This
page is mainly about the city of Utrecht during the Middle Ages, but it touches
on other periods, too. I mention general literature, journals, some important
studies, the main sources for medieval history and law. Pages on special
subjects will follow, for a start a page on chronicles
on and from medieval Utrecht.
A summary of Utrecht's history
Roman army camp, Trajectum ad Rhenum, founded 50 B.C., formed the first
occupation of Utrecht. In November 2002 the excavations at De Meern were crowned
with the traces of a very early Roman watch tower and well preserved
ships, showing the Old Rhine river near Utrecht as a part of the limes,
the Roman frontier system. In November 2004 a Roman house has been excavated.
Relatively little is known from the post-Roman period until the 9th century. In
the Frankish period Utrecht became an episcopal see, but fearing the Vikings the
bishops lived for decades at Deventer. Dorestad on the Rhine was more important.
At Utrecht apart from the two cathedral chapters ("Doppelkathedral"), St.
Martin's and Salvator, three other chapters developed in the 11th century: St.
Mary's, St. John's and St. Peter's.
The 12th century brought rapid growth for
the town. The bishop was also a secular ruler, not only in the present province
of Utrecht but also in parts of Guelders and Overijssel. The Utrecht merchants
won important rights of him in 1122. Four parish churches were founded: Maria
Minor (Buurkerk), St. James', St. Nicholas' and St. Gertrude's. Thus Utrecht was
both an ecclesiastical and a commercial centre. In the early 14th century the
guilds gained for a short period power in the city. In this century one started
to build the gothic cathedral (Dom) and its mighty tower. Dozens of convents
peopled the city. The Centraal
Museum, the main municipal museum, is housed in the former St. Agnes'
convent. The Catharijneconvent
houses now a well known museum for religious art. The bishop of Utrecht
quarreled often with the counts of Holland and Guelders. Burgundy gained
influence over Utrecht in the 15th century. In 1528 the city lost its
independence, and the bishop was not any longer a secular prince, too.
From 1566 the Reformation won slowly the field, especially after the death of the
last archbishop in 1580. Since 1559 on Utrecht had been an archdiocese. From the
largest town in the Northern Low Countries Utrecht dwindled into a regional
centre. The Union of Utrecht on religious tolerance was signed in 1579 in the
cathedral chapter hall. The foundation of a university in 1634 brought new life
to the city. In 1713 the Peace of Utrecht was signed to end the Spanish war of
succession. A conflict on doctrine and hierarchy within the Dutch Catholic
mission led in 1723 to the Utrecht Schism. Eventually this became the starting
point for the Old Catholic Church.
In 1853 Utrecht became again the see of
the archbishop with the reintroduction of the Roman-Catholic hierarchy. Only
late in the 19th century industry gained momentum in and around Utrecht. The
coming of the railways, the new canal (Merwedekanaal) of 1892, the Trade Fair
[Jaarbeurs] from 1916 on, the many central offices, for instance of the Dutch
Railroads, of banks and insurance companies, and the vastly expanded university
made Utrecht into a centre of business services and exchange of knowledge. The
construction of the large shopping centre Hoog Catharijne (1970) opened eyes for
the preservation of many monuments in the inner city. The extraordinary Roman
tower, road, bridge, ship sand harbour will be preserved in an archaeological
park in the heart of the new suburb Leidsche Rijn.
- Renger de Bruin, Tarquinius Hoekstra and Arend
Pietersma, The city of Utrecht through twenty centuries : a brief
history (Utrecht 1999).
General literature
- 'Een paradijs vol weelde'.
Geschiedenis van de stad Utrecht, by R.E. de Bruin, P.D.'t Hart, A.J. van
den Hoven van Genderen, J.E.A.L. Struick and A. Pietersma (editor-in-chief)
(Utrecht 2000) - the latest and completest book on Utrecht history, soundly
researched, with many illustrations, rich references and bibliography.
- A. van Hulzen, Utrecht. Een beknopte
geschiedenis van de oude bisschopsstad (Utrecht 1994) - a popular
history.
- J.E.A.L. Struick, Utrecht door de
eeuwen heen (4. ed., Utrecht-Antwerpen 1984) - city archivarian Struick
wrote an important book. He did not treat the post-1940 period.
- M.J.G.Th. Montforts, Romeins
Utrecht (Utrecht 1995)- Utrecht and the Romans
- Rien Blijstra, 2000 jaar Utrecht.
