The Dutch Revolt’s main victim was the Catholic Church. Monasteries, chapterhouses and parishes lost the properties, which they had accumulated, especially during the ‘pious fifteenth century’. The States of Holland and most of the towns handed over the seized properties to so-called ‘geestelijke kantoren’ (ecclesiastical trusts). In this course, we will look at the documents produced by these trusts from two angles. Medievalists will investigate how the clerical institutions accumulated enormous amounts of capital during the fifteenth century and how they were administrated. Early modernists will study the appropriation and management of funds and the trusts’ staffing, in particular in the city of Leiden. Did the new administrators profit personally or did they use the ‘spoils of war to create a new order?
Reading knowledge of Dutch is required. Some experience in palaeography (15th and/or 16th-17th c.) will be useful.
Timetable
Semester II, see timetables.
Method of Instruction
Research Seminar; attendance is compulsory ( see the rules and regulations of the Department of History, art. 2).
Course objectives
Gaining knowledge of and insight into the development of late medieval and early modern Dutch political and ecclesiastical history.
Developing skills required to execute independent and critical research on primary sources and literature, and to present this research orally and in writing.
Required reading
t.b.a.
Examination
*
Written entrance test 10 % *
Participation in research on primary sources and literature 40 % *
Paper 50 %
Information
Dr. M.A. Ebben
Huizingagebouw 262b
071-5272714 m.a.ebben@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Dr. A. Janse
Huizinga-gebouw 177b
071-5272718 a.janse@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Blackboard/webpage
t.b.a.
Remarks
Required reading entrance exam:
Bas de Melker, ‘Burgers en devotie 1340-1520’, M. Carasso-Kok, Geschiedenis van Amsterdam, deel L:_ Een stad uit het niets. Tot 1578_ (Amsterdam 2004) 251-311.
Christopher Ocker, Church Robbers and Reformers in Germany, 1525-1547. Confiscation and religious purpose in the Holy Roman Empire (Leiden etc. 2006) 17-49 (h. 1: Church property).
H. ten Boom, De Reformatie in Rotterdam, 1530-1585 (Den Haag 1987).
H. Mol, ‘De kloostergoederen in Friesland na de Reformatie’ Signum 16 (2004) 87-98.
Application Courses, Seminars and Exams
MA course enrolment forms can be downloaded here.