![]() ![]() Because they did not go to battle, nor to war, but to receive honorably and in a manner befitting a very august Spouse of a grand Monarch, mother of three kings, offspring of emperors by her mother and of the Dukes of Toscany by her father. When she was near this city, a company of horsemen, distinguished by their caparisoned horses drove out to meet her. She was received by the revered Senate and by the Burgers with all sorts of honors due to her quality. Queen Mother Maria de Medici arrived in this city on the first day of this month. Car elle n’alloit pas à un combat ni à la guerre, mais pour recevoir honorablement & d’une maniere convenable une tres Auguste Epouse d’un grand Monarque, Mere de trois Rois, issue d’Empereurs par sa Mere, & des Ducs de Toscane par son Pere. Lorsqu’elle fut proche de cette ville, une compagnie de chevaliers qui se faisoient remarquer par leurs chevaux caparaçonnes en sortit pour aller à sa rencontre. Elle fut recevu par l’auguste Senat & par la Bourgeoisie avec toutes les marques d’honneur deues à sa qualité. Mere Marie de Medicis arriva en cette ville le premier jour de ce mois. 2 The minister and philosopher Caspar Barlaeus was made responsible for the reception of the queen. This caused quite a problem for instance during the visit of Maria de Medici in 1638, when the vibrant city wanted to elevate itself to the level on which kings and queens acted. It befitted in no way the new status of the city as one of the leading trade capitals of the world. In the seventeenth century it was in such a dilapidated state that the spire of the tower had to be taken down. The medieval town hall that was used until 1652 consisted of a redeveloped monastery with a tower and judicial court added around 1425–1450. There was nothing that could sustain the claim of being an old city. It was a young city, founded by fishermen and farmers and first mentioned in the archives in 1275. It could, however, not compete in this game of being the oldest. In the seventeenth century, Amsterdam was by far the largest and most important city in Holland. Parts of outdated town halls or court buildings were kept as a remembrance to the ancient history of the city. 1 The impact of this discussion is visible when looking at the town halls or other public buildings. Dordrecht held the best papers, being the oldest, but Haarlem, Leiden, Delft and Alkmaar did their utmost to rewrite history in such a way, that they could claim to be the oldest. Cities in Holland vied to be the oldest: priority in age determined the sequence of speech in the States of Holland. The same goes for cities, as is made clear by Konrad Ottenheym’s article on Dutch town halls. ![]() The importance of being first must never be underestimated when people are concerned. Precedence is one of the key characteristics of mankind, now and also in the Early Modern Age. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |