Gift Exchange in Seventeenth-Century Holland

Solidarity and Identity Irma Thoen Solidarity and Identity Irma Thoen is a cultural historian who received her doctorate from Solidarity and Identity the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Strategic Affection? Strategic ‘The first gift is the womb of the second’, notes Johan de Brune, the author of a seventeenth-century Dutch emblem book. This quote re- flects the notion that, contrary to modern day people, seventeenth- century individuals did not feel uneasy about stressing the reciprocal character of their gift exchanges. We perceive ‘them’ as selfish beings who only exchange gifts for personal gain, while ‘we’ only give gifts altruistically and from the kindness of our hearts. Is this a fair assumption? And what does this assumption reveal about us? In Strategic Affection? Irma Thoen uses gift exchange practices as a way to analyse the nature of early-modern social relations. The practices of exchange, the meanings of gifts and the cultural conventions that inform the exchange of gifts in seventeenth-century Holland are discussed and compared to the social practice of gift exchange in Holland today. Thoen’s analysis makes the men and women in her story come to life and allows the reader to enter their lives, their strug- gles for friendship, honour and survival, their fears, beliefs and feelings Thoen of relief. ISBN-13 978 90 5356 811 8 ISBN-10 90 5356 811 5 Strategic Affection? Gift Exchange in Seventeenth-Century Holland www.aup.nl A U P A U P aup_thoen.indd 1 11-12-2006 13:47:44 Strategic Affection? SOLIDARITY AND IDENTITY Recent social, cultural and economic developments in Western society are at the basis of increasing cultural and ethnic diversity. People’s social and cultural identitities are becoming more varied. What are the consequences of these developments for social bonds and solidarity? Finding answers to this question is the aim of the series Solidarity and Identity. editors of the series Prof. dr. A.E. Komter, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University Prof. dr. J. Burgers, Faculty of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam Prof. J.C. Rath, Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, University of Amsterdam previously published Minghuan Li, We Need Two Worlds: Chinese Immigrant Associations in a Western Society, 1999 (isbn 978 90 5356 402 8) Aafke E. Komter, Jack Burgers and Godfried Engbersen, Het cement van de samenleving: een verkennende studie naar solidariteit en cohesie, 2000/ 20042 (isbn 978 90 5356 437 0) Clementine van Eck, Purified by Blood: Honour Killings amongst Turks in the Netherlands, 2002 (isbn 978 90 5356 491 2) Joanne van der Leun, Looking for Loopholes: Processes of Incorporation of Illegal Immigrants in the Netherlands, 2003 (isbn 978 90 5356 600 8) Marc Hooghe, Sociaal kapitaal in Vlaanderen: verenigingen en democratische politieke cultuur, 2003 (isbn 978 90 5356 643 5) Aafke E. Komter, Solidariteit en de gift: sociale banden en sociale uitsluiting, 2003 (isbn 978 90 5356 645 9) Marco van der Land, Vluchtige verbondenheid: stedelijke bindingen van de Rotterdamse nieuwe middenklasse, 2004 (isbn 978 90 5356 678 7) Frank J. Buijs, Froukje Demant and Atef Hamdy, Strijders van eigen bodem: radicale en democratische moslims in Nederland, 2006 (isbn 978 90 5356 916 0) Strategic Affection? Gift Exchange in Seventeenth-Century Holland Irma Thoen The publication of this book has been made possible by donations from the European University Institute, the J.E. Jurriaanse Stich- ting, Stichting Dr. Hendrik Muller’s Vaderlandsch Fonds, and the M.A.O.C. Gravin van Bylandt Stichting. Cover illustration: Dirck Hals, A Party at Table (1626), The National Gallery, London Cover design: Sabine Mannel, neon grafische vormgeving, Am- sterdam Layout: japes, Amsterdam isbn-13 978 90 5356 811 8 isbn-10 90 5356 811 5 nur 757 © Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2007 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Table of Contents Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 9 Defining the Gift 11 Gifts in Theory 13 Sources and Methodology 24 Part I: Practices of Gift Exchange 45 Daily Hospitality 45 Hospitality at Calendar Feasts 58 Hospitality and Rites of Passage 73 Other Gifts 82 Networks of Exchange 91 Conclusion 95 Part II: Gifts and Meanings 97 A. Rites of Passage 97 Marriage and Cooking Pots 98 Birth and Christening Gifts 116 Death and Support through Poetic Letters 121 Conclusion 128 B. Hospitality 130 The Organisation of Hospitality 131 Discourses on Hospitality 133 Hospitality towards Professional Contacts: Tailors and Wet Nurses 137 Stadholders and Forced Hospitality 140 Hospitality and Reciprocity 147 Conclusion 150 Part III: Terms and Conditions of Exchange 151 Brotherly Exchange 151 Friendly Exchange 164 Professional Exchange 173 5 Literary Exchange 184 Conclusion 194 Part IV: Comparison in Time 197 Practices of Exchange 199 Discourses on Exchange in the Letters to the Future 212 Cultural Conventions 218 Conclusion 222 Conclusion 223 Notes 231 Sources 269 Literature 271 Index of Subjects 283 6 Acknowledgements Naturally a work like this can not be completed without the help of family, friends and professional contacts. Some of these people have helped me through their academic knowledge and critical re- marks on my work, some of them have inspired me through the discussions we had, and others were there to support and posi- tively distract me. Although it is impossible to mention all these people by name, there are a few that I wish to thank explicitly. First of all I want to extend my gratitude to my supervisor, Peter Becker. Although his field of expertise does not include seventeenth-century Holland nor gift exchange, he has proved himself willing and able to supervise this book. Secondly, I wish to thank my co-supervisor, Willem Frijhoff. Not only is his knowledge of early-modern Dutch history – and many other things – unsur- passed, the swiftness with which he reads and corrects texts is un- equalled. Other academic contacts that have helped me throughout the years are Ingrid van der Vlis, who helped me with my database project, and Alexander Geppert, who taught me the advantages of a good bibliographical program. I am also indebted to Professor Arjo Klamer and the participants of his ‘Value of Culture’ seminar as well as to the participants of Frijhoff’s ‘Cultural History’ seminar. Alexandra van Dongen, curator at the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum, and Cora Laan are responsible for introducing me to the field of material culture. The Meertens Institute in Amsterdam has welcomed me to do my research on the ‘Letters to the Future’. With Rudolf Dekker I discussed ego-documents in seventeenth- century Holland, and with Jeroen Blaak I discussed the same and many other research issues. I also want to thank Jeroen for his hospitality; he was kind enough to share his office with me when- ever I was in Holland for one of my ‘missions’. Naturally I also want to thank my parents. They have always been very supportive of me, in every way they possibly could. Still the most important gift they have offered me throughout my life 7 is their faith that I can do whatever I set my mind to. I hope this book is proof that they were right about me all along. Last but conventionally not least, I want to thank Serge for all his practical and mental support. I could have probably written this book without you, but with you it has been so much more fun and so much more interesting. Irma Thoen September 2006 8 Introduction When in 1624 Constantijn Huygens was staying in London with an official delegation, he received a number of letters from Dor- othea van Dorp.1 Dorothea lived next to the Huygens family in The Hague and had once been his childhood sweetheart. In these letters she not only kept him informed on the latest gossip of high society in The Hague, but she also urged Huygens on several oc- casions to have Lady Killigrew, a mutual acquaintance, send her a present.2 On 24 March Dorothea wrote: “I wish lady Killigrew would send me a little golden ring.”3 A month later she received a number of gemstones from this Lady Killigrew, for which Dorothea thanked her through the mediation of Huygens. In May, Dorothea sent Lady Killigrew a present; a bracelet made of amber. This gift was presumably also offered upon request, for it was accompanied by a letter to Huygens which stated: “I am glad there is something she wishes to have from me. This and everything I possess in this world is at her disposal. She will do me great honour by wearing it, with which she will greatly ob- lige me to her. Tell her that it comes from someone who is more her servant than anyone has ever been, notwithstanding all the people that love her.”4 These phrases about Lady Killigrew went on for a while, after which Dorothea directed her attentions once more to Huygens himself: “I beg you: do not forget the little ring she has promised me.”5 This begging for gifts seems to suggest that Dorothea was a rather bad-mannered young girl; it is definitely not a way in which one would expect “a humble servant” to behave. Yet Dorothea van 9 Dorp came from an old, noble family.6 Her father had played an important role in the liberation of the Dutch from the Spanish, and had made an impressive career for himself in the military.

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