1.
Oudekerksplein
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The Oudekerksplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. It is named after the 14th-century church Oude Kerk which dominates the square, the Oudekerksplein is wedged between the Warmoesstraat street and Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal. Originally the Oudekerksplein was a graveyard, in 1655, the graveyard was cleared and moved to a new location beyond the city limits, creating the present square. The Oudekerksplein lies at the heart of the district of De Wallen. Along the square are some 35 windows from behind which prostitutes offer their services, as part of the so-called Project 1012, the Amsterdam city government is trying to reduce the number of prostitutes on Oudekerksplein. The city wants to remove all brothels from the square and replace them with restaurants, shops, artists workshops, as part of the plans, the coffeeshop on Oudekerksplein would also be closed. A statue titled Belle, honouring the prostitutes of the world, was placed on the square in 2007, the plaque on this statue reads, Respect sex workers all over the world. The street also has a relief of a hand caressing a female breast. The sculpture was set in the cobblestone in February 1993 by an anonymous artist, the 1968 Dutch documentary film Rondom het Oudekerksplein gave an impression of what life in the red-light district was like in the 1960s
2.
Amsterdam
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Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
3.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
Church (building)
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A church building, often simply called a church, is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly worship services. The term in its sense is most often used by Christians to refer to their religious buildings. In traditional Christian architecture, the church is arranged in the shape of a Christian cross. When viewed from plan view the longest part of a cross is represented by the aisle, towers or domes are often added with the intention of directing the eye of the viewer towards the heavens and inspiring church visitors. The earliest identified Christian church was a church founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, a cathedral is a church, usually Roman Catholic, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox, housing the seat of a bishop. In standard Greek usage, the word ecclesia was retained to signify both a specific edifice of Christian worship, and the overall community of the faithful. This usage was retained in Latin and the languages derived from Latin, as well as in the Celtic languages. In the Germanic and some Slavic languages, the word kyriak-ós/-ē/-ón was adopted instead, in Old English the sequence of derivation started as cirice, then churche, and eventually church in its current pronunciation. German Kirche, Scottish kirk, Russian церковь, etc. are all similarly derived, according to the New Testament, the earliest Christians did not build church buildings. Instead, they gathered in homes or in Jewish worship places like the Second Temple or synagogues, the earliest archeologically identified Christian church is a house church, the Dura-Europos church, founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, in addition to being a place of worship, the cathedral or parish church was used by the community in other ways. It could serve as a place for guilds or a hall for banquets. Mystery plays were performed in cathedrals, and cathedrals might also be used for fairs. The church could be used as a place to thresh and store grain, a common architecture for churches is the shape of a cross. These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in the interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, another common feature is the spire, a tall tower on the west end of the church or over the crossing. The Latin word basilica was used to describe a Roman public building
6.
Saint Nicholas
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Saint Nicholas, also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century Christian saint and Greek Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor. Because of the miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker. The historical Saint Nicholas is commemorated and revered among Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, in addition, some Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and other Reformed churches have been named in honor of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas is the saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers. The historical Saint Nicholas, as known from history, He was born at Patara. In his youth he made a pilgrimage to Egypt and the Palestine area, shortly after his return he became Bishop of Myra and was later cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian. He was released after the accession of Constantine and was present at the Council of Nicaea, in 1087, Italian merchants took his body from Myra, bringing it to Bari in Italy. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire, to a Greek family during the century in the city of Patara. He lived in Myra, Lycia, at a time when the region was Greek in its heritage, culture and he was the only son of wealthy Christian parents named Epiphanius and Johanna according to some accounts and Theophanes and Nonna according to others. He was very religious from an age and according to legend. His wealthy parents died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young and he tonsured the young Nicholas as a reader and later ordained him a presbyter. In the year AD305, several monks from Anatolia in Asia Minor came to the Holy Land to Beit Jala, Judea and this was before St. Sava’s Monastery was founded in the desert east of Bethlehem on the Kidron Gorge near the Dead Sea. These monks lived on the mountain overlooking Bethlehem in a few caves, in the years 312–315, St. Nicholas lived there and came as a pilgrim to visit the Holy Sepulchre, Golgotha, Bethlehem, and many other sites in the Holy Land. The Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is located on the site of his cave in Beit Jala where today there are stories about Nicholas still handed down from generation to generation. A text written in his own hand is still in the care of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, in 317 he returned to Asia Minor and was soon thereafter consecrated bishop in Myra. In 325, he was one of many bishops to answer the request of Constantine and appear at the First Council of Nicaea, there, Nicholas was a staunch anti-Arian, defender of the Orthodox Christian position, and one of the bishops who signed the Nicene Creed. Tradition has it that he became so angry with the heretic Arius during the Council that he struck him in the face. The modern city of Demre, Turkey is built near the ruins of the home town of ancient Myra
7.
Calvinism
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Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice of John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. The term Calvinism can be misleading, because the tradition which it denotes has always been diverse. The movement was first called Calvinism by Lutherans who opposed it, early influential Reformed theologians include Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Martin Bucer, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodore Beza, and John Knox. In the twentieth century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B. B, Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, Karl Barth, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Cornelius Van Til, and Gordon Clark were influential. Contemporary Reformed theologians include J. I, sproul, Timothy J. Keller, John Piper, David Wells, and Michael Horton. Reformed churches may exercise several forms of polity, most are presbyterian or congregationalist. Calvinism is largely represented by Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist traditions, the biggest Reformed association is the World Communion of Reformed Churches with more than 80 million members in 211 member denominations around the world. There are more conservative Reformed federations such as the World Reformed Fellowship, Calvinism is named after John Calvin. It was first used by a Lutheran theologian in 1552 and it was a common practice of the Catholic Church to name what they perceived to be heresy after its founder. Nevertheless, the term first came out of Lutheran circles, Calvin denounced the designation himself, They could attach us no greater insult than this word, Calvinism. It is not hard to guess where such a deadly hatred comes from that they hold against me, despite its negative connotation, this designation became increasingly popular in order to distinguish Calvinists from Lutherans and from newer Protestant branches that emerged later. Moreover, these churches claim to be—in accordance with John Calvins own words—renewed accordingly with the order of gospel. Since the Arminian controversy, the Reformed tradition—as a branch of Protestantism distinguished from Lutheranism—divided into two groups, Arminians and Calvinists. However, it is now rare to call Arminians a part of the Reformed tradition, some have also argued that Calvinism as a whole stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things including salvation. First-generation Reformed theologians include Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Bucer, Wolfgang Capito, John Oecolampadius, scripture was also viewed as a unified whole, which led to a covenantal theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lords Supper as visible signs of the covenant of grace. Another Reformed distinctive present in these theologians was their denial of the presence of Christ in the Lords supper. Each of these also understood salvation to be by grace alone. Martin Luther and his successor Philipp Melanchthon were undoubtedly significant influences on these theologians, the doctrine of justification by faith alone was a direct inheritance from Luther
8.
De Wallen
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De Wallen or De Walletjes is the largest and best known red-light district in Amsterdam. These kamers are the most visible and typical kind of red light district sex work in Amsterdam and are a large tourist attraction, De Wallen, together with the prostitution areas Singelgebied and Ruysdaelkade, form the Rosse Buurt of Amsterdam. Of these De Wallen is the oldest and largest area, the area also has a number of sex shops, sex theatres, peep shows, a sex museum, a cannabis museum, and a number of coffee shops that sell marijuana. The Rokin and Damrak run along the course of the river Amstel. These two roads meet in Dam Square which marks the spot a bridge was built across the river in 1270 and it had doors which were used to dam the river at certain times to avoid flooding. The Damrak then became a harbor and it was around this area that the red light district first appeared, the walled canals led to the names De Wallen and Walletjes. Historically because of proximity to the harbor the area has attracted both prostitution and migrant populations and these are the features it is best known for today, from late Medieval times the trade started to be restricted. Married men and priests were forbidden to enter the area, in 1578 during the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule a Protestant city board was formed with fornication deemed punishable. Working girls were banned and forced underground and they would work for a madam who provided room and board, protection and advice. Often the madam and girls would venture out at night visiting pubs, parlours remained illegal but tolerated if kept hidden. Trade remained small scale though spread across the city, well known areas were De Haarlemmerdijk, De Houttuinen, Zeedijk and around the harbor. In the 18th century wealthy men would meet working girls at gambling houses on De Gelderskade, the girls would then take the men back to the parlors where they came from. However these were often unappealing to a gentleman of means, a solution to this problem was for the gambling houses to provide board for the girls. This suited everyone including the authorities, the gambling houses invested in luxury furnishings and gradually they became brothels employing up to 30 girls. Famous brothels included De Pijl in Pijlstraat, De Fonteyn in Nieuwmarkt, for those who could not afford these there were still girls to be found around Oudekerksplein and unofficial policies of tolerance remained although prostitution was technically illegal. In 1811 the ban on working girls was lifted, in this Napoleonic period, French soldiers were the main customers of prostitutes in De Wallen. Regulation was brought in and there were compulsory health checks to protect soldiers from venereal diseases and they were given a red card which was a permit to work. If found to be infected the card was taken until they could prove they were free again
9.
Red-light district
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A red-light district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc. are found. The term originates from the red lights that were used as signs of brothels, areas in many big cities around the world have acquired an international reputation as red-light districts. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest known appearance of the red light district in print is in an 1894 article from the Sandusky Register. This has not been proven, but the Dodge City use was responsible for the term becoming pervasive. A widespread folk etymology claims that early railroad workers took red lanterns with them when they visited brothels so their crew could find them in the event of an emergency, however, folklorist Barbara Mikkelson regards this as unfounded. One of the terms used for a red-light district in Japanese is akasen. Japanese police drew a red line on maps to indicate the boundaries of legal red-light districts, in Japanese, the term aosen, literally meaning blue-line, also exists, indicating an illegal district. In the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries, municipal governments typically defined such districts explicitly to contain and regulate prostitution. Some red-light districts are places which are designated by authorities for legal. Often, these districts were formed by authorities to help regulate prostitution and other related activities. With the confining of such industries to an area, such districts became a destination for originally sailors. Other red-light districts, such as those in Thailand, are areas which are monitored by the authorities. This can help counter illegal forms of prostitution, in areas that do allow regular prostitution to occur. List of red-light districts Media related to Red-light districts at Wikimedia Commons
10.
Transept
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A transept is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the edifice. In churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a building within the Romanesque. Each half of a transept is known as a semitransept, the transept of a church separates the nave from the sanctuary, apse, choir, chevet, presbytery or chancel. The transepts cross the nave at the crossing, which belongs equally to the main nave axis, upon its four piers, the crossing may support a spire, a central tower or a crossing dome. Since the altar is located at the east end of a church. The north and south end walls often hold decorated windows of stained glass, such as rose windows, occasionally, the basilicas and the church and cathedral planning that descended from them were built without transepts, sometimes the transepts were reduced to matched chapels. More often, the transepts extended well beyond the sides of the rest of the building, forming the shape of a cross and this design is called a Latin cross ground plan, and these extensions are known as the arms of the transept. A Greek cross ground plan, with all four extensions the same length, when churches have only one transept, as at Pershore Abbey, there is generally a historical disaster, fire, war or funding problem, to explain the anomaly. At Beauvais only the chevet and transepts stand, the nave of the cathedral was never completed after a collapse of the daring high vaulting in 1284. At St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague, only the choir, in a metro station or similar construction, a transept is a space over the platforms and tracks of a station with side platforms, containing the bridge between the platforms. Placing the bridge in a rather than an enclosed tunnel allows passengers to see the platforms. Aisle Apse Cathedral architecture Cathedral diagram Glossary of the Catholic Church Transom
11.
Alteratie
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The Alteratie is the name given to the change of power in Amsterdam on May 26,1578, when the Catholic city government was deposed in favor of a Protestant one. The coup should be seen in the context of the greater Dutch Revolt that was breaking out in this time. Trade interests played an important role, because Amsterdam was becoming isolated as surrounding cities and towns joined the revolt, no one was injured or killed during the coup. On May 29, a new city council was formed, consisting of 30 Calvinists and 10 Catholics, already after a few months, plans were presented to expand the city and the harbor on the eastern side, and to construct new defensive fortifications. Only when the new Regent, John of Austria, recognised the Pacification, lengthy negotiations followed about the Satisfactie, a treaty that would put the city under the authority of the Prince of Orange and the States of Holland. After an incursion into the city by the Geuzen on November 23,1577, in 1578, Amsterdam was one of the most important cities that had not yet joined the Prince of Orange in his rebellion against King Philip II. The war was costly, and a number of cities threatened to defect to the side of the King, with the Satisfactie, Amsterdam joined the rest of the cities of Holland in joining the rebellion. Nonetheless, tensions increased when a conflict arose with the burgomasters of Amsterdam about the control over the schutterij. An important issue with all cities was the question of freedom, if at least one hundred Protestant families resided in a city. After a Hedge Preaching, the issue rapidly escalated, a commission of old Geuzen and a large group of former exiled residents, many of whom owned land and warehouses on the Lastage, organised a gathering to plan their next move. The next day the Dam Square was closed off from the public, the catholic vroedschap was escorted to the Damrak, where barges had been prepared to take them out of Amsterdam. On May 26,1578,24 city-council members were forced to leave Amsterdam and they settled in Haarlem or Leiden or quietly returned later on. The Franciscans, who were hated by the population, were forced to leave. The remaining monks were allowed to remain in the city, the monks were rich and possessed much land, in some monasteries there were hardly any monks present. As a result of the Alteratie, the parish-churches and chapels came into the hands of the Protestants, the oldest parish church of the city, the St. Nicolaschurch, was rechristened as the Oude Kerk, and the Heilige Stede became the Nieuwe Zijds Kapel. The New Church was taken over by the Calvinists after a minor iconoclastic movement in September, the large number of monasteries of the city came under the control of the new city-government, and were given new, non-religious purposes, such as orphanages or prisons. Valuable books were collected in the New Church, another consequence of the Alteratie was the reinforcement of the city walls. The Alteratie is window nummer 8 in the Canon of Amsterdam, De Nederlandse Historiën in het kort
12.
Reformation
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The period is usually considered to have begun with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 to the Thirty Years War and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura, the initial movement within Germany diversified, and other reform impulses arose independently of Luther. The spread of Gutenbergs printing press provided the means for the dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The largest groups were the Lutherans and Calvinists, Lutheran churches were founded mostly in Germany, the Baltics and Scandinavia, while the Reformed ones were founded in Switzerland, Hungary, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. The new movement influenced the Church of England decisively after 1547 under Edward VI and Elizabeth I, there were also reformation movements throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation, which gave rise to the Anabaptist, Moravian and other Pietistic movements. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent, much work in battling Protestantism was done by the well-organised new order of the Jesuits. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of a fierce conflict, culminating in the Thirty Years War, which left it devastated. The oldest Protestant churches, such as the Unitas Fratrum and Moravian Church, the later Protestant Churches generally date their doctrinal separation from the Roman Catholic Church to the 16th century. The Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice. They especially objected to the teaching and the sale of indulgences, and the abuses thereof, and to simony, the reformers saw these practices as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Churchs hierarchy, which included the pope. Unrest due to the Great Schism of Western Christianity excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, New perspectives came from John Wycliffe at Oxford University and from Jan Hus at the Charles University in Prague. Hus rejected indulgences and adopted a doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone, the Roman Catholic Church officially concluded this debate at the Council of Constance by condemning Hus, who was executed by burning despite a promise of safe-conduct. Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428, the Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the century and could not prevent schism. Pope Sixtus IV established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, Pope Alexander VI was one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes. He was the father of seven children, including Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, in response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses. The Reformation was born of Luthers dual declaration – first, the discovering of Jesus and salvation by faith alone, the Protestant reformers were unanimous in agreement and this understanding of prophecy furnished importance to their deeds. It was the point and the battle cry that made the Reformation nearly unassailable
13.
Roman Catholic
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The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services
14.
William the Silent
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He was born in the House of Nassau as Count of Nassau-Dillenburg. He became Prince of Orange in 1544 and is thereby the founder of the branch House of Orange-Nassau, a wealthy nobleman, William originally served the Habsburgs as a member of the court of Margaret of Parma, governor of the Spanish Netherlands. The most influential and politically capable of the rebels, he led the Dutch to several successes in the fight against the Spanish, declared an outlaw by the Spanish king in 1580, he was assassinated by Balthasar Gérard in Delft in 1584. William was born on 24 April 1533 at Dillenburg castle then in the County of Nassau-Dillenburg and he was the eldest son of William, Count of Nassau by his second wife Juliana of Stolberg-Werningerode. Williams father had one surviving daughter by his previous marriage, and his parents had twelve children together, of whom William was the eldest, he had four younger brothers and seven younger sisters. The family was devout and William was raised a Lutheran. In 1544, Williams agnatic first cousin, René of Châlon, Prince of Orange, in his testament, René of Chalon named William the heir to all his estates and titles, including that of Prince of Orange, on the condition that he receive a Roman Catholic education. Williams father acquiesced to this condition on behalf of his 11-year-old son, besides the principality of Orange and significant lands in Germany, William also inherited vast estates in the Low Countries from his cousin. Because of his age, Emperor Charles V, who was the overlord of most of these estates. In Brussels, he was taught foreign languages and received a military and diplomatic education under the direction of Champagney, on 6 July 1551, William married Anna van Egmond en Buren, daughter and heiress of Maximiliaan van Egmond, an important Dutch nobleman. Annas father had died in 1548, and therefore William became Lord of Egmond, the marriage was a happy one and produced three children, one of whom died in infancy. Anna died on 24 March 1558, leaving William much grieved, being a ward of Charles V and having received his education under the tutelage of the Emperors sister, William came under the particular attention of the imperial family, and became a favorite. He was appointed captain in the cavalry in 1551 and received rapid promotion thereafter and this was in 1555, when Charles V sent him to Bayonne with an army to take the city in a siege from the French. William was also made a member of the Raad van State, in 1559, Phillip appointed William stadtholder of the provinces of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht, thereby greatly increasing his political power. A stadtholdership over Franche-Comté followed in 1561, William was also dissatisfied with the increasing persecution of Protestants in the Netherlands. Brought up as a Lutheran and later a Catholic, William was very religious but was still a proponent of freedom of religion for all people, lastly, the opposition wished to see an end to the presence of Spanish troops. On 25 August 1561, William of Orange married for the second time, in early 1565, a large group of lesser noblemen, including Williams younger brother Louis, formed the Confederacy of Noblemen. On 5 April, they offered a petition to Margaret of Parma, from August to October 1566, a wave of iconoclasm spread through the Low Countries
15.
Dutch Revolt
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The southern provinces initially joined in the revolt, but later submitted to Spain. The religious clash of cultures built up gradually but inexorably into outbursts of violence against the repression of the Habsburg Crown. These tensions led to the formation of the independent Dutch Republic, the first leader was William of Orange, followed by several of his descendants and relations. This revolt was one of the first successful secessions in Europe, and led to one of the first European republics of the modern era, King Philip was initially successful in suppressing the rebellion. In 1572, however, the rebels captured Brielle and the rebellion resurged, the northern provinces became independent, first in 1581 de facto, and in 1648 de jure. The Southern Netherlands remained under Spanish rule, the continuous heavy-handed rule by the Habsburgs in the south caused many of its financial, intellectual, and cultural elite to flee north, contributing to the success of the Dutch Republic. The Dutch imposed a blockade on the southern provinces which prevented Baltic grain relieving famine in the southern towns. The first phase of the conflict can be considered to be the Dutch War of Independence, the focus of the latter phase was to gain official recognition of the already de facto independence of the United Provinces. This phase coincided with the rise of the Dutch Republic as a major power, in a series of marriages and conquests, a succession of Dukes of Burgundy expanded their original territory by adding to it a series of fiefdoms, including the Seventeen Provinces. Although Burgundy itself had been lost to France in 1477, the Burgundian Netherlands were still intact when Charles V was born in Ghent in 1500 and he was raised in the Netherlands and spoke fluent Dutch, French, Spanish, and some German. In 1506, he became lord of the Burgundian states, among which were the Netherlands, subsequently, in 1516, he inherited several titles, including the combined kingdoms of Aragon, and Castile and León which had become a worldwide empire with the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In 1519, he became ruler of the Habsburg empire, although Friesland and Guelders offered prolonged resistance, virtually all of the Netherlands had been incorporated into the Habsburg domains by the early 1540s. Flanders had long been a wealthy region, and had been coveted by the French kings for a long time. The other Netherlands had also grown into wealthy and entrepreneurial regions within the empire, Charles Vs empire became a worldwide empire with large American and European territories. The latter were, however, distributed throughout Europe, control and defense of these were hampered by the disparity of the territories and huge length of the empires borders. This large realm was almost continuously at war with its neighbors in its European heartlands, most notably against France in the Italian Wars, further wars were fought against Protestant princes in Germany. The Netherlands paid heavy taxes to fund these wars, but perceived them as unnecessary and sometimes downright harmful, during the 16th century, Protestantism rapidly gained ground in northern Europe. Dutch Protestants, after initial repression, were tolerated by local authorities, by the 1560s, the Protestant community had become a significant influence in the Netherlands, although it clearly formed a minority then
16.
Dutch Reformed Church
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The Dutch Reformed Church was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation until 1930. It was the foremost Protestant denomination, and—since 1892—one of the two major Reformed denominations along with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and it spread to the United States, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and various other world regions through the Dutch colonization. The allegiance to the Dutch Reformed Church was a common feature among Dutch immigrant communities around the world and it developed during the Protestant Reformation, being shaped theologically by John Calvin, but also other major Reformed theologians. At the time of the merger, the Church had 2 million members organised in 1,350 congregations, a minority of members of the Church chose not to participate in the merger and instead formed the Restored Reformed Church. The Reformation was a time of violence and persecution by the established Catholic Church and governments. The first Synod of 23 Dutch Reformed leaders was held in October 1571 in the German city of Emden, the Synod of Emden is generally considered to be the founding of the Dutch Reformed Church, the oldest of the Reformed churches in the Netherlands. The Synod both affirmed the actions of the earlier Synod of Wesel, as well as established presbyterian church government for the Dutch Reformed Church, the first Synod to be located in the Dutch Republic was held in Dordrecht in 1578. This synodical meeting is not to be confused with the better known Second Synod of Dort of 1618, large groups of Marranos settled in Emden and converted to Christianity. Mostly all Marranos, many Jewish groups converted to Christianity around 1649 to the Nederduitsche, Niederdeutsche church later on Dutch Reformed Church, in the latter meeting, the Church fathers expelled Arminians and added the Canons of Dort to the Confessions. The Canons of Dort, together with the previously adopted Belgic Confession, most conflicts and splits in the Church arose because of disagreement over the substance and interpretation of these doctrinal documents. The government of the Dutch Republic, which had instigated the Arminians expulsion, no Synod was held in the Netherlands until after the end of the Republic in 1795. Before the demise of the Dutch Republic in 1795, the Dutch Reformed Church enjoyed the status of public or privileged church, though it was never formally adopted as the state religion, the law demanded that every public official should be a communicant member. Consequently, the Church had close relations with the Dutch government, a privilege of members of the Dutch Reformed Church was that they could have their businesses open on Sundays, otherwise considered a religious day and not one for business. The 17th and early 18th centuries were the age of the Dutch Nadere Reformatie, led primarily by Gisbertus Voetius and Wilhelmus à Brakel, in the 19th century, theological liberalism led to splits in the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1834, the minister Hendrik de Cock of the town of Ulrum was told by leaders that he could not preach against certain colleagues. He and his congregation seceded from the Dutch Reformed Church, in time, the Afscheiding led to the departure of 120 congregations from the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1886, another separation, the Doleantie, occurred, led by Dutch Reformed businessman, theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper. The Dutch Reformed Church remained the largest church body in the Netherlands until the middle of the 20th century, the rapid secularisation of the Netherlands in the 1960s dramatically reduced participation in the mainstream Protestant church
17.
