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46-700: This work is the only painting by Bruegel in the Louvre, received as a gift in 1892. Attempts have been made to interpret the picture of five disabled people and a beggar-woman as an allusion to a historical event: the badger's tails, or foxes' tails, on their clothes might refer to the Gueux , a rebel party formed against the government of Philip II of Spain and Granvelle ; but these also occur in Bruegel's The Fight Between Carnival and Lent in Vienna , dated 1559. Still,

92-537: A beggar's bowl and flask on his hip. Between the nobles' feet is a monogram, probably "VLG" ( "Vive le Geux" , or a reference to the medal-maker). The medal may have been shaped by Jonghelinck or a medal-maker; its style and production method are similar, but the medal date may not be 1566. The other noble does not yet wear a Geuzen medal on a ribbon, found on a 1572 medal. The Beeldenstorm began on August 16, 1566, in Steenvoorde , and this medal probably dates from

138-420: A petition to Margaret (who was alarmed by the large gathering). Berlaymont is reputed to have whispered to her, "Ce ne sont que de gueux" ("They're just beggars"). Three days later, during a banquet at the palace of the earl of Culemborg, the pejorative geus was chosen as a badge of honour for their group. They decided to adopt a costume incorporating mendicant symbols, such as beggars' bowls and flagons. This

184-484: A small profit on his first version). The maker of the cast silver, gilt Geuzen medal with collectors reference vL.I 85/84.4 and the qualification "very rare" is unknown. The text is nearly identical to the Jonghelinck medal, with the addition of "1566" and hollow points between the words. The medal is slightly larger than the first one. The reverse has no beggar's bag, but two nobles shaking hands. The left figure has

230-613: Is also used for a land-bound geus . The Holy Roman Empire was still at war with France when Philip II of Spain succeeded his father, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , in 1555. After peace was made, Philip II appointed his half-sister Margaret of Parma as viceroy of the Low Countries and left for Spain. The real power was invested in the three permanent members of the Council of State : Cardinal Granvelle , Viglius and Berlaymont . Nobility such as William of Orange (or William

276-505: Is difficult to read). The reverse shows two nobles, one with a beggar's bowl and flask and the other with a large Geuzen medal; the text reads, "Ivsqves a Porter La Besase" ”. The medal was reissued in the 17th century, struck on rolled silver plate. The symbolic "ears" refer to the Duke of Alba, and the spectacles are associated with the seizure of Den Briel ( Dutch bril , "spectacles"). The fierce fighting lasted for nine years before Philip II

322-542: The Dutch Revolt and during the first half of the 16th-century Eighty Years' War . During that period, many medals , tokens and jetons with a political message were minted. The earliest Geuzen medals (or tokens) date from the mid-16th century to 1577. In Dutch , geus (plural geuzen ) is a familiar term for the people who revolted in the 16th century against the Spanish king Philip II . The revolt began with

368-708: The Eighty Years' War , the Capture of Brielle by the Watergeuzen in 1572 provided the first foothold on land for the rebels, who would conquer the northern Netherlands and establish an independent Dutch Republic . They can be considered either as privateers or pirates , depending on the circumstances or motivations. The leaders of the nobles who signed a solemn league known as the Compromise of Nobles , by which they bound themselves to assist in defending

414-549: The Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden this medal is shown in a display on city history. There is a little silver ring attached to the eyelet, indicating that it was probably worn on a silver chain at some time. The Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam also possesses a "half moon". It is dated to 1574, cast in silver and roughly tooled. The Duke of Alba, in his effort to strengthen the power of King Phillip II in

460-490: The 10th penny"). This cast-silver token has the collectors reference vL.I 157/155.1 and the qualification "very rare"; more frequently, it is found with a larger diameter and struck rather than cast. Rare by the 17th century, the token was reissued due to growing demand from collectors and struck because casting was obsolete. In 1572, taxation on the tiende penning was prohibited and the Sea Beggars seized Den Briel for

506-571: The 16th century, beggars frequently required permission from a local municipality or lordship. Permission was sometimes granted only if they wore a small tin (or copper) token, the possible origin of the Geuzen medals. Letters between Granvelle (in Madrid) and his secretary, Morillon (in Brussels) indicate that Jacques Jonghelinck  – a master medal maker with a workshop in a buildings in

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552-611: The 17th century, when it became clear that the Dutch would win the Eighty Years' War, there was a growing demand for Geuzen medals. Jonghelinck's medal was copied in silver, slightly larger and sometimes with attached beggar's bowls and flasks. Morillon wrote to Granvelle on July 7, 1566, that he got angry at Jonghelinck "because he had broken his first Geuzen medal" (Jonghelinck had probably broken his mould), but he thought that Jonghelinck could reproduce his mould (although he made only

598-714: The Dutch rebels were conducting their raids on Spanish shipping, the Ottoman Empire was involved in its own naval war with Spain, culminating in the 1571 Battle of Lepanto in Greece. For Spain to face a coordinated double-pronged naval challenge, by the Ottomans in the Mediterranean and the Dutch in north European waters, would be to the advantage of both of its foes. The slogan Liever Turks dan Paaps seems to have been largely rhetorical, and their beggars medals in

644-568: The English ports where they were able to refit and replenish their stores. Already by the end of 1569, 84 Sea Beggars' ships were in action. However, in 1572, Queen Elizabeth I of England abruptly refused to admit the Sea beggars to her harbours. No longer having refuge, the sea beggars, under the command of De la Marck, Willem Bloys van Treslong and Lenaert Jansz de Graeff , made a desperate attack upon Brielle , which they seized by surprise in

690-538: The French Huguenot port of La Rochelle , which they continued to use as a base. These privateers under the command of a succession of daring and reckless leaders, the best-known of whom is William de la Marck, Lord of Lumey , were called "Sea Beggars", " Gueux de mer " in French, or " Watergeuzen " in Dutch. At first they were content merely to plunder both by sea and land, carrying their booty to

736-460: The Low Countries, wanted to eliminate the bede (regular pleas for money by the state; this could only be done with taxation. The duke wanted to introduce a one-time, one-percent tax on property in 1569, and a regular five-percent tax on property sales a few years later; he wanted a 10-percent sales tax as a VAT . The latter (known as the "tiende penning" ) was vigorously opposed, and the duke postponed it for two years. William of Orange (an opponent)

782-523: The Prince of Orange. Vlissingen, Veere and Enkhuizen sided with the prince; a medal was struck on a cast-silver plate (originally without an eyelet), collectors reference vL.I 148/145 with the qualification "extremely rare". On the medal, 38.5 millimetres (1.52 in) high, a sword with a penning on top is between two ears; on the left are spectacles and a flute, and on the right are nine penningen . The text reads, "En Tovt Fidelles Av Roy 1572" (the date

828-567: The Sea Beggars defeated a Spanish squadron under the command of Admiral Bossu off the port of Hoorn in the Battle on the Zuiderzee . Mixing with the native population, they quickly sparked rebellions against Duke of Alba in town after town and spread the resistance southward. In 1574 the Sea Beggars, under Admiral Louis de Boisot participated in the lifting of the Siege of Leiden . Some of

874-484: The Silent , stadtholder [steward] of Holland, Zealand and Utrecht) and Lamoral, Count of Egmont , ( stadthouder of Flandres) were members of the council, but were unhappy with their loss of power to Granvelle and because Spanish troops remained in the Low Countries after the peace with France. Following a French example, they instituted a Ligue : a coalition of the high nobility. The Ligue 's activity resulted in

920-521: The Spanish king Philip II . The "Geuzen" were expressing their anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic sentiments. They considered the Turks to be less threatening than the Spaniards. During the years between 1579 and 1582, representatives from Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Paşa travelled several times from Istanbul to Antwerp. There were, in fact, objective grounds for such an alliance. At the same time that

966-506: The absence of the Spanish garrison on 1 April 1572. Encouraged by this success, they now sailed to Vlissingen , which was also taken by a coup de cul . The capture of these two towns prompted several nearby towns to declare their support for the revolt, starting a chain reaction that resulted in the majority of Holland joining in a general revolt of the Netherlands, and is regarded as the real beginning of Dutch independence. In 1573

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1012-522: The back of the painting are two inscriptions which seem to date from the 16th century. One is in Flemish , and in a very fragmentary state; the other is in Latin and records the admiration some humanist felt for Bruegel, whose art surpasses Nature itself . The painting dates from the end of Bruegel's career, when he showed a keener interest in the natural world. Tiny though it is, the landscape seen through

1058-461: The beggars are not quite ordinary beggars, as they wear carnival headgear representing various classes of society: a cardboard crown (the king), a paper shako (the soldier), a beret (the bourgeois), a cap (the peasant), and a mitre (the bishop). The work clearly has some satirical meaning, which has so far eluded interpretation. Perhaps physical imperfections are meant to symbolise moral decrepitude, which can affect all men irrespective of class. On

1104-493: The beggars. Les Gueux Geuzen ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣøːzə(n)] ; lit.   ' The Beggars ' ; French : Les Gueux ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands . The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋaːtərɣøːzə(n)] ; lit.   ' Water Beggars ' ; French: Gueux de mer ). In

1150-431: The casting process, and many medals have small holes due to thin casting. It became clear around 1600 that the northern part of the Low Countries would win the war against Spain, and the number of Geuzen medals increased; with accompanying prosperity, there was increased demand for the medals. The issues from 1566 to 1572 were manifold-copied by striking (or engraving) on rolled silver plate, rather than by casting. Early in

1196-735: The departure of Spanish troops in 1564 and, shortly thereafter, Granvelle's retirement. Members of the lower nobility, who had been impoverished in previous decades (like the common people in the southern parts of the Low Countries) united in the 1565 Compromis ; their political program sought relief from the Counter-Reformation . In early April 1566, 400 members of the Compromis united in Brussels. On April 5, led by Hendrick van Brederode and Ludwig of Nassau, they presented

1242-609: The forefathers of the Dutch naval heroes began their naval careers as sea beggars, such as Evert Heindricxzen, the grandfather of Cornelis Evertsen the Elder . As part of a propaganda campaign including prints, pamphlets and much else, many Geuzen medals were created as badges of affiliation, using a wide range of symbolism, including that associated with the Ottoman Empire . William I of Orange sought Ottoman assistance against

1288-571: The form of a half moon were meant symbolically. The Dutch hardly contemplated life under the Sultan. Moreover, there was no direct contact between the Geuzen and the Turkish authorities. The Turks were considered infidels, and the heresy of Islam alone disqualified them from assuming a more central (or consistent) role in the rebels' propaganda. Geuzen medals Geuzen medals , Beggars ' or Sea Beggars ' medals were minted early in

1334-561: The medal on their hats during the 1574 relief of Leiden . The "little lobster" emblem, between "...PIT" and "DEL...", is the privy mark ( huismerk ) of the medal-maker. The medal's text reads, " Liever Turks dan Paaps " ("Better Turkish than Papist") and "En DESPIT DE LA MES" ('In spite of the Mass'). Wearing half moons was already in practice in and around Antwerp by attendants of “ hagepreken  [ nl ] ”, open-air sermons, by Herman Modet  [ nl ] . Modet popularized

1380-455: The name became a party title. The patriot party adopted the emblems of beggary, the wallet and the bowl, as trinkets to be worn on their hats or their girdles, and a medal was struck having on one side the head of Philip II, on the other two clasped hands with the motto Fidèle au roy, jusqu'à porter la besace ("Loyal to the King, up to carrying the beggar's pouch"). The original league of Beggars

1426-404: The nobility wearing model beggar's bowls and flasks, fastened to the same ribbon. On the reverse side of the medal, some wear is visible due to contact with breast armour. Of this type of medal, about half the known specimens' eyelets are broken off. This is due to a late 17th- and 18th-century fashion in which a medal with an eyelet was considered less attractive in a collector's cabinet. Early in

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1472-429: The nobility, spreading to the gentry and the common prole. Years later, when war broke out, the title geus (or watergeus ) was given to the irregular force of rebels fighting and living in the estuaries of large rivers; the name bosgeus ("forest geus ") was given to those living in the woods. Geus is derived from the French word for beggar, hence the translation of watergeus as "sea beggar". The term "sea beggar"

1518-418: The opening is bathed in a delicate light which simmers like dew on the foliage. On the back of the painting is written: What nature lacks, is lacking in our art, So great was the grace accorded to our painter. Here nature, expressed in painted forms, is astonished To see through these cripples that Bruegel is her equal. Modern eyes may be inclined to conclude that Brugel intended to invoke sympathy for

1564-536: The palace complex in Brussels ;– made a mould for a small medal in the spring of 1566. Jonghelinck cast medals in lead, tin, copper, silver and gold; tin and copper specimens are now lost, and only a few questionable lead specimens exist). On June 15 Morillon sent a lead specimen to Granvelle, saying that more medals were cast in lead then in the other metals; a medal for poor people "affin peult-estre gue les Geutz demeurent en leur qualité" ("perhaps

1610-508: The plight of the disabled figures, but from a historical perspective this is unlikely. Europeans of Bruegel's time gave little regard to beggars, and the painting provides hints that Bruegel shared this denigration: the figures are outside the town walls and are posed in such ways as to provoke contempt and amusement. The foxtail on some of the figures was a symbol at the time of ridicule in political caricature and real life. The woman behind them bears an empty bowl and may appear to be ignoring

1656-549: The pre-selected spot because of stormy weather, disappointed Flemish nobles marauded and murdered innocent people (according to Alonso de Santa Cruz ) and officials withheld the news from Charles. In 1572 William de la Marck, Lord of Lumey (also lower Flemish nobility) took Den Briel for William the Silent; nineteen Catholic clerics were brought to him in Den Briel. After they were tortured, they were hanged; William of Orange had requested leniency toward Catholic clergy. During

1702-424: The quality [of the medals] is in line with the standing of the Geuzen"). The medal is described in part I of Gerard van Loon's book, Beschrijving der Nederlandse Historipenningen ... (1713–1731), and has the collectors reference vL.I 85/84.5. It is classified as rare to very rare. The medal is small, only 1 inch (25 mm) (not counting the eyelet). It shows the bust of Philip II, with "1566" on its cut and

1748-478: The rights and liberties of the Netherlands against the civil and religious despotism of Philip II of Spain , were Louis of Nassau and Hendrick van Brederode . On 5 April 1566, permission was obtained for the confederates to present a petition of grievances, called the Request, to the regent, Margaret, Duchess of Parma . About 250 nobles marched to the palace accompanied by Louis of Nassau and Brederode. The regent

1794-637: The slogan “Liever Turks dan paaps” (“Rather Turkish than Papist”). The phrases are meant to express a solidarity with the Turks who were also fighting the Habsburgs at that time, as well as opposition to the Catholic pope. These medals were also worn by the Sea Beggars at the capture of Den Briel in 1572. Some time later Modet became parson with the Watergeuzen and reintroduced wearing half moons, where in other places they had gone out of fashion. In

1840-474: The summer of 1566 (after July 7 and before the end of August). A gold Geuzen medal reportedly belonged to Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horne , who was executed by the Duke of Alba in 1568. Nearly identical to Jonghelinck's medal, it has points inserted between the words of the text. The half-moon Geuzen medal (c. 1570) is also called the "half-moon of Boisot" because the Sea Beggars, commanded by Boisot, wore

1886-475: The text "EN TOVT FIDELLES AV ROY" ("In everything loyal to the king"); on the reverse side is a beggar's sack, hands and the text, "IVSQVES A PORTER LA BESACE" ("even condemned to a beggar's level"). The medal was worn on the breast with a ribbon around the neck. Morillon notes that Jonghelinck's neighbouring tourneur (a master furniture maker) turned small wooden bowls which women hung from their ears; original specimens are now unknown. Pictures sometimes show

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1932-529: Was at first alarmed at the appearance of so large a body, but one of her councillors, Berlaymont , allegedly remarked " N'ayez pas peur Madame, ce ne sont que des gueux " ("Fear not madam, they are only beggars"). The appellation was not forgotten. In a speech at a great feast held by some 300 confederates at the Hotel Culemburg three days later, Brederode declared that if need be they were all ready to become beggars in their country's cause. Henceforward

1978-459: Was less an eccentricity of the low nobility than the popular tradition in reversing roles, as at carnival time. A dress code, with beggars' bowls and flagons and a silver (or gilt) token on a ribbon around the neck indicated their independence and dominance; mockery of the church may also have been a factor. The lower 16th-century Flemish nobility could be described as successful criminals. When Charles V first visited Spain in 1517 and did not land at

2024-443: Was no longer acknowledged as sovereign in 1581. After the pacification of Ghent , accepted by John of Austria , Jacques Jonghelinck produced a silver commemorative medal for casting in large numbers; the reference code is vL.I 243/230. Almost all the medals have an ornate border of vuurslagen (flint strikers) and an eyelet, or a spot where the eyelet is broken off. Jonghelinck tried to maximise his profit by minimising silver in

2070-406: Was seen as a hero, and an unknown medal maker cast a silver token. The 28-millimetre (1.1 in) token depicts William of Orange in harness, with sword and battle hammer. The text reads, "P.V.O" or "Prince of Orange" and "Dat Edel Bloet" ("that noble blood"). On the reverse, nine penningen are shown on a coat of arms with the text "Heft Ons Voer Den 10 Penninck Behot" ("has guarded us against

2116-561: Was short-lived, crushed by Alba , but its principles survived and were to be ultimately triumphant. In the Dutch language the word geuzennaam is used for linguistic reappropriation : a pejorative term used with pride by the people called that way. In 1569 William of Orange , who had now openly placed himself at the head of the party of revolt, granted letters of marque to a number of vessels manned by crews of desperadoes drawn from all nationalities. Eighteen ships received letters of marque, which were equipped by Louis of Nassau in

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