Low Countries

Art History

John of Pamele’s Illustrated Rent Book

John of Pamele’s illustrated ‘Vieil Rentier’ is one of the few surviving secular rent books from before 1300. Its richly illustrated pages show John of Pamele as a commited landlord managing his far-flung properties.

Crewing the Galleys to Turkey: Forced Labour in the Fifteenth-Century Low Countries

In 1464, twenty-five men were sentenced to penal labour on the galleys by the reeve of the bailiwick (meierij) of ’s-Hertogenbosch in Brabant. Who were these men and how did they meet this fate?

Cultural History

De doop van Jacoba van Beieren

Jacoba van Beieren is een icoon van de Nederlandse middeleeuwse geschiedenis. Toch kennen we haar exacte geboortedag niet. Recent is aan het licht gekomen op welke dag ze werd gedoopt en wie haar peetouders waren. Vanuit een middeleeuws perspectief was dat vele malen belangrijker.

Archaeology

Medieval Malaria: Skeletal evidence for this parasitic infection in the Netherlands

Malaria, a debilitating and often chronic disease, was a major health problem up to the 20th century in the Netherlands. But was this also the case for the medieval period?

Social History

Daily life in the medieval town hall

Historians have often refrained from looking behind the front door and façades of yet well-known medieval monuments: town halls. What was going on inside these public buildings?

Cultural History · Archaeology

Snatched by the wind: The wooden chapel of Saint Servatius in Maastricht

A wooden chapel dedicated to St. Servatius in sixth-century Maastricht has gotten a bad press. Historical and archaeological comparisons may redeem this humble shrine and illuminate the darkest years of post-Roman towns.

Socio-Economic History

Dune protection and “environmental law” in late medieval Zeeland

This blog post provides examples of coastal conservation and protection acts from late medieval Zeeland which challenge the idea that regulating environmental damage is a modern concept.

Archaeology

De hand van de Oldenzaalse glazenier

Tegen de kloostermuren van het Agnesklooster in Oldenzaal werd in 1996 een kuil aangetroffen die was gevuld met een kuub gebrandschilderd en onbeschilderd vlakglas uit de 14de - 17de eeuw. Het blijkt een kuil met productieafval van een glazenier.

Cultural History

Pious women and warrior queens. Female role models in the late medieval period

Medieval women were considered unfit for public tasks such as governance and warfare. Nonetheless, many princesses wielded power, as a result of their dynastic position and personal ambition. Female role models of the late medieval period seem to reflect the ambiguity of their position.