Netherlands, Seventeen Provinces – Matthias Quad + Johann Bussemacher, 1600

“Belgium,” copper engraving made in 1600 by Matthias Quad and published by Johann Bussemacher as part of the “Geographisches Handbuch”. Coloured by a later hand. Size (print): 22 × 30.5 cm (frame: 47 × 54 cm).

In the sixteenth century, humanist scholars revived the Roman name Gallia Belgica—the northern part of ancient Gaul—to lend the Seventeen Provinces a classical aura. Thus arose the use of the Latin term “Belgium” (or “Belgica”) for the Low Countries as a whole.

The map is a reduced copy of a map by Abraham Ortelius.

Matthias Quad (1557–1613) embellished his version with portraits of Archduke Albert of Austria, governor of the Southern Netherlands, and Maurice of Nassau, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. In his Geographisches Handbuch he describes the Low Countries as follows:

This region is commonly called the Netherlands, of which one generally counts seventeen, namely: the duchies of Brabant, Limburg, Luxembourg and Guelders; the counties of Flanders, Artois, Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, Namur and Zutphen; and the margraviate of Antwerp; further, the lordships of Friesland, Mechelen and Utrecht, as well as the regions of Overijssel and Groningen.

All these lands are without exception well cultivated and prosperous, such as can scarcely be found elsewhere. According to the testimony of Lodovico Guicciardini (1567), there are about two hundred and eight towns, all fortified with walls, ramparts and moats, and more than six thousand three hundred villages, each with its own church and tower, presenting an impressive appearance—apart from the many houses, castles and monasteries that are also found in great number.

The climate of this country, though somewhat moist, is nevertheless considered very favourable to health and pleasant to live in—especially in those parts of Brabant called the Kempen, where people often reach an advanced age. Everywhere clear rivers and streams traverse the land; it is rich in woods and thickets, serving for ornament, for hunting, and for the benefit of the inhabitants. There are no mountains except in Luxembourg and Namur. In Hainaut the landscape is in places slightly hilly and uneven.

The land yields abundant grain as well as all kinds of fruits and herbs used for medicinal purposes. In some areas there are also rather large and extensive heaths, such as the Kempen, the Malander Heath, and several smaller ones, which are called Ericta in Latin, from the heath plant Erica. These heaths are everywhere very suitable for grazing, since the cattle that feed there produce especially tasty meat; harmful animals are few.

In almost the whole of this region two languages are spoken—French and Diets (the Middle Dutch vernacular). And because, owing to trade and commerce, many Spaniards and other foreign nations have settled here, many places bear names in both tongues, French and Diets. Thus one finds that the same cities or villages have different designations. Some of the inhabitants use their own language but often cannot make themselves understood by others who know only their mother tongue.

Price: Euro 550,- (incl. frame)