Beeldenstorm
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Most of the destruction was of art in churches and public places. The Dutch term usually refers to the wave of disorderly attacks in the summer of 1566 that spread rapidly through the Low Countries from south to north. In England there was both government-sponsored removal of images and also attacks from 1535 onwards, and in Scotland from 1559. In France there were several outbreaks as part of the French Wars of Religion from 1560 onwards, the region affected was perhaps the richest in Europe, but still seethed with economic discontent among parts of the population, and had suffered a poor harvest and hard winter. However, recent historians are less inclined to see the movement as prompted by these factors than was the case a few decades ago. The Beeldenstorm grew out of a turn in the behaviour of Low Country Protestants starting around 1560, Catholic preachers were interrupted in sermons, and raids were organized to rescue Protestant prisoners from jail, who then often fled into exile in France or England. Protestant views were spread by a movement of field sermons or open-air sermons held outside towns. Prosecutions for heresy continued, especially in the south, although they were erratic, by 1565 the authorities seem to have realized that persecution was not the answer, and the level of prosecutions slackened, and the Protestants became increasingly confident in the open. A letter of July 22,1566, from officials to the Regent, warned that the scandalous pillage of churches, monasteries. Iconoclastic attacks spread rapidly northwards and resulted in the destruction of not only images but all sorts of decoration and fittings in churches, however, there was relatively little loss of life, unlike similar outbreaks in France, where the clergy were often killed, and some iconoclasts too. Valenciennes was the most southerly town attacked, in the east, Maastricht on September 20 and Venlo on October 5 saw attacks, but generally the outbreaks were restricted to more westerly and northern areas. Over 400 churches were attacked in Flanders alone, so that in fine, I cannot write you in x sheets of paper the strange sight I saw there, organs and all destroyed. Nicolas Sander, an English Catholic exile who was a professor of theology at Louvain and these fresh followers of this new preaching threw down the graven and defaced the painted images, not only of Our Lady but of all others in the town. The Blessed Sacrament of the altar and they trod under their feet and shed their stinking piss upon it. Such details are corroborated by other sources. Alcohol features largely in many accounts, perhaps in some cases because in Netherlandish law being drunk could be regarded as a mitigating factor in criminal sentencing. The destruction frequently included ransacking the priests house, and sometimes private houses suspected of sheltering church goods, there are many accounts of rituals of inversion, in which the church sometimes stood for the whole social order. Children sometimes participated enthusiastically, and street games afterwards became play battles between papists and beggars, one child was killed in Amsterdam by a stone thrown in such a game
18.
Jan van Scorel
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Jan van Scorel was a Dutch painter, who played a leading role in introducing aspects of Italian Renaissance painting into Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting. Van Scorel was one of the painters of the Romanist style who had spent a number of years in Italy. His trip to Italy coincided with the reign of the only Dutch pope in history. The pope made him a painter and superintendent of his collection of antiquities. His stay in Italy lasted from 1518 to 1524 and he also visited Nuremberg, Venice and Jerusalem. Venetian art had an important impact on the development of his style and he differed from most Romanists in that he was a native of the northern Netherlands and not of Flanders and that he remained most of his life in the northern Netherlands. He settled permanently in Utrecht in 1530 and established a workshop on the Italian model. The workshop mainly produced altarpieces, many of which were destroyed in the Reformation iconoclasm in the years just after his death and this did not stop him from having a long-time relationship with a mistress who may have modelled for some of his female figures. Van Scorel was born in Schoorl, north of Alkmaar and close to Egmond Abbey, van Scorel is recorded in Haarlem in 1517 where he perhaps collaborated with his contemporary Maarten van Heemskerck, who like him, had been born close to Alkmaar. In 1524 Jan Gossaert is recorded at Duurstede Castle, near Utrecht, van Scorel began traveling through Europe in his early twenties after visiting Utrecht. In 1518-22 he is registered in Venice, and along the way, heading to Nuremberg, in the village of Obervellach in 1520, he completed his first representative work, the Sippenaltar in St. Martins church. Giorgione was an influence on van Scorel during his tenure in Venice. After leaving Venice, van Scorel was in Rome from 1522 to 1524 and his experiences in Jerusalem are depicted in many of his later works. Perhaps van Scorels example encouraged van Heemskerck to travel to Rome himself later, in 1521, van Scorel returned to Rome where he met the Dutch pope Pope Adrian VI, who he may have met earlier in Utrecht. The pope appointed him painter to the Vatican, the pope sat for a portrait by van Scorel. Van Scorel underwent the influence of Michelangelo and Raphael and succeeded Raphael as Keeper of the Belvedere, upon his return to the Netherlands in 1524, he settled in Utrecht where he began a successful career as a painter and a teacher. Van Scorel was an educated man and skilled as an engineer. He was also multi-lingual, no doubt as a result of his travels and he made the plans for building a polder in his native North Holland, called the Zijpe- en Hazepolder, that was later financed by his friend from Antwerp, the merchant Servaes de Haese
19.
Maarten van Heemskerck
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Maerten van Heemskerck or Marten Jacobsz Heemskerk van Veen was a Dutch portrait and religious painter, who spent most of his career in Haarlem. He was a pupil of Jan van Scorel, and adopted his teachers Italian-influenced style and he spent the years 1532–6 in Italy. He produced many designs for engravers, and is known for his depictions of the Wonders of the World. Heemskerck was born in the village of Heemskerk, North Holland and he was the son of a farmer called Jacob Willemsz. According to his biography by Karel van Mander, he began his training with the painter Cornelius Willemsz in Haarlem. Heemskerck then went to lodge at the home of the curate of the Sint-Bavokerk. They knew each other because Foppesz owned land in Heemskerk, the artist painted him in a now famous family portrait, considered the first of its kind in a long line of Dutch family paintings. His other works for Foppesz included two life size figures symbolising the Sun and the Moon on a bedstead, and a picture of Adam and his next home was in the house of a goldsmith, Justus Cornelisz, on the edge of Haarlem. Before setting off for Italy on a Grand Tour in 1532 and he travelled around the whole of northern and central Italy, stopping at Rome, where he had letters of introduction from van Scorel to the influential Dutch cardinal William of Enckenvoirt. Giorgio Vasari, who saw the battle-pieces which Heemskerk then produced, said they were well composed, while in Rome where he made numerous drawings of classical sculpture and architecture, many of which survive in two sketchbooks now in the Kupferstichkabinett Berlin. He was to use them as source material throughout the rest of his career, among these are the Capitoline Brutus, van Heemskerck being the first known artist to make a sketch of this now famous bust. On his return to the Netherlands in 1536, he settled back at Haarlem, where he became president of the Haarlem Guild of Saint Luke, married twice, the alteration in his style, brought about by his experience of Italy was not universally admired. According to van Mander, in the opinion of some of the best judges he had not improved it, except in one particular and he painted large altarpieces for his friend, the art maecenas and later martyr of the Protestant Reformation, Cornelis Muys. Muys had returned from a period in France to the Netherlands in 1538 and this lucrative and high-profile work in Delft earned Heemskerck a commission for an altarpiece in the Nieuwe Kerk for their Guild of St. Luke. In 1553 he became curate of the Sint-Bavokerk, where he served for 22 years, in 1572 he left Haarlem for Amsterdam, to avoid the siege of Haarlem which the Spaniards laid to the place. He was one of the first Netherlandish artists to make drawings specifically for reproduction by commercial printmakers and he employed a technique incorporating cross-hatching and stippling, intended to aid the engraver. Heemskerck produced designs for a set of engravings, showing eight and they were engraved by Philip Galle and published in 1572. Many works by van Heemskerck survive, an altar-piece executed for the St
20.
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
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Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard composers of Europe, Sweelinck was born in Deventer, Netherlands, in April or May 1562. He was the eldest son of organist Peter Swybbertszoon and Elske Jansdochter Sweeling, soon after Sweelincks birth, the family moved to Amsterdam, where from about 1564, Pieter Swybbertszoon served as organist of the Oude Kerk. Jan Pieterszoon must have received first lessons in music from his father, unfortunately, his father died in 1573. He subsequently received general education under Jacob Buyck, Catholic pastor of the Oude Kerk, according to Cornelis Plemp, a pupil and friend of Sweelincks, he started his 44-year career as organist of the Oude Kerk in 1577, when he was 15. Sweelincks widowed mother died in 1585, and Jan Pieterszoon took responsibility for his brother and sister. His salary of 100 florins was doubled the year, presumably to help matters. In addition, he was offered an additional 100 guilders in the event that he married and he was also offered the choice between a further 100 guilders and free accommodations in a house belonging to the town, the latter of which he chose. Sweelincks first published works date from around 1592–94, three volumes of chansons, the last of which is the remaining volume published in 1594. Sweelinck then set to publishing psalm settings, aiming to set the entire Psalter and these works appeared in four large volumes published in 1604,1613,1614 and 1621. The last volume was published posthumously and, presumably, in unfinished form, Sweelinck died of unknown causes on 16 October 1621 and was buried in the Oude Kerk. He was survived by his wife and five of their six children and these duties resulted in short visits to Delft, Dordrecht, Enkhuizen, Haarlem, Harderwijk, Middelburg, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Rhenen, as well as Deventer, his birthplace. Sweelincks longest voyage was to Antwerpen in 1604, when he was commissioned by the Amsterdam authorities to buy a harpsichord for the city and his popularity as a composer, performer and teacher increased steadily during his lifetime. Contemporaries nicknamed him Orpheus of Amsterdam and even the city authorities frequently brought important visitors to hear Sweelincks improvisations, Sweelincks only duties in Amsterdam were those of an organist. Contrary to custom, he did not play the carillon or the harpsichord on formal occasions, Calvinist services did not typically include organ playing due to the belief in what is now called the Regulative Principle. The Regulative Principle restricted the elements of worship to only that which was commanded in the New Testament. However, the Consistory of Dordrecht of 1598 instructed organists to play variations on the new Genevan psalm tunes before, Sweelinck was employed instead by the city itself. As he worked for Protestant magistrates the remainder of his life, in the 1590s three of his children were baptized in the Oude Kerk
21.
Rembrandt
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Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a Dutch draughtsman, painter, and printmaker. A prolific and versatile master across three media, he is considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art. Having achieved youthful success as a painter, Rembrandts later years were marked by personal tragedy. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, Rembrandts portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible are regarded as his greatest creative triumphs. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and his reputation as the greatest etcher in the history of the medium was established in his lifetime, and never questioned since. Few of his paintings left the Dutch Republic whilst he lived, but his prints were circulated throughout Europe, because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called one of the great prophets of civilization. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on 15 July 1606 in Leiden, in the Dutch Republic and he was the ninth child born to Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn and Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuijtbrouck. His family was quite well-to-do, his father was a miller, religion is a central theme in Rembrandts paintings and the religiously fraught period in which he lived makes his faith a matter of interest. His mother was Roman Catholic, and his father belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church, unlike many of his contemporaries who traveled to Italy as part of their artistic training, Rembrandt never left the Dutch Republic during his lifetime. He opened a studio in Leiden in 1624 or 1625, which he shared with friend, in 1627, Rembrandt began to accept students, among them Gerrit Dou in 1628. In 1629, Rembrandt was discovered by the statesman Constantijn Huygens, as a result of this connection, Prince Frederik Hendrik continued to purchase paintings from Rembrandt until 1646. He initially stayed with an art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburgh, Saskia came from a good family, her father had been a lawyer and the burgemeester of Leeuwarden. When Saskia, as the youngest daughter, became an orphan, Rembrandt and Saskia were married in the local church of St. Annaparochie without the presence of Rembrandts relatives. In the same year, Rembrandt became a burgess of Amsterdam and he also acquired a number of students, among them Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck. In 1635 Rembrandt and Saskia moved into their own house, renting in fashionable Nieuwe Doelenstraat, in 1639 they moved to a prominent newly built house in the upscale Breestraat, today known as Jodenbreestraat in what was becoming the Jewish quarter, then a young upcoming neighborhood. The mortgage to finance the 13,000 guilder purchase would be a cause for later financial difficulties. Rembrandt should easily have been able to pay the house off with his income, but it appears his spending always kept pace with his income. It was there that Rembrandt frequently sought his Jewish neighbors to model for his Old Testament scenes, in 1640, they had a second daughter, also named Cornelia, who died after living barely over a month
22.
Saskia van Uylenburgh
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Saskia van Uylenburgh was the wife of painter Rembrandt van Rijn. In the course of her life she was his model for some of his paintings, drawings and etchings and she was the daughter of a Frisian mayor. Asteroid 461 Saskia is named in her honour, Saskia was orphaned by age 12, as her mother died in 1619 and her father five years later. Saskia was raised by her sister Hiskje and her husband, Gerard van Loo, for a while she lived in Franeker when her sister Antje was ill. After Antjes burial, Saskia assisted her brother-in-law, the Polish theology professor Johannes Maccovius, in 1631 and in the company of the Mennonite painters Govert Flinck and Jacob Backer, Saskia traveled to Amsterdam. There she met Rembrandt, who produced paintings and portraits for Uylenburghs Amsterdam clients, in turn Rembrandt travelled to Leeuwarden, where he was received by the painter Wybrand de Geest, who had married Saskias niece. Saskia and Rembrandt were engaged in 1633, and on 10 June 1634 Rembrandt asked permission to marry in Sint Annaparochie and he showed his mothers written consent to the schepen. On 2 July the couple married, the preacher was Saskias cousin, but evidently none of Rembrandts family attended the marriage. In 1635 the couple moved to one of the most desirable addresses in Amsterdam, the Nieuwe Doelenstraat, with prominent neighbors, Rembrandt gained financial success through his artwork, and decided in 1639 to buy a house in the Jodenbreestraat, next to the place where he worked. A year before, by July 16,1638, Saskias Friesian relatives complained that Saskia was spoiling her inheritance, Rembrandt asked his brother-in-law Ulricus van Uylenburgh, also a lawyer, to help them out, confirming he was successful and able to pay for the house. Three of their children died shortly after birth and were buried in the nearby Zuiderkerk, the sole survivor was Titus, who was named after his mothers sister Titia van Uylenburgh. Saskia died the year after he was born, in Amsterdam, aged 29 and she was buried in the Oude Kerk. For ten years Rembrandt focused on drawings and etchings, Saskia allowed Rembrandt to use their sons inheritance as long as he did not remarry. If Titus died without issue, Rembrandt would be the heir of the moveable property, Rembrandt hired Geertje Dircx as a wetnurse, in 1649 she expected him to marry her. The next year Rembrandt had her locked up in a house of correction when Hendrickje Stoffels became his new housekeeper, in 1662 Rembrandt, having been in financial trouble for several years, sold Saskias grave. The Embarrassment of Riches, An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age Driessen, Christoph, Rembrandts vrouwen, graaff, A. & M. Roscam Abbing Rembrandt voor Dummies
23.
Vault (architecture)
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Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that requires a counter resistance, when vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required. However, when the vault is built above ground, various replacements are employed to supply the needed resistance, an example is the thicker walls used in the case of barrel or continuous vaults. Buttresses are used to supply resistance when intersecting vaults are employed, the simplest kind of vault is the barrel vault, which is generally semicircular in shape. The barrel vault is an arch, the length being greater than its diameter. As in building an arch, a support is needed while rings of voussoirs are constructed. Until the topmost voussoir, the keystone, is positioned, the vault is not self-supporting, with a barrel vault, the centering can then be shifted on to support the next rings. Amongst the earliest known examples of any form of vaulting is to be found in the village of Khirokitia on Cyprus. Dating from ca.6000 BCE, the circular buildings supported beehive shaped corbel domed vaults of unfired mud-bricks, similar Beehive tombs, called tholoi, exist in Crete and Northern Iraq. Their construction differs from that at Khirokitia in that most appear partially buried, the inclusion of domes, however, represents a wider sense of the word vault. The distinction between the two is that a vault is essentially an arch which is extruded into the third dimension, whereas a dome is an arch revolved around its vertical axis. Pitched-brick vaults are named for their construction, the bricks are installed vertically and are leaning at an angle, examples have been found in archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia dating to the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC which were set in gypsum mortar. A barrel vault is the simplest form of a vault and resembles a barrel or tunnel cut lengthwise in half, the effect is that of a structure composed of continuous semicircular or pointed sections. The earliest known examples of barrel vaults were built by the Sumerians, possibly under the ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, which was built of fired bricks cemented with clay mortar. The earliest barrel vaults in ancient Egypt are thought to be those in the built by the 19th dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses II. The vault being over 800 feet long,10 feet in span, the enormous Eyvan-e Khosro at Ctesiphon was built over 1,500 years ago during the Persian Sasanian period as a throne room. The arch is about 37 metres high,26 metres across and 50 metres long, built entirely without centering, the rings relieved the centering from the weight imposed, and the two layers of bricks carried the concrete till it had set. As the walls carrying these vaults were built in concrete with occasional bond courses of brick
24.
Estonia
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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 of land and water, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, in 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Supreme Soviet issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on 20 August 1991. Estonia is a parliamentary republic divided into fifteen counties. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least-populous member states of the European Union, Eurozone, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, OECD and Schengen Area. Estonia is a country with an advanced, high-income economy that is among the fastest growing in the EU. Its Human Development Index ranks very highly, and it performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, the 2015 PISA test places Estonian high school students 3rd in the world, behind Singapore and Japan. Citizens of Estonia are provided with health care, free education. Since independence the country has developed its IT sector, becoming one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies. In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet, in the Estonian language, the oldest known endonym of the Estonians was maarahvas, meaning country people or people of the land. The land inhabited by Estonians was called Maavald meaning Country Parish or Land Parish, one hypothesis regarding the modern name of Estonia is that it originated from the Aesti, a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania. The historic Aesti were allegedly Baltic people, whereas the modern Estonians are Finno-Ugric, the geographical areas between Aesti and Estonia do not match, with Aesti being further down south. Ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, as the country is called in Icelandic. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia, esthonia was a common alternative English spelling prior to 1921. Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago, the earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in communities near bodies of water
25.
Misericord
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Prayers in the early medieval church at the daily divine offices were said standing with uplifted hands. The old or infirm could use crutches or, as went on. For these times of required standing, seating was constructed so that the seats could be turned up, however, the undersides sometimes had a small shelf, a misericord, allowing the user to lean against it, slightly reducing their discomfort. Remnants 1969 catalogue dismisses everything after that date as modern, rarely even affording it a description, but there are many carvings from the Victorian era. The earliest set of misericords can be found in the stalls of Exeter Cathedral. Many stalls with misericords were once part of monastic or collegiate churches and those that survived were further depleted by 17th-century iconoclasts and Victorian reformers. One set at Chester was destroyed by Dean Howson because he deemed it improper, the woodcarvers came from Lincoln in the late 14th century and moved on to Westminster Hall when they had finished the choir, three years later. It is said that it was the apprentices who were allowed to carve the seats, a distinct use of the word is to denote a room in a medieval Benedictine monastery where some part of the community would eat on any given day. The Rule of Saint Benedict included strict rules on the allowed for monks in the refectory, for example. At Westminster Abbey, the misericord was constructed sometime between 1230 and 1270, Misericords are found to this day on kathismata, the choir stalls used by Eastern Orthodox monastics. These tend to be simpler than their Western counterparts, usually being a simple strip of rounded wood with little or no ornamentation. Their use is common in the Greek Orthodox Church, though Russian Orthodox monasteries tend not to have individual choir stalls. Orthodox Christians stand throughout the long services, rather than sit or kneel, though some seating is provided for the elderly. Whereas Greek monks will tend to lean in their stalls during the services, as the hidden position and vernacular iconography of misericords have prompted them to be seen as a subversive art-form, they have re-appeared as motifs in modern art and literature. Remnant, G. L. Misericords in Great Britain, with an essay on their iconography by Mary D. Anderson, block, Corpus of Medieval Misericords in France, XIII – XVI century. Block, Corpus of Medieval Misericords Iberia, Portugal – Spain XIII-XVI, block, Corpus of Medieval Misericords, Belgium – Netherlands. ISBN 1-872501-98-2 Paul Hardwick, English Medieval Misericords, the margins of meaning, ISBN 1-84383-659-9 Dorothy and Henry Kraus, The Gothic Choirstalls of Spain. ISBN 0-7102-0294-6 Dorothy and Henry Kraus, The Hidden World of Misericords
26.
