Exactly 500 years ago, 1526, Juan Luis Vives completed De Subventione Pauperum sive de Humanis necessitatibus. This was a commissioned academic report on the organisation of social welfare provision in Brughes, the first book ever published on the subject. rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1238872
Er zijn wel meer redenen: van Eyck verfijnde het gebruik van olieverf, natuurgetrouwheid van oppervlak en licht, symboliek en theologie, invloed op Vlaamse, Italiaanse, Duitse kunst… www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20...
Ghedacht den gheboorte ons Heeren,
so moet ons herte verbliden;
God gheve u vrede op aerden,
nu ende in alle tijden.
#OTD in 1425, Pope Martin V issued the papal bull "Sapientiae immarcescibilis", formally establishing the Studium Generale in Leuven. With that decision, one of Europe’s oldest and most influential universities was born. Facsimile made in 1909. The original perished in in the library fire of 1914.
Admiral Lord Howe (Battle of the Glorious First of June, 1794) wrote in his battle order:”Humanity requires that every exertion be made to save the vanquished from the waves.”
This was a widely quoted guiding principle for the Royal Navy.
During the naval battle at Lepanto, Don Juan of Austria gave explicit orders: “Save all Christian lives; let no man be abandoned on the sea.” This included Christian slaves rowing aboard Turkish galleys. Ottoman Turks were taken as POW, but those that resisted were killed on deck
“Non nobis solum nati sumus.” (Cicero, De Officiis) “We are not just born for ourselves”. Image: The Young Cicero Reading by Vincenzo Foppa (fresco, 1464), now at the Wallace Collection. He was murdered #OTD in 43 BC (aged 63).
Al vanaf de 13e eeuw viert men in de Lage Landen het Sinterklaasfeest. In eerste instantie gebeurde dit in de kerk, maar vanaf de 15e eeuw begon men het feest in huiselijke sfeer te vieren. Sinterklaas is dus een oude traditie. Het Sint Nicolaasfeest (1665) van Jan Steen. 16de eeuws icoon.
The stork has long been a symbolic animal in the region of Mechelen, Belgium. Historically, storks nested there in large numbers and became part of local identity. Here depicted by Albrecht Duerer (1515) and by Conrad Gessner (1555).
In Spanje is een verloren gewaand manuscript uit de 16e eeuw gevonden van Gerardus Mercator, de Vlaamse cartograaf en humanist die de moderne wereldkaartprojectie ontwierp. vrtnws.be/p.mRayweMO7
#OTD 1605 The Gunpowder Plot failed.
Guy Fawkes, once a soldier for Catholic Spain in Flanders, is caught guarding explosives beneath Parliament.
His Flemish years trained him for rebellion - but instead of a catholic victory, England got an occasion to celebrate. #GuyFawkesDay
In 1562, amid Protestant iconoclasm, Mathilde’s tomb was desecrated - her coffin opened, bones scattered, and epitaph damaged. Later, under the restored peace, her remains were reburied (1616) with a new, more classical monument.
Mathilde of Flanders, passed away #OTD in 1083. She was governess of Normandy during William’s absence and became England’s first Queen. She was burried in the choir of the Abbaye-aux-Dames, in Caen. Her daughter Cécile, became abbess in 1113.
The Duke of Alba’s veteran army, upon their arrival in Brussels after a march from Milan, first cowed the Low Countries but his terror rule, new taxes, and brutal sack of Mechelen (1572) turned fear into revolt.
A general who won battles yet lost (most of) the country.
He was one of the most experienced generals of the 16th century, serving both Emperor Charles V and King Philip II for over four decades. He fought in Italy, Germany, and France, and was the the senior field commander most responsible for perfecting the Tercios.
Born #OTD 1507 – Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba.
An experienced and successful commander, whom King Philip II sent to the Low Countries to restore order after the 1566 Iconoclastic Fury.
In reality, he provoked a full-scale revolt. A. Mor
hispanicsociety.emuseum.com/objects/2631...
Needless to say he got inspired by Antwerp’s sense of fashion as well. According to Vogue (Feb 2025), Antwerp is described as “Belgium’s long-standing fashion capital.” www.vogue.com/article/antw...
For a large part of his adult life, Thomas Gresham (c. 1519–1579) spent more time in Antwerp than in London, especially between the 1540s and the early 1560s. He owned houses there and found inspiration for the London stock exchange. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourse_...
Yes, and …
Can you guess where I took these pictures and their link to Erasmus?
#OTD 1466 Erasmus was born near Rotterdam. He spent considerable time of his life in the Southern Low Countries, where he had many intellectual, political and business connections. His time there influenced his writings, blending local religious thought with call for tolerance.
At that time William I of Nassau was formally a 22-year-old page and gentleman of the imperial chamber, already titled Prince of Orange and chevalier of the Golden Fleece. This is his portrait made in the same year by Antonis Mor as a confident young commander.
Eyewitnesses described the actual abdication as much more intimate and emotional: Charles V was ill and leaning on William of Orange and wept openly while asking forgiveness from his subjects. The hall was Gothic, not classical.
The tapestry in the collection of the Museum of the City of Brussels, is generally attributed to the late 17th or early 18th century, and was probably woven in a Brussels workshop. It is romanticized to glorify Habsburg dynastic power.
#OTD 1555: Charles V Announces his Abdication before the Notables of the Low Countries in Coudenbergh Palace, Brussels. The English version (original was in French) of his speech (excerpt) can be found via the link below. Image Museum the City of Brussels germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/pdf/eng/Doc....
Married to Charles V in 1526, their union was both political and passionate. Unlike many royal marriages, it was a love match — and their letters show deep affection and mutual respect. He wanted to be burried together with her in Yuste, but this was not to be… Painting by P.P. Rubens.
#OTD 1503, we celebrate the birth of Isabella of Portugal. Queen consort of Spain and Germany, Archduchess of Austria, Lady of the Netherlands (from 1526), Holy Roman Empress (from 1530). She acted as regent of Spain during the long absences of her husband Charles V. 📷 Yuste.
At that time the ancient texts of Aristotle and Galen were still judged authoritative in the medical schools. By performing his own dissections, Vesalius discovered errors and his publication drew attention to these flaws. It won him a post as court physician to Charles V.
OTD in 1564, Andreas Vesalius (Andries van Wesel) passed away.
The Brussels-born physician broke a major dogma by dissecting human bodies himself and publishing De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543), the masterpiece that reshaped our understanding of the human form www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
