prestige; by the monks, who knew
they would be shorn of revenue for the endowment of the new Sees; by the
nobles, who regarded the great abbeys as the appanage of their younger
sons; by the people, who were firmly convinced that this step was only
the prelude to further persecution; and opposition was increased tenfold
when presently it became known that the proposed metropolitan See of
Mechlin was to be confided to Cardinal Granvelle. Philip, however,
refused to draw back; but, so threatening was the attitude of the
nobles, that at last, at the request of the Regent herself, he consented
to Granvelle's resignation (1564), though almost immediately afterwards
he gave orders that the edicts against heresy should be enforced with
increased rigour. Then, on the 15th of February 1565, came the famous
_Compromis des nobles_, and a petition for the redress of grievances,
which was presented to the Regent two months later by a deputation of
four hundred gentlemen, many of whom were Catholics, with a request that
she would transmit it to Philip, and which he in due course refused.
'_Ne vous inquiétez pas ce ne sont que des gueux_,' the Lord of
Berlaymont had whispered to Marguerite, dismayed at the long line of
petitioners who solemnly filed before her in the great hall of the
Coudenberg; and that night, at a banquet in the palace of the Lord of
Culembourg, now the prison of the Petits Carmes, they made this term of
reproach their _signe de ralliement_; they were 'gueux,' they said, 'et
fidèles au roi jusqu'à la besace.' They proved it by scattering
seditious pamphlets broadcast all over the country, and the following
year--the _wonder jaar_, as it was afterwards called--the Calvinist mob
began to purge the land of idols. In Flanders alone more than four
hundred churches and religious houses were sacked, and what happened at
Antwerp is significant--every statue in the cathedral was shattered,
save that of the unrepentant thief.
The worst of the trouble was, however, over; order had been restored;
Antwerp, where the Protestants were strongest, had opened its gates to
the Regent; thanks to her firmness and moderation, the country was being
rapidly pacified, and a very general reaction in favour of the
government and of the old faith had already set in, when Philip, who,
when he heard of the havoc wrought by the Protestants, had sworn by the
soul of his father to make them pay for it, despatched to the
Netherlands a Spanish army under the command of Alva.
The terrible Duke and his soldiers reached Brussels on the 22nd of
August 1567, and sooner than have any share in the horrors she foresaw
would ensue, Marguerite laid down her office.
The story of Alva's reign of terror is too well known to need recital
here. Suffice it to say that the whole country was declared in a state
of siege. In utter violation of those constitutional liberties which
Philip had solemnly sworn to respect, he constituted that 'Council of
Troubles,' which the people called the 'Council of Blood,' and whose
mission it was to judge, or rather to condemn, all those whom the Duke
deferred to it. Amongst the innocent victims were Lamoral d'Egmont, a
member of Marguerite's Council, and Governor of Flanders and Artois, and
his friend and kinsman, Martin de Hornes, Admiral of the Netherlands.
They had been the leaders of the opposition against Granvelle, along
with William of Nassau, but, unlike him, they were loyal to Philip and
loyal to the old faith. Alva, however, thought otherwise, and they died
the death of traitors, in the Grand' Place at Brussels, on the 5th of
June 1568. It is said that the Spanish soldiers wept when they saw these
men led forth to execution, and even Alva himself, though he believed
them guilty, was loath to condemn them. 'Your Majesty will understand,'
he wrote to Philip, 'the regret I feel at seeing these poor lords
brought to such an end, and myself obliged to bring them to it, but I
have not shrunk from doing what is for your Majesty's service.... The
Countess Egmont's condition fills me with the greatest pity, burthened
as she is with a family of eleven children, none old enough to take care
of themselves; and she a lady of so distinguished a rank and of so
virtuous, truly Catholic and exemplary life. There is no man in the
country who does not grieve for her! I cannot but commend her to the
good grace of your Majesty, beseeching you to call to mind that, if the
Count, her husband, came to trouble at the close of his days, he
formerly rendered great services to the State.' Philip granted the
Countess d'Egmont an annual pension of 12,000 _livres_, which seems to
have been not very regularly paid.
A few years ago a monumental fountain was erected in Brussels in memory
of Egmont and Hornes; it stands in the Place du Petit Sablon, hard by
the ancient palace, now the Hôtel des ducs d'Arenberg, where poor
Lamoral dwelt, and which was originally built by his mother.
But it was not the fierceness of Alva's vengeance, but his oppressive
and illegal fiscal measures, which roused the people to rebellion and
threw Catholics and Protestants alike into the arms of William of
Nassau. At last Philip's eyes were opened, but then it was too late.
When he recalled the Duke of Alva in the autumn of 1573 the whole
country was in revolt, and the northern provinces were lost for ever to
Spain.
[Illustration: GUILD HALLS IN THE MARKET-PLACE OF BRUSSELS.]
Later on, when the Catholic provinces of the South, disgusted at the
bigotry and intolerance of William of Orange and his friends, had made
terms with the Duke of Parma and returned to Philip's allegiance, and
when by their aid the Dutch had been ousted from every town in Brabant
and Flanders, save Ostend, and William himself had fallen, struck
down by the hand of an assassin, it seemed for a moment that the
northern provinces too would soon be constrained to submit to Parma's
victorious army; but as Philip had baulked his sister Marguerite, so now
did he render of no avail the heroic efforts of her son. He was minded
to conquer England. Parma's forces were suddenly withdrawn to second his
vain endeavour, and the opportunity lost through the King's infatuation,
never again returned (1584). The war dragged on intermittently for more
than sixty years, and then at last, by the Treaty of Westphalia, Spain
consented to acknowledge the independence of the Dutch Republic.
But to return to Brussels. During the troubled years of Philip's reign
Brussels suffered less than most of the other great towns of the Spanish
Netherlands; for though she experienced the kindness of Alva and
afterwards had to endure the tender mercies of the Gueux, Parma
presently re-established order, made her the seat of his government,
restored her municipal rights, and thus, little by little, trade and
industry revived.
In the days of Duchess Isabel (1598-1633) and her husband Albert of
Austria (1598-1621), on whom on his deathbed King Philip had conferred
the sovereignty of the Low Countries, Brussels enjoyed unbroken peace
and a period of comparative prosperity. They resided for the most part
in the old ducal palace, and were greatly beloved by the burghers: they
did what they could to make them forget the miseries of Philip's reign.
If they had been able to found a dynasty, it is likely enough the land
would have been spared many years of trouble; but, dying without
offspring, their heritage reverted to Spain, and shared the misfortunes
of that once great nation, now in full decadence. From 1635 to 1714 the
Spanish Netherlands was the scene of almost uninterrupted warfare; yet,
strangely enough, throughout the whole of this period the masons of
Brabant went on building, and, stranger still, were able to erect
structures not unworthy of their great traditions. At Brussels, for
example, the beautiful Gothic Chapel of Our Lady of Deliverance
(1649-1653), the Renaissance Chapel of the Brigitine Nuns (of about the
same date), the Chapel of Saint Anne (1655), the Church of the Béguinage
(1657), of the Riches Claires (1665-1671), of Notre-Dame de Bon Secours
(1668-1673), the Guild Halls in the Grand' Place--no less than seventeen
of them, all erected after the bombardment of 1695.
[Illustration: NOTRE-DAME D'HANSWYCK, MALINES.]
Brussels, of course, was now the capital, and probably too at this time
the richest town in the Spanish Netherlands; but cities which had not
these advantages somehow or other managed to produce grand buildings. At
Louvain we have the Church of Saint Michael (1650-1666), the College of
the Holy Trinity (1657), the College of the Holy Ghost (1720); and at
Mechlin, the Church of Saint Peter (1677) and the Church of Our Lady of
Hanswyck (1670). These strange rococo creations assuredly cannot compete
with the buildings of the fourteen and fifteen hundreds, but they have
a certain fantastic charm of their own; they are at least picturesque,
and, curiously enough, they bear no trace of the lean years which
produced them. Wherefore? The industry, the thrift, the business
qualities of the burghers, who still through their representatives in
the Estates of Brabant administered the finances of the realm; their
inborn love of the beautiful; their traditional skill in creating it;
the survival of the mediæval craft guilds and of the mediæval faith: in
these things we probably have the answer to the riddle.
[Illustration: SAINTS PIERRE ET PAUL, MALINES.]
The Treaty of Rastatt at the close of the War of the Spanish Succession
gave Brabant and the other provinces of the Spanish Netherlands to the
Emperor Charles VI., a descendant, in the direct line, of Duke Philip
the Handsome, and the domination of the Austrian Hapsburgs continued,
save for an interval of four years, till the end of the century. On the
whole, the change was for the better. After the long years of excitement
the nation needed repose, and under their new rulers the Belgian
Estates, as they were now called, vegetated in obscure tranquillity. The
opening years of Charles's reign were not, however, without trouble. He
was ill represented by his first governor, the Marquis de Prié, who
seems to have made no attempt to win the people's confidence. An
Italian by birth, and a man of utterly unsympathetic character,
avaricious, violent, cold, his impolitic and vexatious fiscal measures
irritated the whole country, and the craftsmen of Brussels resisted
them. As time went on the agitation increased, and at last the mob got
out of hand, broke into the Chancellery where the Estates of Brabant
were sitting, and wrecked the houses of several of the Regent's
partisans; and when order was once more restored, De Prié, like a second
Alva, thought only of vengeance.
[Illustration: LA PORTE DE HAL, BRUSSELS.]
Having treacherously obtained possession of the persons of five of his
principal opponents, four of them were condemned to exile, and the fifth
to death. This man was François Anneessens, Dean of the Nation of Saint
Nicholas, and by trade a turner of chairs; he was seventy-three years of
age, a good man and a good citizen, known and esteemed by the whole
town. It was said that he had fomented sedition, but in reality he died
for defending the traditional rights of his order. His head was struck
off in the Grand' Place on the fifth of February 1719. He was the last
of the old Brussels guildsmen to give his life for liberty.
The time-honoured civic institutions of Belgium were not destined to
survive much longer; they were soon to be swept away by the backwash of
the French Revolution--to bring their years to an end, as it were a tale
that is told.
VI.--Genealogical Table of the Dukes of Brabant from Philip III. to
Francis
$Philip III.$ (Philippe le Beau). = Jeanne (La Folle), daughter of
_d._ 1506 | Ferdinand of Arragon and
| Isabel of Castile
+------------- +-------------------- +----- +
| | |
Marguerite = $Charles II.$ = Isabel of Portugal | |
van Gheest | (Karlekin), Duke | | |
of | of Brabant | | |
Audenarde | (1506-1555), King | +--------------- + |
| of Spain(1517-| | |
| 1557), Emperor | Marie, Regent = Louis, |
| (1519-1556), | of the Low King |
| _d._ 1558 | Country from of |
| | 1530-1555 Hungary |
| | |
| | Ferdinand I.,
| | Emperor.
| | _d._ 1564
| | |
| | +----- +
| | |
+------- + +-+--+ |
| | | |
Marguerite, = Octavius | Marie = Maximilian II., Charles,
Regent of | Farnese, | Emperor, _d._ 1590
the Low | Duke of | _d._ 1576 |
Country | Parma | (3rd wife) |
from 1559 | | |
to 1567 | Anne, = $Philip IV.$ = Elizabeth, daughter |
| daughter | (II. of | of Henry II. |
| of | Spain), | of France |
| Maximilian | _d._ 1598 | |
| II. | | |
| (4th wife) | | |
| | | |
+------ + +---- + +----------------- + |
| | | | |
Alexander, Philip III. Isabel, Regent = $Albert$, Ferdinand II.,
Prince of of Spain, of the Spanish Duke of Emperor,
Parma, Regent _d._ 1621 Netherlands Brabant from _d._ 1637
of the Low | from 1621, 1598, |
Country from | _d._ 1633 _d._ 1621 |
1578 to 1596 | |
| |
+------------- +------ + +------------------------- +
| | |
$Philip V.$ Marie Anne = Ferdinand III.,
(of Brabant), | _d._ 1658
IV. (of Spain), |
_d._ 1644 |
| |
$Charles III.$ Leopold I.,
(of Brabant), Emperor,
II. (of Spain), _d._ 1705
_d._ 1700 |
|
$Charles IV.$
of Brabant, Emperor,
_d._ 1741
|
|
$Marie Therese$,
_d._ 1780
|
|
+----------- +------------- +--- +
| | |
$Joseph$, $Leopold$, Marie Caroline = Ferdinand I. of
_d._ 1790 _d._ 1792 | Sicily
| |
| |
$Francis$, |
inaugurated Marie-Amélie = Louis-Philippe
at Brussels | of France
1794, and left |
immediately afterwards |
|
Louise = Leopold I.,
| King of the Belgians
|
Leopold II., of Belgium
_Follows page 375._
[Illustration:]
INDEX
A
Abbey Church of Parc, 193
Adelaide, Duchess, supports the Blankarden, 59
Adhilck, Lord of Hesbaye, changes his name to Bavo, 4;
becomes patron of Ghent as Saint Bavo, 5
Aerschot, Parish Church of, 306
Alost, Church of Our Lady and Saint Martin at, 309
Anderlecht, Saint Guy of, 35-39
Andernach, Duke Giselbert surprised at, and drowned, 14, 15
Anne of Linange, wife of Sweder van Apcoude, 112;
she surrenders Gaesbeke Castle, 117
Ansfried, Count of Louvain, influence of Bruno on, 18
Anthony, Regent of Brabant, 122
Antwerp Cathedral, 209, 213
Antwerp, heresy in, 230;
canons of, ask the aid of Saint Norbert, 231
Arnon, Abbot of Elnone, 172
Arnulph I. heads a German army against Norsemen, 10;
names his son Zwentibold, King of Lotharingia, 13
B
Bavo, Saint, converted by Saint-Amand, 4;
becomes patron of Ghent, 5
Beguines and Beghards, 233 _et seq._
Beyaert, Jan, his fine carving, 325;
executed, 329
Blankarden, family of the, their rivalry to the Coelveren, 58 _et seq._
Bloemardine, a famous Brussels mystic, 241, 245, 246
Boudts, Dierick, a famous painter, 330, 339-342
Brabant, origin of place names in, 1, 2;
early inhabitants of, 2;
Danes' first visit to, 8;
their conduct, 9;
making of duchy of, 22-30;
municipal organisation of towns of, 47 _et seq._
Braine-le-Comte, surrender of, 164
Brethren of the Common Life, the, 250;
their famous pupils, 251
Brigitine Nuns, Chapel of, 372
Brogne, Abbey of, origin of, 23
Bruno, Saint, receives ducal crown, 17;
his influence, 18;
banishes Régnier of Hainault, 19;
his death, 19
Brussels, etymology of name, 1;
its rise, 31 _et seq._;
hostility of patricians and plebeians in, 96;
Winceslaus' conduct towards, 97;
riots in, 98, 99;
election of magistrates at, 103;
articles manufactured at, 105;
Flemish invasion of, 107;
Flemings driven out, 109;
public buildings of, 257 _et seq._
Butkins quoted, 107
C
Calstere, Alderman Vanden, 89;
murders Vander Leyden, 91;
his cruel treatment of Van Grave, 93
Cathedral of Saint Lambert rifled and burnt by Danes, 9
Cathedral School of Liége, 174
Celites, the, their work, 238
Charlemagne, progress of Art under, 171
Charles of France claims his mother's dowry, 19;
duchy conferred on him by Otho II., 20;
death of, 21
Charles the Bold, pavilion made in Brussels for his wedding, 223
Charles the Fat summoned from Italy, 10
Chastelain quoted, 126, 225
Cluny, effect of discipline of, 26, 27.
Cluting, Amman of Brussels, divested of his office, 143;
restored to office, 145;
his plot to seize the city, 151;
imprisoned, 152;
executed, 154
Cobham, Eleanor, rival of Jacqueline,
accompanies Gloucester to Hainault, 166, 167;
marries Gloucester, 168
Coelveren, family of the, rivals of the Blankardens, 58 _et seq._
College of Aldermen, 47 _et seq._, 89, 90
Conrad the Red, his character, 15
Consecrated wafers, legend regarding theft of, 244
Constance, Fathers of, elect Pope Martin V., 129
Cooman, Hendrick, architect, 279
Corneille, his brief career and cruel death, 286, 287
Coudenberg, Franz, canon of Saint Gudule's, 246;
founds a community, 247
Council of Jurors, 47 _et seq._, 89, 90.
Coutherele, Peter, Mayor of Louvain, 68;
triumph of democracy due to him, 68;
his quarrel with the magistracy, 70;
opposition to the patricians, 72-75;
his fall and flight, 81-83;
in Holland, 84;
his death, 85
_Crom Cruys_, 117, 299-301
Crypt of Saint Guy at Anderlecht, 183
Cuyck, Henri de, his marriage, 79;
intercedes with Winceslaus for Peter Coutherele, 85
D
Dancers, the, cause massacre of Jews, 242
Danes first visit Brabant, 8;
they destroy churches and murder monks, 9
Delft, Treaty of, Jacqueline acknowledges Philip as Regent by, 169
Domlinus, a hermit, legend of, 5
Duchess Jeanne negotiates with Coutherele, 75;
submits report to conference in Saint Gertrude's Abbey, 87, 88;
a widow and in debt, 112;
visits Town Hall on hearing of attack on T'Serclaes, 113, 114;
French in sympathies, 120;
visits Paris, 122;
her death, 126
Duke John I. proclaimed heir to Duchy of Brabant, 59;
held in confidence and esteem, 60
Duke John II., riot during his absence, 63;
authorises magistrates to use any means they think fit to crush
outbreaks, 66;
grants discretionary power to College of Aldermen, 67
Duke John III. appoints Coutherele mayor, 69;
his death, 71
Duke John IV., scion of the house of Bourgogne, 119;
marries Jacqueline, 130;
cedes part of his wife's domains to John the Pitiless, 131;
his feebleness, 132;
a noteworthy day in his life, 134;
Marguerite of Burgundy remonstrates with him, 137;
summons Estates of Brabant to meet at Brussels, 138;
delays to arbitrate between the Heetveldes and Vanderstraetens, 139;
flees to Bois-le-Duc, 141;
appears before Brussels at the head of an army of Germans, 145;
enters Brussels, 149;
conduct of his German knights, 150;
citizens fetter and place knights in gaol, 152;
his friends form a secret league for his defence, 157;
the Estates recall him, 160;
Mons besieged by, 165;
his death, 169
Dynter, Edmund De, quoted, 70, 72, 73, 130, 133, 146, 154, 158, 164
E
Elizabeth, Duchess of Luxembourg, marries John the Pitiless, 131
Englebert de la Mark, Bishop of Liége, 107
English surrender at Braine-le-Comte, strange delusion which led
to, 164, 165
Estates of Brabant summoned to meet at Brussels, 138;
support Jacqueline, 142;
recall Duke John, 160
Eyck, Jan van, 263, 267
F
Feudal system rises on ruins of Imperialism, 12
Flagellants, the, 242
Flemings driven from Brussels, 109
Francon, Bishop, flees from Danes, 9;
joins Arnulph's army, 10
G
Gaesbeke, Castle of, 112, 113;
siege of, 115;
capitulation of, 117
Genappe, Castle of, as a refuge for the Jews, 242
Georgius, an Italian mechanician, 172
Gerard, first Abbot of Brogne, 23;
the secret of his success, 24, 25
Gerard of Vorsselaer,
offers his services to the patricians of Louvain, 74;
offers the same at Brussels, 97, 98
Gerberge, daughter of Henry I., 14, 19
Gertrude, daughter of Pepin of Landen,
foundress of Abbey of Nivelles, 6, 188
Gertruidenberg besieged and burnt, 143
Gheel, Church of Saint Dymphna at, 306
Ghent, Cathedral of, 215-218;
Town Hall of, 213-215
Giselbert, Count, how his fortune was made, 13
Giselbert, Duke, succeeds his father, 14;
his character and death, 14, 15
Godfrey Longbeard, Duke,
lays foundation stone of Notre-Dame de la Chapelle, 181;
founds Abbeys of Tongerloo and Parc, 232
Godfrey of Verdun, his message to his wife, 18
Godfrey the Hunchback, his character, 27
Gorcum, Treaty of, 136
Grand Béguinage at Louvain, 235, 236
Grave, Myn Here Van, cruel treatment of, 93
Groenendael, community founded at, 247
Groote, Geert, disciple of Ruysbroek, 249;
his preaching, 250
Gudule, Saint, legends relating to her life, 270, 273
Guild Halls in Grand' Place at Brussels, 257, 372
Guy, Saint, of Anderlecht, 35;
legends about him, 35-39
H
Hadewych, Sister, a writer of glowing prose and frenzied verse, 240
