50 - The Granddaddy of Netherlandish Humanism

In the 1440s a goldsmith from Mainz called Johannes Gutenberg developed a movable type printing press which catalysed the European printing revolution. It heralded a technological leap in communication tools which had far reaching consequences for the societies of the Low Countries, particularly in urban centres where print shops were established. A large market for books already existed in the Low Countries, in no small part because of the existence of Common Life schools and subsequent high rates of general literacy. With the copying and widespread distribution of texts becoming so much quicker and easier, other fields of work began to shift and develop, as different skills and networks were needed to smoothly bring content to the public. In this episode we are going to first take a look at what a 15th century printing workshop might have been like, before meeting some of the pioneers who would pull the printing presses and perfect the processes pertaining to the profitable publication of pamphlets, prayer books and other pre-16th century paper imprinted particularities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We meet Simon Gronowski, a 92 year old jazz pianist, lawyer and Holocaust survivor. At the age of eleven, Simon was locked in a cattle wagon with his mother and around 50 other people after a month’s imprisonment at the Dossin Barracks in Mechelen for the crime of being Jewish. The train they had been herded onto was bound for the extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the 20th such mass deportation of Jews from Belgium. But this train trip would be unique in world war two. The 20th convoy became the only deportation train in the entire continent which was attacked and stopped by resistance fighters, allowing around a hundred people to escape. Simon Gronowski was one of these people and it is his story that we are going to explore in today’s episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We chat with author and academic Christine Kooi, whose book Reformation in the Low Countries 1500-1620 was released last year by Cambridge University Press. As its title suggests the book encompasses a vast and tumultuous period which served to greatly shape the modern nations of Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a sweeping and extremely useful narrative and we are lucky enough today to have Christine join us online from her home in the US to help us unpack it. Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We dig up the bulbs of the past, trim the stems of historical myth and hopefully emerge with a lustrous vase of understanding as to where the tulip came from, how it became infectiously vogue in the Dutch Republic and what place it holds in modern calculations of economics. Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Long time listeners will be aware that, alongside being passionate about the history of our boggy swamp, we also carry a deep love for the game of cricket. The venn-diagram intersection between those two things can often leave a lot to be desired. However, somehow Julian Smith, our intrepid co-creator, producer and frequent voice of excitement in the background, managed to find a small but wondrous plot of podcasting turf from which to tell an amazing story about cricket being played in the Netherlands during World War One. This opportunity came on one of our all-time favourite podcasts, called The Final Word, which is a cricket-themed podcast that delves deeply into the many fascinating stories that abound through the long history of the game. So in this small piece, you will hear the two Final Word podcast hosts, Adam and Geoff, talking with Julian, who unravels the story for us. You do not need to know anything about or have any interest in cricket to enjoy this story, which we hope you do. Thanks a lot to Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon for having Julian on the show. You can find The Final Word here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-final-word-cricket-podcast/id1315888074 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the end of episode 49, we said that we were going to move away from the political part of the story of the History of the Netherlands for a while to instead focus on some of the other important societal developments that were happening concurrently at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries. To be honest, perhaps it is because we have taken quite a long break, or maybe because of the change of direction we want to make now, but we have found it rather difficult to write this episode. The 16th century saw so many radical developments in such a vast variety of subjects that the prospect of somehow covering this all in a satisfactory way in this podcast without being forever consumed by it is, to put it lightly, daunting, bordering on overwhelming. So bear with us over the next few episodes as we, in our typical way, blithely set off in a new direction and attempt to lay foundations to explain how a new zeitgeist of education and learning that had originated in the Italian peninsula in the 14th century, took hold in the Low Countries in the 15th. As usual, it is not possible nor is it our intention to cover every single facet of every single topic which we bring up in this podcast, so please don’t be too disappointed if we fail to bring up your favourite 15th/16th century Renaissance humanist. Cool? Alright. Let’s go. With thanks to Bill Weedman, Liran Braverman, Dennis van Heeren, Johan Verbeek and Egbert for their Patreon support. SHOW NOTES: https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/episode-50-the-granddaddy-of-netherlandish-humanism PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/historyofthenetherlands TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/historyofNL Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just as much as Dutch and Flemish culture today have been defined by their ability to seek consensus through compromise, so too have they defined by a willingness to angrily, and often violently, take to the streets in order to be heard. In this episode of The Low Countries Radio we will take a look at some of the major and minor protest movements that have occurred across the Low Countries which have helped shape them into the places they are today. Featured in this podcast: the Eel Riots of 1886, the Leuven Student Revolt of 1968, the Coronation Riots of 1980 and the White March of 1996. Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do black chickens have to do with witchcraft? Why were pigs not allowed to walk the streets freely in the Middle Ages? And should we welcome the return of the wolf or not? You'll hear the answers in this podcast on the history of animals in the Low Countries. We have long imposed our personal whims on other animals. We use them for labour or sport. We give them symbolic meaning, assigning them divine significance and power. Or we groom them and breed them to eat. For thousands of years, our relationship with animals has been an integral part of how we and our world have evolved. In the Low Countries, this is a journey from the ancient times of hunter-fisher communities to the early days of animal husbandry, through centuries of urbanisation, warfare, massive floods and land reclamation. All have had a drastic impact on animal life in the region. In this podcast, we discuss some animals that roamed or still roam in the Low Countries. We will see how the relationship between humans and animals has helped shape local societies and cultures, and how, over the millennia, we have exterminated some animals and invited others into our homes, but also unintentionally had some as very unwelcome guests. Starring in this podcast: reindeer, cows, chickens, pigs, shipworms, badgers, beavers and wolves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the Netherlands and Belgium did not exist, people spoke of the Low Countries when referring to the area around the river deltas. Water has always played an essential role in the history of that region. For centuries, living on these waterlogged lands provided the Dutch and the Flemings with opportunities for trade, urbanisation, agriculture and much more. But it also meant that they lived under the constant threat of devastating and deadly floods. In this podcast, we discover how the Low Countries, after centuries of battling floods, have gradually learnt to treat water as an ally and a part of the cultural identity of its inhabitants. Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The double marriage between the Habsburg and Spanish dynasties organised in the creation of the Holy League in 1495 was part of a larger plan driven by the Spanish monarchs to create a general European-wide alliance against the French. To further these aims, Ferdinand and Isabella also arranged for their other children to marry into the Portuguese and English royal families as well. Such good family planning, however, was not to yield anywhere near the results that Ferdinand and Isabella sought. In this episode we will track the tumultuous journeys leading up to the weddings which brought Spain and the Low Countries together, the devastating repercussions the Spanish monarchs’ religiosity would have for the Jews of the Iberian peninsula, as well as a series of untimely deaths which would see the Spanish succession repeatedly shuffle down the line. When the music stopped in this dynastic game of musical chairs, Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Castile’s five month old baby son, Charles, would found himself perched on the stool which held possession of a ridiculous amount of Spanish, Imperial and Burgundian titles, all of which would eventually make him the most powerful person in Europe. With thanks to Mary Teresa Howell, ericb3234, Bill van Loo, Wazdr and Roni Rivera for their Patreon support. SHOW NOTES: https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/episode-49-the-willing-bride PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/historyofthenetherlands TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/historyofNL Lyrics to “Ball of the Burning Men” by Exchanger Verse 1 Tonight we celebrate, for some maid of the court Will bind herself to man, for the second time, the young tart Tonight we humiliate, have fun, eat well, be drunk, make noise As the tradition dictates, for the twice wed goose Chorus The king rules surrounded by fools They came to the feast in the guise of a beast Madness reigns as they’re bound in chains Let the dames shield you from the flames It’s the Ball of the Burning Men ! Verse 2 The almighty Church frowns upon these pagan rites They might be kingmakers but did they really think they could change our ways ? We will pray to the One God and chant with the priests at dawn But we’ll still dance past the noon and sing the old tunes Verse 3 Lights out, foul creatures burst into the room suddenly Exotic monsters to amuse, really the king’s bunch in disguise Some lesser count has devised this brilliant surprise Dancers covered in pitch and feathers, which come alight so easily And so the guessing game begins, among them hides our king Under which of these grotesque suits is our crown ? His brother in the crowd can’t wait to find out Can’t help himself to break the one rule - No fire inside ! For lack of light he grabs a flame - No. Fire. Inside!! No! Chorus The king rules surrounded by fools They came to the feast in the guise of a beast Madness reigns as they’re bound in chains Let the dames shield you from the flames It’s the Ball of the Burning Men ! The king rules surrounded by fools They came to the feast in the guise of a beast Madness reigns as they’re bound in chains Let the dames shield you from the flames It’s the Ball of the Burning Men ! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices