Topography, Corporations and Everyday Life of Hertogenbosch in the 14th — 15th Centuries

Abstract

Due to the local cult of the miraculous statue of Virgin Mary that emerged in the 14th century religious fraternities began to play a leading role in the daily life of citizens, attracting to the town famous architects, artisans, composers and artists (among them was Hieronymus Bosch). But besides religious communities, professional corporations were also important actors in the urban commune, uniting artisans of various specialties around one patron. The most significant guilds in Hertogenbosch were the communities of clothiers and blacksmiths, which formed the main articles of the town’s exports. Areas, in which those craftsmen settled, formed a specific topography of the inner-city space. The core of it was the market square with the houses of the richest members of commercial and administrative elite. Apart from the two main sites — the market and St. John’s cathedral, erected much later — in the urban landscape were present important monasteries and cloisters; belonging to fraternities of beguines and Brotherhood of Common Life. The economic, socio-political, religious and cultural activities of these numerous urban communities formed the environment in which the everyday activities of the inhabitants of Hertogenbosch took place during the 14—15th centuries.