Hal, Church of Our Lady and Saint Martin at, 260, 310, 313
Halene, slain by her father for embracing Christianity, 6
Hanneman, Jan, a rich cloth merchant of Louvain, 79;
sent to Germany to raise money, 80;
disappears, 83
Heetvelde, house of, 138;
their quarrel with the Vanderstraetens, 139
Heinsberg, his plot with Cluting, 151;
captured and imprisoned, 152;
released, 160
Hellebeke, Jan Van, Commander-in-chief at Gaesbeke Castle, 114;
his life spared on surrender, 117
Henry I., Emperor, gives his daughter to Giselbert, 14
Henry IV., Emperor, his policy, 28, 29
Henry of Limburg refuses to acknowledge Henry V., 29
Herengolys, Peter, Mayor of Louvain, 79;
flees to Asten, 81;
disappears, 83;
captured and executed, 84
Heusden surrendered, 142
Heverlé, Castle of, 83
Hinckaert, Jan, canon of Saint Gudule's, 246
Holy Trinity, College of the, at Louvain, 372
Hommes de Sainte Gertrude, 188, 189
Hubert, Saint, Bishop of Liége, conversion of Brabant due to his zeal, 4
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester,
marries Jacqueline, 163;
marries Eleanor Cobham, 168
J
Jacqueline, her birth, 125;
forced to marry Duke John of Brabant, 127;
part of her domains ceded by him, 131;
disagreement with her husband, 132;
rates him for two hours at Tervueren, 134;
flees from Court, 137;
enters Brussels in triumph, 141;
captures Heusden and Gertruidenberg, 143;
appeals to the Pope to dissolve her marriage with John and marries
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, 163;
her letter to Humphrey, 165, 166;
surrenders at Mons, 167;
her escape, 167, 168;
secretly marries Franche de Borselle, 170;
dies of consumption, 170
_Jean sans Peur_, his characteristics, 125
Jews, outbreaks against, 241;
the Dancers cause massacre of, 242
John of Arkel puts Louvain under interdict 84
John of Louvain, theft of consecrated wafers by, 243
John the Pitiless, in sub-deacon's orders at seventeen, 128;
his oppression and cruelty, 129;
resigns his See and marries, 131;
demands fresh concessions, 136;
Estates oppose him, 142;
dies by poisoning, 162
Jonathan of Enghien, a Hebrew fanatic, 243
Jury, origin of the, 48
K
Kegel, Alderman, 145, 146;
escapes from Brussels, 153
Kelderman, Jan, designer of Tower of Saint Rombold, 197
Keldermans, the, a remarkable family, 197-201, 205, 208
L
Lambert Balderick, real founder of Louvain, 41;
builds and endows Saint Peter's, Louvain, 42
Lambert Longbeard, Count of Louvain, 41
Lambert Long Col claims Duchy of Lotharingia, 21
Léau, Saint Leonard's Church at, 306
Leyden, Wouter Vander, heads rioters, 88;
chosen as a city captain, 89;
murdered, 91
Liége, diocese of, 9
Lierre, old church at, 305
Lierre, Town Hall of, bell taken from Braine, hung in, 165
_Lignages_, or clans, 50, 51
Long Col, house of, 13-21
Lotharingia, monastic domains of,
in lay hands, 12;
invaded by Charles of France, 19
Louis of Maele. 71, 107, 120
Louvain, old Bourg of, 41;
Lambert Balderick, real founder of, 41;
grant of charter from Winceslaus, 76;
revolution of 1360 at, 95;
Church of Saint Peter at, 289
Low Country, features of, and trade in, 31-34
M
Maeseyck, illuminated copy of the Gospels in old church at, 173
Maison du Roi, La, 202
Marguerite of Maele, a rich young widow, 119, 120, 125
Marsdale, Jan van, sculptor, 197
Martin V., Pope, his letters to Duke John, 130
Marvis, Bishop Walter de, a great church-builder, 193
Matthew de Layens, builder of Louvain Town Hall, 318-324
Mechlin, architecture of, 302
Mechlin Cathedral, 301
Merchants' Guild, 47, 48, 89, 90
Metsys, Quentin, a famous painter, 330, 347, 350
Mons, siege of, 165
Monstrelet quoted, 133
Montenaeken, battle of, called 'Saint Lambert's triumph,' 277
Municipal organisation of towns in Brabant, 47 _et seq._
N
Nivelles, Abbey of, founded by Saint Gertrude, 6
Nivelles, specimen of Romanesque architecture at, 188;
commerce of, 189;
features of, 190;
the old Minster, 190-192
Norbert, Saint, of Laon invited to Antwerp, 231;
founds Premonstratensian Order, 232
Notre-Dame au-delà de la Dyle, Church of, 201, 268
Notre-Dame de la Chapelle, 181, 260, 264
Notre-Dame du Lac at Thienhoven, 305
Notre-Dame du Sablon, 260
O
Orley, Bernard van, a famous painter, 206, 207, 330, 350, 357
Otbert of Liége, his support of the Emperor, 28
Othée, battle at, 129
Otho, Emperor, 14, 15;
governs Lotharingia by means of the Church, 16, 17;
gives ducal crown to Saint Bruno, 17;
his death, 19
Otho II., his policy, 20
Our Lady of Deliverance, Chapel of, 372
Our Lady of Hanswyck, Church of, at Mechlin, 372
P
Parc, Abbey of, 232
Peace of 1378, or Great Charter, 87
'Petermen,' their privileges, 42, 44;
rich and powerful, 95
Peter the Hermit, draws many recruits from Brabant, 226
Philip of Valois, his marriage, 120;
induces Duchess Jeanne to abdicate, 122;
his death, 125
Philippe de Commines quoted, 220, 223
Philippe l'Asseuré, condition of towns of Brabant in days of, 225
Pierre de Clermont, Bishop of Cambrai, 247
Pirenne, M., quoted, 17, 50, 167, 230, 238
Platvoet, Jan, his cruel murder, 92
Portman, Hendrick, chosen a city captain, 89
Premonstratensian Order founded, 232
R
Rastatt, Treaty of, effect of, 373
Régnier au Long Col, ancestor of Sovereigns of Brabant, 13;
virtual ruler of Lotharingia, 14
Régnier III. of Hainault, 15;
his hatred of Saint Bruno, 18, 19;
banished by Saint Bruno, 19;
his children befriended by French king, 19
Reynold, Lord of Schoonvorst, a trusted adviser of his Sovereign, 72
Rogge, Gedulphe, devoted adherent of Peter Coutherele, 79
Rolfe the Ganger routed at Louvain, 8
Rombold, Saint, preaching in Brabant, becomes a martyr, 5, 6
Rotslaere appointed treasurer of Brabant, 133
Rubens, altar-piece by, in Saint Jacques' at Antwerp, 196
Ruotger quoted, 18
Ruysbroek, Jan van, a mystic of Brussels, 241, 245, 246;
his writings, 247, 248;
his death, 249
S
Saint-Amand, effect of his preaching, 4
Saint Anne, Chapel of, 372
Saint Bavo, Church of, 215
Saint Catherine, Parish Church of, at Brussels, 243-245
Sainte Chapelle des Miracles, 208
Saint Gertrude's Abbey, conference at, 88
Saint Hubert's Chapel at Tervueren, 4
Saint Jacques, Church of, at Louvain, 192, 193
Saint Jacques, Parish Church of, at Antwerp, 196
Saint Jacques sur Coudenberg, church of the Court, 177
Saint Michael and Saint Gudule, Church of, 182, 270 _et seq._
Saint Nicholas, Church of, 175
Saint Peter and Saint Guy, Church of, at Anderlecht, 35
Saint Peter, Church of, at Mechlin, 372
Saint Peter's, Louvain, 42-46, 289 _et seq._
Saint-Pierre de Louvain, 289 _et seq._
Saint-Pol, Philip of, enters Brussels with Jacqueline, 141;
goes to Louvain, 149
Saint Rombold, Tower of, at Mechlin, 197
Schaeys, M., quoted, 184
Sedulius, an Irish scholar, 172
Sieger, head of house of Heetvelde, murdered, 139
Stalle, Jean van, Dean of Church of Saint Mary at Hal, 113
Steen of Antwerp, 208, 209
Steenporte, attack on, 98
Sweder van Apcoude, his succession disputed, 111;
his escape, 114;
reinstated, 117
Swertere, Alderman Jan De, a patrician who favoured the people, 80;
assisted to retaliate by the plebeians, 93
T
Taine quoted, 7
Tanchelm, claims to be a prophet, 229;
stabbed at Antwerp, 230
Tervueren, Saint Hubert's Chapel at, 4
Tetdon, Bishop, quoted, 23
Thienhoven, or Tirlemont, churches at, 305
Thierry, Bishop of Liége, killed at Orthée, 129
Thomas à Kempis, educated by Brethren of the Common Life, 251;
quoted, 255
Tongerloo, Abbey of, 232
Tournai, Cathedral of, 191, 193, 194
Tour Noire, la, 182, 183
Town Hall of Brussels, the, 313
Town Hall of Louvain, the, 318
T'Serclaes, Everard, his birth, 106;
drives Flemings out of Brussels, 107-109;
the 'Saviour of Brussels,' 110;
attacked and mutilated, 113;
his death, 115
T'Serclaes, Jan, chosen to succeed his uncle Everard in the College
of Aldermen, 115
V
Vandenberghe, Treasurer, exiled, 132;
murdered, 133
Vandenberg, Jan, architect, 279
Van der Goes, Hugo, a famous painter, 330, 342-347
Vanderstraetens, the, their quarrel with the Heetveldes, 139, 140
Van der Weyden, Roger, a famous painter, 263, 267, 330, 333-338
Vander Zype, Gerard, in the tribune of proclamation, 158;
his marriage, 159;
appointed chief steward, 161;
his murder, 162
Vilvorde, combat at, 65
Vorst, Plysis van, first architect of his day, 291-294
W
Waghemakere, Dominic de, an architect, 208, 209, 218
Waghemakere, Herman de, works on Antwerp Cathedral, 205
Wazon, Bishop, his loyalty to Otho, 17
Wenzel, King of the Romans, 121
White Canons, monasteries of the, 232
'White Hoods,' the, 89, 93
William of Assche, Amman of Brussels, 132;
imprisoned, 133;
released, 135;
escapes from Brussels, 153
Winceslaus, Duke, 71;
grants charter to Louvain, 76;
his policy with Louvain, 78-85;
grants new charter to Louvain, 89;
his conduct towards Brussels, 97;
at Maestricht, 107
Windesheim, Monastery of, 251
Z
Zacites, or Brethren of the Sack, 240
Zwentibold, son of Arnulph I., made king, 13,
death of, 14.
EDINBURGH
COLSTON AND COY. LIMITED
PRINTERS.
Transcribers' Notes:
Many proper nouns have variations in spellings, they have not
been standardized.
Variations in spelling between English, French, Latin and
Flemish words have not been changed.
The dagger character is rendered: +.
Small caps are rendered with ALL CAPS.
Italics are rendered between underscores, e.g. _italics_.
Bold text is rendered between dollar signs, e.g. $bold$.
Superscripts are rendered with a caret, e.g. 1^er.
The oe ligature is rendered: [oe].
An m with a line above resembling a tilde is rendered [~m].
The following are believed to be printer's errors and have been changed:
-----------+----------------------------+----------------------------
Page | Printed | Changed to
-----------+----------------------------+----------------------------
xiv | St Charles | St. Charles
xv | Pieta | Pièta
2 | down-trodden and the | downtrodden and the
14 | that event took took | that event took
66 | to crush and | to crush any
facing 66 | Feb., 6 | Feb. 6,
79 | strongholds.. | strongholds.
101 | without increasng taxation | without increasing taxation
105 | directed o her | directed to her
116 | bareheaded and unshod | bare-headed and unshod
127 | bed-rock of the house | bedrock of the house
145 | croned a hag, | crooned a hag,
163 | Hal acknowleged Gloucester | Hal acknowledged Gloucester
164 | stored with supplies | stored with supplies.
169 | lieutentant of Zeeland | lieutenant of Zeeland
170 | to chose between | to choose between
177 | mysterous power of | mysterious power of
223 | pèu de honte | peu de honte
232 | and a few out-buildings | and a few outbuildings
233 | Saint Bega of Nivelles | Saint Begga of Nivelles
233 | Lambert le Bégue | Lambert le Bègue
236 | Béguines at Mechlin | Beguines at Mechlin
237 | were the most wide-spread | were the most widespread
274 | Chapel of Saint Gery | Chapel of Saint Géry
291 | man of humple origin | man of humble origin
336 | sight-seeing and devotion | sightseeing and devotion
348 | spendour of Rubens | splendour of Rubens
381 | Muncipal organisation of | Municipal organisation of
381 | Orthée, battle at | Othée, battle at
382 | killed at Orthée | killed at Othée
383 | Amman of of Brussels | Amman of Brussels
-----------+----------------------------+----------------------------
End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Brussels, by Ernest Gilliat-Smith