Heerlijkheid Bergen – Blaeu, ca. 1665

THE ‘HEERLIJKHEID’ OF BERGEN

“Territorii Bergensis accuratissima descriptio“ — copper engraving of the Heerlijkheid (lordship) of Bergen, published by Joan Blaeu between 1662 and 1672 as part of a French-language edition of the Atlas Maior. Coloured by a later hand. Size (approx.): 42 x 56 cm.

The title of this map translates as “Very accurate depiction of the territory of Bergen.” Rightly so: the surveyor Johannes Dou of the Rijnland district and a specialist in triangulation, measured and mapped the region in detail. At the bottom of the engraving, we see Dou and two assistants at work with a measuring chain and other surveying instruments.

Joan Blaeu had the map engraved in copper and published it with a dedication to Knight Antonis Studler, who had purchased the Lordship of Bergen in 1643. His family coat of arms is prominently displayed on the map.

On the reverse side, Bergen is described as one of the oldest and most noble lordships of Holland. Strategically located, Bergen played an important role in regional defense. The dunes offered natural protection against invasions from the sea, and the area lay along key trade routes to cities such as Alkmaar (visible in the lower right corner of the map). Situated on the western coast of the province near the North Sea, the region lies between the Schoorl Dunes and fertile reclaimed farmland.

The governance of the region was composed of a bailiff, a lieutenant, two consuls or burgomasters, and eight aldermen. These officials were appointed each year on the Friday before Easter by the lord of the domain. The burgomasters would select two of the most respected citizens to act as councillors, assisting them in the administration of public affairs.

The bailiff presided over the court in criminal cases, but only when matters of capital punishment were involved. In such cases, he was assisted by the vassals of Kennemerland. However, when cases involved forest rights, other officials acted as assessors — commonly referred to  as ‘meesterknapen’ (master squires).

In addition, the bailiff traditionally served as the judge over items washed ashore by the sea, for which specific legal provisions were in place concerning the borders between the County of Egmond and the Lordship. The lieutenant, who was also overseer of the dikes of the Bergen lake, formed a tribunal together with the aldermen.

The map itself presents a detailed view of land use, from dunes to polders and arable farmland. Waterways, dikes, and roads are clearly marked, along with villages, mills, churches, and country estates. Notable is the distinction between the “old” and “new” land: the old land comprises the natural dunes and coastal strip, while the new land — such as the Munnicke Polder and Witsmeers Polder — was reclaimed from the water.

Blaeu had an international audience in mind when he published his most famous work, the Atlas Maior, beginning in 1662. It became his opus magnum, ultimately containing around 600 maps and 3,000 pages of text — a ten-volume folio published in Dutch, Latin, French, German, and Spanish. It remains the largest world atlas ever published and marks the crowning achievement of the Dutch Golden Age of cartography — a period of unprecedented growth in mapmaking that coincided with the explosive rise of trade and prosperity in the first half of the seventeenth century.

The map of Bergen appears only in Blaeu’s monumental Atlas Maior and is absent from earlier or alternative atlases. As a result, it is rarer than many of Blaeu’s other maps.

Price: Euro 1.950,-