This page intentionally left blank Civic Ceremony and Religion in Medieval Bruges c. 1300–1520 Public religious practice lay at the heart of civic society in late medi- eval Europe. In this illuminating study, Andrew Brown draws on the rich and previously little-researched archives of Bruges, one of medi- eval Europe’s wealthiest and most important towns, to explore the role of religion and ceremony in urban society. The author situates the religious practices of citizens – their investment in the liturgy, commemorative services, guilds and charity – within the contexts of Bruges’ highly diversified society and of the changes and crises the town experienced. Focusing on the religious processions and festiv- ities sponsored by the municipal government, the author challenges much current thinking on, for example, the nature of ‘civic religion’. Re-evaluating the ceremonial links between Bruges and its rulers, he questions whether rulers could dominate the urban landscape by reli- gious or ceremonial means, and offers new insight into the interplay between ritual and power, of relevance throughout medieval Europe. andrew brown is Lecturer in the School of History, Classics and Philosophy at Massey University, New Zealand. His previous publi- cations include Church and Society in England, 1000–1500 (2003) and Court and Civic Society in the Burgundian Low Countries c. 1420–1530 (co-edited with Graeme Small, 2007). Civic Ceremony and Religion in Medieval Bruges c. 1300–1520 Andrew Brown Massey University cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521764452 © Andrew Brown 2011 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2011 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Brown, Andrew, 1964– Civic ceremony and religion in medieval Bruges c. 1300–1520 / Andrew Brown. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-521-76445-2 (hardback) 1. Bruges (Belgium)–Religion. 2. Civil religion–Belgium– Bruges. 3. Rites and ceremonies–Belgium–Bruges. 4. Bruges (Belgium)–Religious life and customs. 5. Bruges (Belgium)–Church history. I. Title. BL980.B4B76 2010 264′.020909493122–dc22 2010040409 ISBN 978-0-521-76445-2 hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. In memory of Anne Rosemary Brown and Clifford Ernest Reader Contents List of figures page ix List of maps x Acknowledgments xi List of abbreviations xiii Note on currency and monies of account xiv Introduction 1 Civic space and time: Bruges c. 1300 3 ‘Civic religion’ 14 Civic ceremony 22 Civic government and civic peace 28 1 The Holy Blood procession 37 Civic funding 39 Civic order 49 Civic disorder 53 Civic identity 62 2 General processions 73 Origins 77 Processions and civic authority 82 Processions and St Donatian’s church 92 3 Feast days and liturgical commemoration 100 Commemoration for the soul c. 1200–1400 101 Public and civic devotion 108 Public worship in the fifteenth century 117 4 Guilds: feast, festivity and public worship 133 Guild foundation in the fourteenth century 135 Guild membership and activity 141 Guilds and public worship 162 vii viii Contents 5 Guilds and civic government 167 Civic investment in festivity c. 1300–1400 168 Festive events and civic honour c. 1400–1500 171 Festive events and the ‘public good’ c. 1400–1500 176 The common good and urban conflict: the end of the White Bear 185 6 Civic charity 195 Foundations for the poor 197 Charity and municipal authority 201 Charity and liturgy 207 Civic networks of intercession 213 7 Civic ceremony, religion and the counts of Flanders 222 Ceremony in the presence of the prince 225 Ceremony in the absence of the prince 260 Conclusion and epilogue: civic morality c. 1500 280 Appendices 306 1 Order of craft guilds in the Holy Blood procession 306 2 Dating obits and foundations in the planarii of Bruges churches 309 3 Foundations augmenting feast days (by date) 311 4 Foundations augmenting feast days c. 1200–1520 312 5 Guilds and fraternities in Bruges churches 321 Bibliography 329 Index 351