Jacob van Heemskerk
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Jacob van Heemskerk was a Dutch explorer and later admiral commanding the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Gibraltar. Brother of Cornelis van Heemskerck himself a renowned explorer of Brazil. Jacob van Heemskerk was born in Amsterdam in 1567 and he is described as having delicate feature, large brown eyes, a thin high nose, fair hair and beard, and a soft gentle expression. Under a quiet exterior and plain dress were a daring nature and indomitable ambition for military, Van Heemskerks early fame arose from an attempt to discover an Arctic passage from Europe to China. Two vessels sailed from Amsterdam on 10 May 1596, under the command of van Heemskerck, willem Barentsz accompanied Heemskerck as pilot, and Gerrit de Veer, the historian of the voyage, was on board as mate. They sailed northwards, and on 9 June discovered Bear Island in the Barents Sea, continuing on the same course they sighted a mountainous snow-covered land in about 80 N. lat. soon afterwards being stopped by the polar pack ice. This important discovery was named Spitsbergen, and was believed to be a part of Greenland, arriving at Bear Island again on 1 July, Rijp parted company, while Heemskerck and Barents proceeded eastward, intending to pass round the northern extreme of Novaya Zemlya. On 26 August they reached Ice Haven, after rounding the northern extremity of the land, here their vessel became anchored in ice and they wintered in a house built out of driftwood and planks from the tween decks and the deck-house of the vessel. On 13 June they made their way in two boats to the Lapland coast, but Barents died during the voyage, on 20 June. He later commanded several voyages to the East Indies, setting up trading posts on various islands, on May 1,1598 Van Heemskerck set out from Texel in a fleet of eight ships bound for the East and returned on May 19,1600. He sailed out again the year in a combined fleet of thirteen ships with Admiral Wolphert Harmensz. The fleet split at the Azores with Harmensz going to Mauritius and Van Heemskerck heading straight for the Moluccas. J. K. J. de Jonge described him as. less of a sailor, more of a Drake or a Cavendish, a gentleman adventurer, somewhat proud and lofty. When reproached by a factor in Madura for risking the companys property, Van Heemskerck responded, Where we risk our lives and he knew how to inspire his men with a blind confidence in himself. When Van Heemskerck was on board the sailors felt safe, a battle they termed a Heemskerck fight. Van Heemskerck later served as an admiral, protecting Dutch merchant shipping on voyages to China. He died as a result of leg wounds caused by cannonball, during the Battle of Gibraltar and his body was returned to Amsterdam to be buried with full honours in the old Church. His suit of armour - minus a thigh plate shattered by the fatal cannonball - is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and he has, over the years, lent his name to a number of vessels of the Royal Netherlands Navy and a Boeing 737 of the Dutch airline KLM
27.
Adriaen Block
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He is credited with being the first European to enter Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River and to determine that Manhattan and Long Island are islands. Though spending much of his time at sea, Block called Amsterdam his home, there, on October 26,1603, he married Neeltje Hendricks van Gelder, with whom he would have five children between 1607 and 1615. In 1606 they moved into a house called De Twee Bontecraijen on Amsterdams Oude Waal street, in the 1590s, Block already was active in the shipping trade, transporting wood from Northern Europe to deforested Spain. He is for example mentioned delivering Norwegian wood in April 1596 in Bilbao, from there he headed for Ribadeo to buy goods for Cádiz. In April 1601, he was part of a convoy of ships leaving Amsterdam for the Dutch East Indies, at that time probably as far as the Moluccas, returning home in 1603. In the spring of 1604, after delivering goods in Liguria and this trade fell through, and he headed home to Amsterdam. Passing Lisbon, he came upon a Lübeck-based ship returning from a trip to Brazil and he had written permission from Dutch authorities to capture enemy ships, which he put to use, taking the ship and its load to Amsterdam. Though the ship and some of its goods were returned to its owners, Block made a lot of money, cornelis Rijser, successfully returned in the St. It took about ten weeks to sail to New Netherland, sometimes longer, in 1613, he made a fourth voyage to the lower Hudson in the Tyger accompanied by several other ships especially equipped for trading. While moored along southern Manhattan, the Tyger was accidentally destroyed by fire, over the winter, he and his men, with help from the Lenape, built the 44. 5-foot ship 16-ton Onrust. In this later ship, he explored the East River and was the first known European to navigate the Hellegat and to enter Long Island Sound. Travelling along Long Island Sound, he entered the Housatonic River and the Connecticut River, leaving Long Island Sound, he charted Block Island, which is named for him and Narragansett Bay, where he possibly named Roode Eylandt after the red color of its soil. On Cape Cod, he rendezvoused with one of the ships of the expedition. Block set up colonies in Connecticut, one of the first is present day Windsor. The life was hard, as it was settled in the winter as a result of the Connecticut river turning to ice, Block sailed up the Connecticut River, and originally created the Dutch base that later became Hartford. He is credited with naming Fishers Island after a shipmate, Fishers Island is today part of New York rather than Connecticut. Upon returning, Block compiled a map of his voyage together with information of the time. The Block map was the first to apply the name New Netherland to the area between English Virginia and French Canada, as well as the first to show Long Island as an island
28.
Catharina Questiers
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Catharina Questiers was a Dutch poet and dramatist. Along with Cornelia van der Veer and Katharyne Lescailje she was the most successful female Dutch poet of the half of the 17th century. Her brother David also achieved note as a poet. Catharina Questiers was born and died in Amsterdam, the family originally came from the Flemish Ypres. Her father had a thriving plumbing business in Amsterdam Warmoesstraat, Catherine was the youngest of 6 children born in the house, and was suspected to come from a Roman Catholic background. However, it was unusual for those who practice Catholicism to leave Catholic Brabant and her father’s business made their family relatively wealthy, so they had a good life. Her father was not only a man, but had influence and prestige in the theatrical. He was a member of the Brabant “Chamber of Rhetoric, White Lavender, a member of Coster’s Academy, and he wrote a play called “Griecxen Amadis” that was performed numerous times in what was at the time the most prestigious theatre, the Academy on the Keizersgracht. Catharina wrote her first poem with her brother, David, when she was 8 years old and she continued to mold her craft until her first work appeared in “Corpse’s Complaint”, written after the death of her admired and well esteemed friend and poet, Tesselschade Roemersdr Visscher. The poem appeared in JacobViverius, “Wintery Nights”, Catharina Questiers began making a name for herself when she began writing plays for the Dutch Republic. At the time, Spanish plays were revered for their love triangles and spectacular action scenes. “Her first play, The geheymen lover, had an operation on a verse to prose translation of the Spanish comedy las mujeres vieran No. of Lope de Vega. ”She dedicated her first play to Queen Christina because she was well educated and knew Dutch. Her second play was, “cashmere” or muffled to high, was modeled this play after Spanish prose as well and it was first performed on October 25,1656. This play in particular earned Catharina a great deal more prestige and fame, the talk of her play gained so much attention that the Amsterdam city council attended a performance. When Catharina first began writing plays for the Republic, she was the youngest person to ever do so, furthermore, she was one of the first female writers of her time, which created a great deal of interest amongst her male co-authors. Actor and playwright Jan van Daalen wrote in the preliminaries, How a womans image can make such heifers, Catherina was not just a formidable poet and playwright. She was a dynamic, and multitalented artist as well. She and her brother, David, “etched in copper and wood, drew, sculpted, embroidered, engravings of her hand appeared in the olipodrigo. ”These pictures illustrated some of her poems as well as the poems of her brother, David
29.
Jacob Dircksz de Graeff
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Jacob Dircksz de Graeff was one of the most illustrious members of the De Graeff family. He was a member of the States Faction, regent. In the mid 17th century, during the Dutch Golden Age, together with Bicker he was also the leader of the Arminian faction of the city. Jacob de Graeff was very critical of the Orange familys influence and he was a member of a family of regents who belonged to the republican political movement also referred to as the ‘state oriented’, as opposed to the Royalists. Jacob de Graeff was born in Emden, the son of Diederik Jansz, Graeff and Agnies Pietresdr van Neck. He grew up in Emden and later in Amsterdam, in the Niezel, during the Dutch Golden Age, the De Graeff family were very critical of the Orange family’s influence in the Netherlands. Together with the Republican-minded brothers Andries, Cornelis and Jan Bicker and they desired the full sovereignty of the individual regions in a form in which the Republic of the United Seven Netherlands was not ruled by a single person. Instead of a sovereign the political and military power was lodged with the States General, Jacob De Graeffs two sons Cornelis and Andries de Graeff became the strongest Dutch regents during the First Stadtholderless Period. As a member of the De Graeff family and regent-mayor of Amsterdam Jacob held the titles as Lord of the fief of Zuid-Polsbroek, Lord of Sloten, Nieuwer-Amstel, Osdorp. Jacob was also chieflandholder of the Zijpe- en Hazepolder, Watergraafs-, De Graeff studied Classical language at Leiden University. In 1597 he married to Aaltje Boelens Loen, and among the children were Cornelis, Andries and Agneta de Graeff van Polsbroek. De Graeff was a merchant, and in 1598 became Schepen, from 1603 a member of the Vroedschap and he was first named as mayor of Amsterdam in 1611. During his councillorship in the States of Holland and West Friesland De Graeff get sympathy with Oldenbarnevelt, in 1618, as regent-mayor of Amsterdam, Jacob de Graeff was deeply involved in the political crisis that engulfed the Oldenbarnevelt regime and brought about its fall. The Counter-Remonstrants opposed this, and the stadtholder, Maurice of Nassau viewed this policy as a challenge to his authority as commander-in-chief of the States Army. On 23 August 1618, by order of the States-General, Oldenbarnevelt and his supporters such as Hugo Grotius, Gilles van Ledenberg. Jacob de Graeff lost his position in the government for some years. After the political collapse of the royalist Reinier Pauw in 1627 De Graeff returned to power again, during the late 1620s and the 1630s he controlled the citys politics in close cooperation with his nephew Andries Bicker. De Graeff died in Amsterdam and his tomb chapel can be found in the Oude Kerk, after his death his son Cornelis and the hardcore republican brothers Andries and Cornelis Bicker took over his role on the council
30.
Andries de Graeff
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Free Imperial Knight Andries de Graeff was a very powerful member of the Amsterdam branch of the De Graeff - family during the Dutch Golden Age. He became a mayor of Amsterdam and a powerful Amsterdam regent after the death of his older brother Cornelis de Graeff, like him and their father Jacob Dircksz de Graeff he opposed the house of Orange. In the mid-17th century he controlled the finances and politics, Andries de Graeff followed in his fathers and brothers footsteps and, between 1657 and 1672, was appointed mayor some seven times. De Graeff was a member of a family of regents who belonged to the political movement also referred to as the ‘state oriented’. Andries was called the last regent and mayor from the dynastie of the Graven, together with his broether Cornelis De Graeff became an illustrious Patron and Art collector. Andries de Graeff was born in Amsterdam, the son of Jacob Dircksz de Graeff. His older sister Agneta who married Johan Bicker, was the mother of Johan de Witts wife Wendela Bicker, after he has been finished his study in Poitiers he was married to his niece Elisabeth Bicker van Swieten, daughter of the Amsterdam Mayor Cornelis Bicker van Swieten. Both his brother Cornelis and Andries were very critical of the Orange family’s influence, together with the Republican political leader Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, the De Graeff brothers strived for the abolition of stadtholdership. They desired the full sovereignty of the regions in a form in which the Republic of the United Seven Netherlands was not ruled by a single person. Instead of a sovereign the political and military power was lodged with the States General, during the two decades the De Graeff family had a leading role in the Amsterdam administration, the city was at the peak of its political power. This period was referred to by Republicans as the ‘Ware Vrijheid’. It was the First Stadtholderless Period which lasted from 1650 to 1672, during these twenty years, the regents from Holland and in particular those of Amsterdam, controlled the republic. The city was flush with self-confidence and liked to compare itself to the famous Republic of Rome, even without a stadtholder, things seemed to be going well for the Republic and its regents both politically and economically. Andries de Graeff was from 1646 a member of the vroedschap, between 1650 and 1657 he was advisor of finances and finance minister of Holland at Den Haag. In 1650 he started his career as advisor in the ministerium of finances in Den Haag, after he became a minister he went back to Amsterdam, and took place as a sort of chairing mayor of this city. After the death of his brother Cornelis, De Graeff became the leader of the republicans. He held this position until the rampjaar and he also became an advisor of the Admiralty of Amsterdam and in 1661 he was made an advisor of the States of Holland and West Friesland. In 1660 the Dutch Gift was organized by the regents, especially Andries, in 1667 De Graeff was one of the sponsors of the Perpetual Edict, that was a resolution of the States of Holland in which they abolished the office of Stadtholder in the province of Holland
31.
