I A RC HERY AND N A R M CROSSB OW UI LDS C G E H IN MEDIEVAL FLANDERS D E 1300-1500 I E R V Y The notion of “guilds” in civic society might conjure images of craft A L guilds, the organisations of butchers, bakers or brewers set up to regulate A working practises. In the towns of medieval Flanders, however, a plethora F N of guilds existed which had little or nothing to do with the organisation L A of labour, including chambers of rhetoric, urban jousters and archery and D crossbow guilds. N C D ARC HERY AND This is the first full-length study of the archery and crossbow guilds, E encompassing not only the great urban centres of Ghent, Bruges and Lille R R but also numerous smaller towns, whose participation in guild culture O S CROSSB OW UI LDS , was nonetheless significant. It examines guild membership, structure and S G 1 organisation, revealing the diversity of guild brothers – and sisters – and S 3 bringing to life the elaborate social occasions when princes and plumbers B IN MEDIEVAL FLANDERS 0 would dine together. The most spectacular of these were the elaborate O regional shooting competitions, whose entrances alone included play 0 130 0–1500 W wagons, light shows and even an elephant! It also considers their social – 1 and cultural activities, and their important role in strengthening and 5 G rebuilding regional networks. Overall, it provides a new perspective on 0 U the strength of community within Flemish towns and the values that 0 underlay medieval urban ideology. I L LAURA CROMBIE gained her PhD from the university of Glasgow; she D is currently a Research Associate in the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York. S Cover image: Heures de Notre Dame dites de Hennessy , Bibliothèque royale de C Belgique, invent ms II 158 f. 11v. From the calendarium within the hours, Mois de Novembre, Confrérie des tireurs à l’arbalète, c. 1530 attributed to Simon Bening. R Reproduced by Kind Permission of Bibliothèque royale de Belgique. O M B I E an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge IP12 3DF (GB) and LAURA CROMBIE 668 Mt Hope Ave, Rochester NY 14620 –2731 (US) www.boydellandbrewer.com This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Fri, 16 Sep 2016 08:09:39 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Archery and Crossbow Guilds in Medieval Flanders 1300–1500 This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Fri, 16 Sep 2016 08:09:39 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Fri, 16 Sep 2016 08:09:39 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Archery and Crossbow Guilds in Medieval Flanders 1300–1500 Laura Crombie THE BOYDELL PRESS This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Fri, 16 Sep 2016 08:09:39 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms © Laura Crombie 2016 All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner The right of Laura Crombie to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 First published 2016 The Boydell Press, Woodbridge ISBN 978 1 78327 104 7 The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620–2731, USA website: www.boydellandbrewer.com A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate This publication is printed on acid-free paper This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Fri, 16 Sep 2016 08:09:39 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Contents List of Illustrations vi Acknowledgements vii List of Abbreviations viii Introduction: Archery and Crossbow Guilds in Flemish Civic Society 1 1 ‘For security, guard and defence’ of this town: Guilds’ Origins and Military Service 21 2 ‘Guild-brothers’: Guild Organisation and the Membership of the Archery and Crossbow Guilds of Bruges, 1437–81 51 3 ‘For drinking in recreational assemblies’: The Archery and Crossbow Guilds as Social and Devotional Communities 89 4 ‘For the honour of the duke and of the town’: Guilds and Authority 126 5 ‘For friendship, community and brotherhood’: Archery and Crossbow Competitions as Part of Civic Honour and Identity 159 6 Archery and Crossbow Guilds and their Competitions in Regional Networks and as Tools of Social Peace 190 Conclusion: Guilds in Civic Society 221 Bibliography 224 Index 255 This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Fri, 16 Sep 2016 08:13:00 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Illustrations Map of medieval Flanders x 1 Reproduction of the Leugemeete wall painting, Ghent STAM inv. 9555 2/6 and inv. 9555 3/6, photograph by Michel Burez. Reproduced by permission of STAM © www.lukasweb.be – Art in Flanders vzw 40 2 Seal of the Crossbowmen of Sluis, 1497, SAG, SJ, 155, 1. Reproduced by permission of Gent Stadsarchief 110 3 Seal of the Crossbowmen of Veurne 1440, SAG, SJ, 155, 2. Reproduced by permission of Gent Stadsarchief 110 4 Seal of the Crossbowmen of Condé, 1462, OSAOA, gilden, 507/ II/ 14 A. Reproduced by permission of Oudenaarde Stadsarchief 111 5 Seal of the Crossbowmen of Tournai, 1462, OSAOA, gilden, 507/ II/ 14 A. Reproduced by permission of Oudenaarde Stadsarchief 111 6 Pendant of Sharpshooters’ Guild with St Sebastian, mother and child, and crucifixion, c.1500, Germany, Augsburg, silver gilt, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, gift of Julius Landauer, 60.2.6. Reproduced by kind permission of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco 113 The author and publishers are grateful to all the institutions and individuals listed for permission to reproduce the materials in which they hold copyright. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders; apologies are offered for any omission, and the publishers will be pleased to add any necessary acknowledgement in subsequent editions. This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Fri, 16 Sep 2016 08:42:15 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Acknowledgements his work could not have been completed without the help and support of Tcolleagues in Glasgow, York and in Belgium and the funding of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. Firstly, I thank my professors, Graeme Small and Matthew Strickland, for introducing me to the history of the Low Countries and archery and for being unfailingly supportive. I would like to acknowledge the huge amount of support from the Medieval History Department at Ghent University, especially Professor Jan Dumolyn, who pushed me to work with challenging sources and bring in depth I could not otherwise have done. Other members of the department have also been extremely kind in sharing work, knowledge and understanding, especially Dr Frederik Buylaert (now at the Vrij Universiteit in Brussels), Dr Jonas Braekevelt, Dr Hannes Lowagie and Mr Andy Ramandt. Dr Andrew Brown was kind enough to provide me with parts of his excellent monograph on Bruges before publication, which saved me from many errors, as well as providing advice and support. This work was finished during my time at the University of York and I thank my new colleagues, especially Dr Victoria Blud, for listening to, and even reading, parts of it and for much advice and support. All remaining mistakes and simplifications are my own. I have been extremely fortunate in working with rich and detailed archives, managed by kind and helpful experts. I am indebted to staff at Bruges Stadsarchief, Ghent Stadsarchief, Oudenaarde Stadsarchief, Aalst Stadsarchief, Archives Générales du Royaume, Archives Municipales de Lille, Archives Municipales de Douai and the Archives Départementales du Nord. The Bruges archery guild of Saint Sebastian has been particularly supportive and I am extremely grateful to Marc Lemahieu and Andre Vande Walle for allowing me access to this rich archive. This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Fri, 16 Sep 2016 08:15:55 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Abbreviations AAM Armentières, Archive Municipal ABVH Annalen van de Belgische Vereniging voor hospitaalgeschiedenis ACAM Annales du Cercle Archéologique de Mons ADN Archives Départementales du Nord ADN, LRD ADN, Lettres reçues et dépêche AGR Archives Générales du Royaume AGN Algemene Geschiedenis der Nederlanden AML Lille, Archives Municipales AML, CV Lille, Archives Municipales, Comptes de la Ville AML, OM Lille, Archives Municipales, Ordonnances des Magistrates AML, PT Lille, Archives Municipales, Pièces aux Titres AML, RM Lille, Archives Municipales, Registre aux Mandates AML, RT Lille, Archives Municipales, Registre aux Titres AMR Roubaix, Archives Municipales ASAOA Aalst Stadsarchief, Oude Archief ASEB Annales de la Société d’Émulation de Bruges / Handelingen van het Genootschap voor Geschiedenis te Brugge BASS Brugge, Archief Sint-Sebastiaan BCRH Bulletin de la commission royale d’histoire BMBGN Bijdragen en mededelingen betreffende de geschiedenis der Nederlanden BO Brugs Ommeland CC Chambre des Comptes CV Comptes de la Ville DAM Douai, Archives Municipales EHR English Historical Review HMGOG Handelingen der maatschappij voor geschiedenis en oudheidkunde te Gent JIH Journal of Interdisciplinary History JMH Journal of Medieval History JMMH Journal of Medieval Military History JMG Jaarboek voor Middeleeuwse Geschiedenis This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Fri, 16 Sep 2016 08:16:11 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms abbreviations ix MTMS Millennium: Tijdschrift voor middeleeuwse studies ORF M.