The history
of legislation should not be limited to the study of legislative acts’ content.
Legislation can clearly be seen as an instrument of early modern governments,
but it must also be considered as a tool of communication between those that
rule and their subjects. Understood as a communication process, the study of
the early modern legislation decisively opens up a new angle in this field of
research. Therefore, it must be realized that the history of legislation should
be considered through a plural and multifactorial approach.
Amongst the
possible angles, we have chosen:
The
decision-making process should certainly receive attention. The study of the
early modern legislation must necessarily echo the decision-making process by
which a simple act’s draft becomes an edict ready to be proclaimed and/or
printed. Considering the study of the decision-making process implies to
question the value of advices and deliberations taking place before the edict’s
promulgation. To what extent did the legislator rely on advice issued by
provincial or local authorities? How was managed the flow of communication
between different institutions or between different jurisdictions? This means
mapping this communication, not just on a central level, but also provincially
and locally. Another element, complementary to the first, is the publication of
legislation. It has always been essential to ensure a good dissemination and
good publicity when promulgating legislation. The authority of the government
was at stake.
If the oral
dissemination of the law during the Middle Ages is a well-studied topic, we
cannot say the same regarding the impact of print on oral practices linked to
the law’s publication. For instance, to what extent have the rulers pushed to
use the printed version of an edict to complement an oral announcement??
Furthermore, the question of the (in)effectiveness of legislation should also
be asked. By considering ex-post-analysis methods we can judge the
(non-)applicability of legislation, arguments of subjects regarding
disobedience or mobilisation of legislation in court. Legislation should thus
be placed in a social context, as social phenomena can be enforced. It is
therefore also fruitful to question the interconnectedness and reciprocal
influence of legal sources. One might think about the customary law
incorporated in legislative acts or foreign influences.
With this
workshop, our aim is to draw attention to specific territories, i.e. the
Habsburg Netherlands and the United Provinces. Although following diverging
paths from 1560’s onwards, these areas do share a common legal past making
early modern legislation interesting to study. Therefore it is important and
even necessary to be able to study these two political spaces together in order
to be able to highlight specific practices, both those that form a common
ground and those that make the areas unique.
By bringing
together researchers from Belgium and the Netherlands, this one-day workshop
intends to shed light on a poorly studied phenomenon but genuinely key for the
early modern period.
Presentations
should not exceed 20 minutes. A discussion will be held at the end of each
session.
Program
9.30
Welcome
9.55
Introduction
10.00 Key-note: Jorgen
Mührmann-Lund (Århus) - Interstate influences on early modern police
ordinances
10.45
Session 1
Chair : Louis
Sicking (Leiden/ VUAmsterdam)
Marie-Charlotte
Le Bailly (Red Star
Line Museum) - “De publicatie van den niewe ordonnantie”. The making and
printing of ordinances and instructions for the Court of Holland, 1462-1811
Arthur
der Weduwen (St.
Andrews) - Publishing and Distributing Government Print in the Dutch Golden
Age.
11.45 Posters session : Kevin DeKoster (UGent);
Lies van Aelst (UU/Wethoudersvereniging); Inès Glogowski
(VUB/UCLouvain).
12.00 Lunch
13.15
Session 2
Chair : Griet
Vermeesch (VUB)
Xavier
Rousseaux
(FNRS/UCLouvain) et Romain Parmentier (UCLouvain) - Touchy
Questions ? Decriminalizing
the body in the Austrian Netherlands : the example of Suicide and Torture
Nicolas
Simon
(FNRS/UCLouvain/USL-B) - (In)effectiveness of the legislation in the
Habsburg Netherlands (1598-1665)
Annemieke
Romein (UGhent/EUR)
- Establishing and implementing security-regulations and ‘Bona Politia’ in
Flanders (1579-1701). Concepts, Normative Texts, and Instruments.
15.00 tea
break
15.15
Conclusion - René Vermeir (Ghent)
15.45
Discussion & Future Prospects - Annemieke Romein (UGent/EUR)
& Jorgen Mührmann-Lund (Århus)
16.00 End
Practical
Information
October
18, 2018
University
Saint-Louis - Brussels
Bd Jardin
Botanique, 43
B-Brussels
1000
Room : P 61
Here you'll find information on how to get to U.
Saint-Louis.
Here you'll find a Saint-Louis' site map.
If you wish
to attend the conference, we would be grateful if you could contact the
organizers.
Free entrance.
Organization & Contact
Dr. Annemieke Romein : annemieke.romein@ugent.be
(source: https://www.crhidi.be/2018/10/18/law-order-the-role-of-the-institutions-in-creating-the-legislation-in-the-low-countries-1500-1700s/)