Cornelis de Graeff
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Cornelis de Graeff, also Cornelis de Graeff van Polsbroek was the most illustrious member of the De Graeff family. He was a mayor of Amsterdam from the Dutch Golden Age, like his father Jacob Dircksz de Graeff, he opposed the house of Orange, and was the moderate successor to the republican Andries Bicker. In the mid 17th century he controlled the finances and politics and, in close cooperation with his brother Andries de Graeff and their nephew Johan de Witt. Cornelis de Graeff followed in his footsteps and, between 1643 and 1664, was appointed mayor some ten times. De Graeff was a member of a family of regents who belonged to the political movement also referred to as the ‘state oriented’. Cornelis de Graeff was also the founder of a regent dynasty that retained power and influence for centuries and he was Lord of the semisouverain Fief Zuidpolsbroek and an Ambachtsheer of Sloten, Sloterdijk, Nieuwer-Amstel, Osdorp and Amstelveen, near Amsterdam, and castlelord of Ilpenstein. De Graeff was also President of the Dutch East Indies Company, like his brother, Andries De Graeff, he was an art collector and patron of the arts. During his life De Graeff was often called Polsbroek or Lord Polsbroek, Cornelis de Graeff was the oldest son of Jacob Dircksz de Graeff and his wife Aeltje Boelens Loen. He grew up in the Niezel, a street not far from the Oude Kerk. De Graeff was crippled for life in the arm by a childhood accident. At twenty he went to Paris and in 1633 he married Geertruid Overlander, daughter of Volkert Overlander, whose brother-in-law was Frans Banning Cocq and she died only a few months later and he remarried with Catharina Hooft, nineteen years younger and his first wifes cousin. They had two children - Pieter de Graeff and Jacob de Graeff, the married couple inhabited a fine building with precious woodwork, not far from the city hall, at what is now Herengracht 216. Both his brother Andries and Cornelis were very critical of the Orange family’s influence, together with the Republican political leader Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, the De Graeff brothers strived for the abolition of stadtholdership. They desired the full sovereignty of the regions in a form in which the Republic of the United Seven Netherlands was not ruled by a single person. Instead of a sovereign the political and military power was lodged with the States General, during the two decades the De Graeff family had a leading role in the Amsterdam administration, the city was at the peak of its political power. This period was referred to by Republicans as the ‘Ware Vrijheid’. It was the First Stadtholderless Period which lasted from 1650 to 1672, during these twenty years, the regents from Holland and in particular those of Amsterdam, controlled the republic. The city was flush with self-confidence and liked to compare itself to the famous Republic of Rome, even without a stadtholder, things seemed to be going well for the Republic and its regents both politically and economically
32.
Catharina Hooft
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Hooft was a woman of the Dutch Golden Age. She became famous at an early age, when she was painted by Frans Hals. At the age of sixteen she married Cornelis de Graeff, nineteen years her senior, thus she became first lady of Soestdijk, one of the familys country houses. Catharina Hooft was also a Lady of the High and free Fief of Purmerland and her father Pieter Jansz Hooft was a nephew of the Amsterdam mayor Cornelis Pietersz. Hooft and related to the renowned P. C, Hooft of the Muiderslot - a wealthy citizen. Her mother, Geertruid Overlander, was forty-one and she and her husband had given up hope of having children when Catharina was born, on 14 August 1635 Catharina married Cornelis de Graeff, an older widower, whose first wife had been Catharinas cousin. The couple had themselves painted in princely fashion, in black with golden chains. Catharina bore two sons, Pieter and Jacob, by the Act of Seclusion William was not allowed to accede and power remained in the regents hands. William bought the de Graeff hunting lodge and its fields, now the Soestdijk Palace. Catharina outlived her husband for thirty years and she was buried in Amsterdam on October 6,1691. Graeff, P. de Genealogie van de familie De Graeff van Polsbroek, bruijn, J. H. de Genealogie van het geslacht De Graeff van Polsbroek 1529/1827, met bijlagen. De heerlijkheid Purmerland en Ilpendam Catharina Hooft at Heren van Holland Catharina Hooft at Vrouwen van Soestdijk Stamboomdelen Hooft
33.
Pieter Lastman
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Pieter Lastman was a Dutch painter. Lastman is considered important because of his work as a painter of history pieces and because his pupils included Rembrandt, in his paintings Lastman paid a lot of attention to the faces, hands and feet. Pieter Lastman was born in Amsterdam, the son of a town-beadle and his mother was an appraiser of paintings and goods. His apprenticeship was with Gerrit Pietersz Sweelinck, the brother of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, between approximately 1604 and 1607 Lastman was in Italy, where he was influenced by Caravaggio and by Adam Elsheimer. Back in Amsterdam he moved in with his mother in the Sint Antoniesbreestraat, Lastman never married although he promised to marry the sister of Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero. Because of his health Lastman moved in with his brother in 1632 and he died the next year and was buried in the Oude Kerk on 4 April 1633. Because Rembrandt never visited Italy, it is likely that he was influenced by Caravaggio mainly or significantly via Lastman and his pupils besides Rembrandt and Lievens were Bartholomeus Breenbergh, Nicolaes Lastman, Pieter Pieterz Nedek and Jan Albertsz Rotius. ^ Murray, P. & L. Penguin dictionary of art and artists, p.287, 436–438
34.
Willem van der Zaan
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Willem van der Zaan was a Dutch Admiral. His name is given in the 17th century spelling Zaen. He joined the Dutch navy at an age and had risen to the rank of captain by 1652. He took part in the First Anglo-Dutch War from 1652–1654, fighting in the Battle of Dungeness on the Prinses Aemilia, and on the Campen in the Battle of the Gabbard, in 1655 he was made a full captain. In 1656 he commands the Zuyderhuys, having on board his nephew, the States-General showed their opinion on this by awarding Van der Zaan a golden honorary chain. In 1658 he fought against Sweden in the Battle of the Sound, again participating in actions in the Baltic in 1659 and 1660, in 1661, as captain of the Middelburg, he is again with De Ruyter in the Mediterranean. When the Dutch fleet is challenged by the Bey of Algiers, Suleiman Basha Reis, to provide a champion for a duel, De Ruyter chooses Van der Zaan as such. That year Van der Zaan received another golden chain for capturing a corsair liberating 36 Christian slaves and he participated, as captain of t Geloof, in Vice-Admiral Michiel de Ruyters punitive action against the British in West-Africa and America in 1664 and 1665. Late 1664 he was appointed a temporary Rear-Admiral with the Admiralty of Amsterdam, on return in August 1665 he was given his fourth golden chain, a record. In 1666 he recovered and was captain of the Beschermer. In the Four Days Battle fighting under Cornelis Tromp he captured the Seven Oaks on the day but returned with his prize against general orders. He fought in the St Jamess Day Battle with Engel de Ruyter, in 1667 he participated in the Raid on the Medway, but as part of the covering fleet. On 1 July 1667 he was made a permanent Rear-Admiral and he died during an action against the corsairs of Algiers on 17 March 1669 off Cape Tres Forcas, hit in the chest by a one-pound cannonball when boarding the flagship of the Algerian admiral. His death was blamed on insufficient assistance by his subcommanders and he was buried in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, where a grave memorial in the form of an epitaph was erected, a work by Rombout Verhulst. Willem married Agatha van der Eyck in 1654, they had a son, Willem van der Zaan the Younger and this tradition was discontinued when in the 20th century the schools art collection was relocated to the Amsterdam naval museum, the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum. Willem van der Zaan on the Royal Navy Website Willem van der Zaan at Find a Grave
35.
Laurens Bake
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Laurens Bake or Baak, Baeck was a Dutch poet of the seventeenth century. He was born in a family of Amsterdam, son of the merchant Joost Baeck and Magdalena van Erp. Hooft, while his grandfather Laurens Baeck was a friend of Joost van den Vondel. Laurens studied in Utrecht from 1647, and later liked to be called lord of Wulverhorst and he was a member of the theater company Nil Volentibus Arduum and later of In Magnis Voluisse Sat Est. His most remarkable work is a collection of sacred hymns, a collection of his poems was published by Van den Broek, Amsterdam, in 1737. Bake was buried in de Oude Kerk in 1702, a New General Biographical Dictionary, London, B
36.
Abraham van der Hulst
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Abraham van der Hulst was a Dutch admiral in the 17th century. Van der Hulst was appointed captain in 1650. In 1654 he had duty in the Mediterranean. In 1656, in the Dutch-Portuguese War, he took two merchantmen during the blockade of Portugal, in 1658 he was flag captain of Vice-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter on the Hilversum while again blockading Portugal. In 1661 he served in De Ruyters fleet in the Mediterranean, when the Second Anglo-Dutch War threatened he was on 29 January appointed temporary Rear-Admiral with the Admiralty of Amsterdam. In the Four Days Battle he was second in command in the squadron of Lieutenant-Admiral Cornelis Tromp, on the second day due to a communication mistake Tromp failed to follow the turn of the main body of the Dutch fleet into the back of the English fleet. As a result, his squadron became isolated and attacked by a superior English force, before De Ruyter could break the English line and save Tromps force, several ships had taken a horrible pounding, among them the Spiegel, Van der Hulsts flagship. He himself was wounded by a musket ball in the breast. The Spiegel was abandoned but later salvaged, Van der Hulst was buried in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, a marble grave memorial was later erected, a work of Artus de With. His name was given to a Karel Doorman class frigate in 1993
37.
Cornelis Hooft
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He was the grandson of Pieter Willemsz. Hooft, a Zaanse grain merchant and shipmaster, and the father of the poet, Hooft himself held numerous positions in the administration of Amsterdam. He was amongst others, schepen, twelve times mayor, and treasurer in a period of fast growth, cornelis father established himself in Amsterdam. In 1569 he went into exile, but in 1574 came back from Königsberg, then, in 1578, after the Alteratie on 26 May, he risked going back to Amsterdam. He lived on Nieuwendijk on the IJ, as an independent merchant he had a large share in Baltic trade and reshipped herring, oil and grain. In 1584 he became a member of the vroedschap, in which he remained until its final session, in 1588 he was chosen as mayor. As a member of the government of Amsterdam, he was delegated to the States of Holland, Hooft was opposed to the appointment of foreigners to important posts, pointing to the Flemish Calvinists and preachers such as Petrus Plancius. He also resisted the expansion of the stadholders power, Hooft was critical on other points. In 1611 his role in the vroedschap came to an end, Hooft was never concerned by the VOC or WIC, as the most Amsterdam mayors. Vondel praised him in his satirical work Roskam as a reliable man and he is buried in the Oude Kerk. Dudok van Heel, De Familie van Pieter Cornelisz Hooft in Jaarboek Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie, K. ter Laan, Letterkundig woordenboek voor Noord en Zuid
38.
Jan Jacobszoon Hinlopen
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Jan Jacobszoon Hinlopen was a rich Dutch cloth merchant, an officer in the civic guard, a real estate developer in the Jordaan, alderman in the city council and a keen art collector. He would have been elected as a burgomaster, if he had not died at the age of forty, an age considered acceptable to be eligible. He was a prominent patron of the arts in his time, Hinlopen, like his father-in-law, Joan Huydecoper I, is known in art history because of the poems by Jan Vos reciting the paintings in his house and members of the family. These paintings are all over the world, the poems nearly forgotten. Jan J. Hinlopen was born as the son of the merchant Jacob J. Hinlopen, the family origins were in Brabant, then the Southern Netherlands. After Antwerp had been occupied by the Spanish, Protestants, who did not want to convert to Catholicism, were ordered to sell their homes and immoveable possessions, within four years many Flemish cities lost half of their population emigrating to the north. It is possible the family moved in a stage to the North and in 1572 escaped from Naarden. Anyhow, the new immigrants lived in a house on the Nieuwendijk, named Hinlopen, the name of house has to do with Hindelopen, the small town in the North, producing many skippers and sailors. After coming of age, Jan J. Hinlopen lived with his brother Jacob J. Hinlopen on the Leliegracht at the corner of the Keizersgracht, not far from their parents, the brothers made money from a cloth business in Warmoesstraat and through building cheap housing in the Jordaan. Wishing to make a career in city politics, Jan enrolled in the guard as an ensign in 1651-1653. He served under captain Gerrit Reynst, also an art collector, in 1656 he was appointed as a city official in the Nieuwe Kerk. He resigned within a few months, when he was appointed as an administrator in the townhall, in the schutterij Jan was promoted lieutenant. On February 1,1661 Jan was elected as schepen and he may have witnessed the unveiling of Rembrandts painting The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis in the town hall, as well as its removal a couple of months later. On April 3,1657, Jan J. Hinlopen married Leonore Huydecoper of Maarseveen, the daughter of a mayor, Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen. There is a sketch by her father for the arrangement of the chairs for the room in his house on Singel. Jan Vos the local director, gave five performances including accompanying poems for the occasion. Jan Hinlopen made distinct notes as to time of birth and date of baptism in the Westerkerk, at time they were born. His diary becomes dramatic when Jan J. Hinlopen lost his youngest daughter developing measles, the next day, on October 29, around ten in the evening the baby was carried to the church by his servant Jan, accompanied by two other men, most probably the undertakers
39.
Kiliaen van Rensselaer (merchant)
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He was one of the first patroons, but the only one to become successful. He founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck in what is now mainly New Yorks Capital District and his estate remained throughout the Dutch and British colonial era and the American Revolution as a legal entity until the 1840s. Eventually, that came to an end during the Anti-Rent War, Van Rensselaer was the son of Hendrick Kiliaensz van Rensselaer, a soldier from Nijkerk in the States army of the duke of Upper Saxony, and Maria Pafraet, descendant of a well-known printers dynasty. To keep from risking his life in the army like his father, he apprenticed under his uncle and he too became a successful jeweler and was one of the first subscribers to the Dutch West India Company upon its conception. The concept of patroonships may have been Kiliaen van Rensselaers, he was likely the leading proponent of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, Van Rensselaer married twice and had at least eleven children. When he died sometime after 1642, two succeeded him as patroons of Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer had a marked effect on the history of the United States. Kiliaen van Rensselaer was born in Hasselt, Overijssel, Netherlands in 1586, the exact day of his birth is unknown. He was the son of Hendrick van Rensselaer and Maria Pafraet and his father was a captain in the Dutch army until his death at the Siege of Ostend in early June 1602. With his father usually not home because of a career, Van Rensselaers mother sent him to apprentice with his uncle, Wolfert van Bijler. At the time, the gem trade was an enterprise to join. In those days, the trade was nearly always combined with the trade in pearls, other articles of luxury. Dutch jewelers found a market for their valuable wares at the Dutch imperial court. This realm of work promoted Van Rensselaer to a life of economic success, much of Van Rensselaers early life is unknown to todays historians, though in March 1608 it has been recorded that he was taking care of some business of Van Bijler in Prague. It seems Van Bijler gradually retired from his business, leaving it in the control of Van Rensselaer, the firms combined under the name of Jan van Wely & Co. in February 1614. Van Rensselaers name was not included in the name of the new company, since he contributed only one eighth of the investment capital, in 1616, van Wely was called on by Prince Maurice to meet at the Hague for a sale in jewels. He was murdered while waiting to meet with the Prince, the firms contract stipulated that at the death of Jan van Wely, the remaining members of the firm should continue the partnership for another six years. Some of Van Rensselaers success as a jewel merchant came about due to trade made possible by the Dutch East India Company, the practical spirit of the Dutch merchant could not fail to recognize that the way to riches was through trade with the West Indies and Africa. During the Twelve Years Truce, Dutch merchants had sailed unmolested to the West Indies, before the Eighty Years War began, people realized that the West Indies trade might bring great prosperity to the country and that more power might be developed against Spain
40.
Patroonship
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In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions of 1629, the Dutch West India Company first started to grant this title and these inducements to foster colonization and settlement are the basis for the patroon system. In 1775, at the outbreak of the American Revolution, primogeniture and feudal tenure were abolished and thus patroons and manors evolved into simply large estates subject to division and leases. The deeded tracts were called patroonships and could span 16 miles in length on one side of a major river, in 1640 the charter was revised to cut new plot sizes in half, and to allow any Dutch American in good standing to purchase an estate. The title of patroon came with powerful rights and privileges, a patroon could create civil and criminal courts, appoint local officials and hold land in perpetuity. As tenants working for the patroon, these first settlers were relieved of the duty of public taxes for ten years, a patroonship sometimes had its own village and other infrastructure, including churches. After the English takeover of New Netherland in 1664, the system continued with the granting of large tracts known as manors, the largest and most successful patroonship in New Netherland was the Manor of Rensselaerswijck, established by Kiliaen van Rensselaer. Rensselaerswijck covered almost all of present-day Albany and Rensselaer counties and parts of present-day Columbia, Manor of Rensselaerswyck and Lower Manor at Claverack. Zwaanendael - Samuel Blommaert and Samuel Godyn, abandoned after being decimated by indigenous population, pavonia - Michael Reyniersz Pauw, re-sold to the West India Company becoming a company-managed holding. Staaten Eylandt - Cornelis Melyn, mired in conflict with Raritan tribe, achter Col, aborted at the outset of Kiefts War. Colen Donck - Adriaen van der Donck Bronx - Jonas Bronck Vriessendael - David Pietersen de Vries Bentley Manor - Christopher Billopp, ethnic Dutch, who were still a substantial part of the population, resented the change and moved mostly toward the cause of the Independence movement. After the war, the newly recognized New York State government refused to overturn the law, Rensselaerswijck was dismantled in the early 19th century after its last sole proprietor died. Two sons split the property and, after tenant farmers gained the right to refuse to pay rent, the land was organized as different counties and towns in New Yorks Capital District
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Manor of Rensselaerswyck
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The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West India Company in 1630 to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a Dutch merchant and one of the companys original directors. Rensselaerswyck extended for miles on side of the Hudson River near present-day Albany. It included most of what are now the present New York counties of Albany and Rensselaer, as well as parts of Columbia, under the terms of the patroonship, the patroon had nearly total jurisdictional authority, establishing civil and criminal law, villages, a church. Tenant farmers were allowed to work on the land, but had to pay rent to the owners, in addition, the Rensselaers harvested timber from the property. The patroonship was maintained intact by Rensselaer descendants for more than two centuries and it was split up after the death of its last patroon, Stephen van Rensselaer III in 1839. At his death, van Rensselaers land holdings made him the tenth-richest American in history to date, the manor was split between Stephen IIIs sons, Stephen IV and William. Tenant farmers began protesting the feudal system and their anti-rent movement was eventually successful, Stephen IV and William sold off most of their land, ending the patroonship in the 1840s. For length of operations, it was the most successful patroonship established under the West India Company system and this established a Dutch presence in the area, formally called New Netherland. In June 1620, the Dutch West India Company was established by the States-General, in 1630, the managers of the West India Company, in order to attract capitalists to the colony, offered certain exclusive privileges to the members of the company. The only restriction was that the colony had to be outside the island of Manhattan, to meet such cases, the West India Company adopted the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions for the agricultural colonization of its American province. The chief features of this charter stated that lands for each colony could extend 16 miles in length if confined to one side of a river or 8 miles if both sides were occupied. Additionally, the lands could extend into the countryside and even be enlarged if more immigrants were to settle there, each patroon would have the chief command within their respective patroonship, having the sole rights to fish and hunt. If a city were to be founded within its boundaries, the patroon would have the power and authority to establish officers, each patroonship was free of taxes and tariffs for ten years following its founding. Colonists of a patroonship were limited by the West India Company in some instances, for example, fur trading was illegal for colonists, it was reserved as a Company monopoly. But, patroonships had the right to trade anywhere from Newfoundland to Florida, each patroon was required to satisfy the Indians of that place for the land, implying that the land must be bought from the local Indians, and not just taken. Additionally, the Company agreed to all colonists, whether free or in service, from all aggressors. For longer time than it shall see fit, Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a pearl and diamond merchant of Amsterdam, was one of the original directors of the West India Company and one of the first to take advantage of the new settlement charter. This took place even before the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions was ratified, on April 8,1630, a representative for van Rensselaer purchased a large tract of land from its American Indian owners adjacent to Fort Orange, on the west side of the Hudson River
42.
Frans Banninck Cocq
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Frans Banninck Cocq was a burgemeester of Amsterdam in the mid-17th century. He is best known as the figure in Rembrandts masterpiece The Night Watch. Frans was the son of Jan Jansz Cock, a local pharmacist in the Warmoesstraat and he was baptized on 27 February 1605 in the nearby Old Church. As his parents were not married, it caused a scandal, both were related to Cornelis Hooft. Frans, who seems to have had one deaf brother studied law in Poitiers and he became captain of the militia after returning to Amsterdam. When his father-in-law died, Banninck Cocq inherited his properties, including a canal house, Banninck Cocq decorated the main hall with portraits of his wifes ancestors. Around 1630 Banninck Cocq succeeded his father-in-law as a member of the city councel, in 1651 he was appointed burgemeester of Amsterdam. He was an advisor to his brothers-in-law Cornelis and Andries de Graeff, Banninck Cocq is known today primarily for a painting commissioned in 1638 from Rembrandt van Rijn which shows Cocq and his company of civil guards. The painting is notable, among other things, for its huge size, Banninck Cocq also figures in the Bartholomeus van der Helst portrait of The Governors of the Longbow Civic Guards,1653, now in the Amsterdam Museum. Banningh Cock was buried on 6 January 1655, his tomb chapel is located in the Oude Kerk, media related to Frans Banning Cocq at Wikimedia Commons Marriage portraits of Frans Banning Cocq and his wife Maria Overlander by an unknown painter
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Burgomaster
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The name in English was derived from the Dutch burgemeester. In some cases, Burgomaster was the title of the head of state and head of government of a sovereign city-state, contemporary titles are commonly translated into English as mayor. Bürgermeister, in German, in Germany, Austria, and formerly in Switzerland, in Switzerland, the title was abolished mid-19th century, various current titles for roughly equivalent offices include Gemeindepräsident, Stadtpräsident, Gemeindeamtmann, and Stadtamtmann. Oberbürgermeister is the most common version for a mayor in a big city in Germany, the Ober- prefix is used in many ranking systems for the next level up including military designations. The mayors of cities, which comprise one of Germanys 112 urban districts usually bear this title. Urban districts are comparable to independent cities in the English-speaking world, however, also the mayors of some cities, which do not comprise an urban district, but often used to comprise one until the territorial reforms in the 1970s, bear the title Oberbürgermeister. In the Netherlands nominated by the council but appointed by the crown. In theory above the parties, in practice a high-profile party-political post, bourgmestre in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Bürgermeister Burmistras, derived from German. Burmistrz, a title, derived from German. The German form Oberbürgermeister is often translated as Nadburmistrz, the German-derived terminology reflects the involvement of German settlers in the early history of many Polish towns. Borgmästare, kommunalborgmästare, the title is not used in Sweden in present times, boargemaster Pormestari In history in many free imperial cities the function of burgomaster was usually held simultaneously by three persons, serving as an executive college. One of the three being burgomaster in chief for a year, the second being the prior burgomaster in chief, präsidierender Bürgermeister is now an obsolete formulation sometimes found in historic texts
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The Night Watch
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It is in the collection of the Amsterdam Museum but is prominently displayed in the Rijksmuseum as the best known painting in its collection. The Night Watch is one of the most famous Dutch Golden Age paintings and is window 16 in the Canon of Amsterdam, the painting was completed in 1642, at the peak of the Dutch Golden Age. It depicts the eponymous company moving out, led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq and his lieutenant, behind them, the companys colours are carried by the ensign, Jan Visscher Cornelissen. Rembrandt has displayed the emblem of the arquebusiers in a natural way. She is a kind of mascot herself, the claws of a chicken on her belt represent the clauweniers. The man in front of her is wearing a helmet with an oak leaf, the dead chicken is also meant to represent a defeated adversary. The colour yellow is associated with victory. Another interpretation proposes that Rembrandt designed this painting with several layers of meaning, thus, the Night Watch is symmetrically divided, firstly to illustrate the union between the Dutch Protestants and the Dutch Catholics, and secondly to evoke the war effort against the Spaniards. For instance, according to Rembrandts multilayered design, the taller captain symbolizes the Dutch Protestant leadership, moreover, all characters of this painting were conceived to present double readings. One of the most important aspects of the Night Watch is that the figures are nearly human size, Rembrandt gives the illusion that the characters jump off the canvas and into real space. For much of its existence, the painting was coated with a dark varnish and this varnish was removed only in the 1940s. In 1715, upon its removal from the Kloveniersdoelen to the Amsterdam Town Hall and this was done, presumably, to fit the painting between two columns and was a common practice before the 19th century. This alteration resulted in the loss of two characters on the side of the painting, the top of the arch, the balustrade. This balustrade and step were key visual tools used by Rembrandt to give the painting a forward motion, a 17th-century copy of the painting by Gerrit Lundens at the National Gallery, London shows the original composition. The painting was commissioned by Captain Banning Cocq and seventeen members of his Kloveniers, eighteen names appear on a shield, painted circa 1715, in the centre right background, as the hired drummer was added to the painting for free. A total of 34 characters appear in the painting, Rembrandt was paid 1,600 guilders for the painting, a large sum at the time. This was one of a series of seven paintings of the militiamen commissioned during that time from various artists. The painting was commissioned to hang in the hall of the newly built Kloveniersdoelen in Amsterdam
45.
Nicasius de Sille
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Dr. Nicasius de Sille was a 16th-century statesman from Belgium who served as a special ambassador from the Netherlands to several nations, and as secretary to future-Holy Roman Emperor Matthias. Nicasius was born August 3,1543 in the city of Mechlin, Habsburg Netherlands and his grandfather, Antonius de Sille, was a page for Philip, Duke of Burgundy. He spent his life studying, eventually becoming a Doctor Juris. In 1576, Nicasius was sent by the state to annex Gelderland, in 1577, he became the pensionary of Namur, and represented the city at the Assembly of Brussels. The following year he signed the Union of Brussels, in 1578, he became secretary to the Council of State for Archduke Matthias, who had become governor-general of the Netherlands as a result of the Dutch revolt, and secretary for the General States. After the fall of the Southern Provinces, de Sille removed to Holland where he became pensionary of Amsterdam while maintaining his duties as secretary, in 1579, on a mission to secure Mechlin, he was arrested and imprisoned out of revenge, but was released shortly thereafter. In 1584, de Sille made up the conditions of homage of Prince William to negotiate with the Earl of Leicester pertaining to control of the Netherlands. Later that year Nicasius was sent as a deputy to the States-General, in 1587, de Sille was sent as a special ambassador to England, appearing at the embassy before Queen Elizabeth. He is mentioned in Elizabeths Calendar of State Papers Foreign on several occasions, following the successful mission, Nicasius was sent as a special ambassador several times to Denmark, Germany, and France. He would also serve twice as a commissioner of the Army, on January 31,1571, he married in Namur Genoveve de Romaignan, daughter of Laurens de Romaignan and Philippotte le Noire
46.
Caspar Commelijn
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Caspar Commelijn or Caspar Commelin, was a Dutch botanist. He was the son of the bookseller, historian and publisher, Casparus Commelijn and his first wife and he enrolled on 12 September 1692 at Leiden as a student of medicine and graduated on 27 February 1694 with a dissertation De lumbricis. After graduation, he settled in his birthplace, when Peter Hotton departed for Leiden in 1696, Caspar was appointed to the post of botanist at the Hortus. He succeeded his uncle Jan Commelin, who together with Joan Huydecoper founded the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, Caspar worked on books that were left uncompleted by the death of his uncle, Jan Commelin, and enjoyed the support of Nicolaes Witsen. Ruysch arranged for the city of Amsterdam to finance the publication, in 1703, he published a work on the systematics of rare exotic plants. In 1706, he was appointed as professor at the Athenaeum Illustre, frederik Ruysch and Commelin divided the work, so that Ruysch dealt with the indigenous plants, and Commelijn the exotics. Jan Commelin, based his work on the system devised by John Ray. Commelin grew up in the neighbourhood of O. Z, achterburgwal, and lived, after his first marriage, on the Singel and after the second on the Keizersgracht near Leidsestraat. In 1724, Caspar Commelin, while an inspector at the Collegium Medicum, had his portrait painted by Cornelis Troost, the painting is to be seen at the Amsterdams Historisch Museum. On his death, he was succeeded by Johannes Burman
47.
Jan van der Heyden
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Jan van der Heyden was a Dutch Baroque-era painter, glass painter, draughtsman and printmaker. Van der Heyden was one of the first Dutch painters to specialize in townscapes and he painted a number of still lifes in the beginning and at the end of his career. Jan van der Heyden was also an engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to contemporary firefighting technology and he improved the fire hose in 1672, with his brother Nicolaes, who was a hydraulic engineer. He modified the manual fire engine, reorganised the fire brigade and wrote. A comprehensive street lighting scheme for Amsterdam, designed and implemented by van der Heyden, remained in operation from 1669 until 1840 and was adopted as a model by other towns. Jan van der Heyden was born in Gorinchem, the son of a mennonite father and his father was by turns an oil mill owner, a grain merchant and a broker. The family moved to Amsterdam in 1646 and van der Heyden’s father acquired local citizenship, Jan van der Heyden himself would never acquire Amsterdam citizenship. Jan van der Heyden may have received his artistic training in the studio of a relative, perhaps his eldest brother, Goris van der Heyden. He had joined his brother Goris in his producing and selling business. He may also have learned drawing from a glass painter and it is possible that his teacher may have been one of the most admired glass painters of the time, Jacob van der Ulft, who was also originally from Jan van der Heydens hometown. Several examples of van der Heyden’s paintings on glass have survived and he married Sara ter Hiel of Utrecht on 26 June 1661 in Amsterdam. At the time of his marriage, he lived on the most fashionable canal in Amsterdam and he was then already a practising artist. His earliest dated works are two portraits of his brother-in-law Samuel ter Hiel and his bride, Jacquemijntje van der Passe date 1659. His earliest dated painting is from 1663, as a young man he witnessed the fire in the old town hall which made a deep impression on him. He later would describe or draw 80 fires in almost any neighborhood of Amsterdam, in 1668 Cosimo II de Medici bought one of his paintings, a view of the townhall with a manipulated perspective. Painting was not the sole occupation and interest of van der Heyden, in fact he never joined Amsterdams painters guild. Even while his work was in demand, he did not rely on his art to make a living. His principal source of income was, in fact, not painting, rather he was employed as engineer, inventor and municipal official
48.
Johannes Hudde
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Johannes Hudde was a burgomaster of Amsterdam between 1672 –1703, a mathematician and governor of the Dutch East India Company. He also promoted hygiene in and around the water supply. Huddes stones were stones that were used to mark the summer high water level at several points in the city. They later were the foundation for the NAP, the now Europe-wide system for measuring water levels, Hudde studied law at the University of Leiden, but turned to mathematics under the influence of his teacher Frans van Schooten. From 1654 to 1663 he worked under van Schooten and with his fellow students Johan de Witt, each of the students added to the work. Huddes contribution consisted of a study on maxima and minima and a theory of equations, Hudde corresponded with Baruch Spinoza and Christiaan Huygens, Johann Bernoulli, Isaac Newton and Leibniz. Newton and Leibniz mention Hudde many times and used some of his ideas in their own work on infinitesimal calculus, huddes rules OConnor, John J. Robertson, Edmund F. Johannes Hudde, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews
49.
Pipe organ
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The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through organ pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre. Most organs have multiple ranks of pipes of differing timbre, pitch, a pipe organ has one or more keyboards played by the hands, and a pedalboard played by the feet, each keyboard has its own group of stops. The keyboard, pedalboard, and stops are housed in the organs console, the smallest portable pipe organs may have only one or two dozen pipes and one manual, the largest may have over 20,000 pipes and seven manuals. A list of some of the most notable and largest pipe organs in the world can be viewed at List of pipe organs. The origins of the organ can be traced back to the water organ in Ancient Greece, in the 3rd century BC. By the 6th or 7th century AD, bellows were used to supply organs with wind, beginning in the 12th century, the organ began to evolve into a complex instrument capable of producing different timbres. A pipe organ with great leaden pipes was sent to the West by the Byzantine emperor Constantine V as a gift to Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, in 757. Pepins son Charlemagne requested a similar organ for his chapel in Aachen in 812, by the 17th century, most of the sounds available on the modern classical organ had been developed. From that time, the organ was the most complex man-made device - a distinction it retained until it was displaced by the telephone exchange in the late 19th century. Pipe organs are installed in churches, synagogues, concert halls, schools and they are used in the performance of classical music, sacred music, secular music, and popular music. The beginning of the 21st century has seen a resurgence in installations in concert halls, the organ boasts a substantial repertoire, which spans over 500 years. The organ is one of the oldest instruments used in European classical music that has commonly been credited as having derived from Greece. Its earliest predecessors were built in Ancient Greece in the 3rd century BC. The word organ is derived from the Greek όργανον, a term for an instrument or a tool, via the Latin organum. The Greek engineer Ctesibius of Alexandria is credited with inventing the organ in the 3rd century BC and he devised an instrument called the hydraulis, which delivered a wind supply maintained through water pressure to a set of pipes. The hydraulis was played in the arenas of the Roman Empire, the 9th century Persian geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih, in his lexicographical discussion of instruments, cited the urghun as one of the typical instruments of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was often used in the Hippodrome in the capital of Constantinople
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