Stedebouwkundige ontwikkeling van castrum tot centrum (Utrecht-Antwerpen
1969) - city planning and architecture in a landmark publication.
- Geschiedenis
van de Provincie Utrecht,
C. Dekker, Ph. Maarschalkerweerd and J.M. van Winter (eds.) (3 vol., Utrecht
1997) - the first grand scale provincial history.
- Utrechtse
biografieën. Levensbeschrijvingen van onbekende en bekende Utrechters, J.
Aalbers, A. Pietersma, a.o. (eds.) (5 vol., Meppel-Utrecht 1994-1998) - this
biographical project prompted sequels for the Eemland and Vechtstreek
regions.
- Oud-Utrecht,
also as Maandblad van Oud-Utrecht [MBOU]- journal since 1926, first
only on city history; appears bimonthly.
- Archief
voor de geschiedenis van het Aartsbisdom Utrecht [AAU] - journal for
ecclesiastical history, appeared 1876-1958.
- Jaarboek
Oud-Utrecht, earlier as Jaarboekje van Oud-Utrecht [JBOU] - a
yearbook since 1923, with more scientific publications; contains also city
annals.
- Archeologische
en Bouwhistorische Kroniek van de Gemeente Utrecht - the chronicle for
building history and city archaeology appeared until 1987 in the Maandblad
Oud-Utrecht, then until 1990 independently; indices for 1972-1988 by
Tjeerd Pot.
- Archeologische
en Bouwhistorische Kroniek van de Gemeente Utrecht 1926-1972 (Utrecht,
s.a. (1991)) - a volume with earlier publications from the Maandblad
Oud-Utrecht.
- Archeologische
Kroniek Provincie Utrecht - archaeological chronicle, since 1988 as a
series, earlier already for 1970-1979 (1996), 1980-1984 and 1985-1987 (ed.
W.J. van Tent, 1992), appears every second year, from 1991 also for the city
of Utrecht.
- M.J.
Dolfin, E.M. Kylstra and J. Penders (eds.), Utrecht. De huizen binnen de
singels (2 vol., ’s-Gravenhage 1989) - building history and art history of
houses in the city centre.
- Chris
Kolman a.o. (eds.), Monumenten in Nederland-Utrecht (Zwolle-Zeist 1996)
- a beautiful survey of monuments.
- Monumenten
Inventarisatie Project Provincie Utrecht - multi-volume description of
monuments in the province of Utrecht.
- Ben
Olde Meierink a.o. (eds.), Kastelen en ridderhofsteden in Utrecht (2nd
ed., Utrecht 1995) - the history of castles, estates and houses of the gentry
and patricians.
- Marijke
Donkersloot-de Vrij, Kaarten van Utrecht. Topografische en thematische
kartografie van de stad uit vijf eeuwen (Utrecht 1989) - city maps from
five centuries.
- Trajecten
door Utrecht - a series of research manuals supported by the Utrecht
Archives, with volumes on genealogy, church history, housing, migration,
hospitals and welfare, and farming.
Summary
General
literature Medieval
Utrecht Edited
sources Law
in medieval Utrecht Medieval
city records Links
Medieval Utrecht - see also the links
for medieval history
Much has been written on the medieval history of
Utrecht. Here a selection of the larger studies, some essay volumes and source
editions. In the "Stichtse Historische Reeks" (Utrecht History
Series) a number of books have appeared on medieval Utrecht :
- F. Doeleman, De heerschappij van de
proost van Sint Jan in de Middeleeuwen 1085-1594 (Zutphen 1982) - the
history of the mighty chapter of St. John's, with its own jurisdiction in the
region.
- D.A. Berents, Misdaad in de
middeleeuwen. Een
onderzoek naar de criminaliteit in het laat-middeleeuwse Utrecht
(2nd
ed., [Zutphen] 1984) - criminality in late-medieval Utrecht.
- C.
Dekker, Het Kromme Rijngebied in de Middeleeuwen. Een
institutioneel-geografische studie (Zutphen 1983) - the basic study for
any research on medieval Utrecht.
- A.J.
van den Hoven van Genderen, Het kapittel-generaal en de Staten van het
Nedersticht in de vijftiende eeuw (Linschoten-Zutphen 1987) - on the
Utrecht chapters, the States, the city and the bishop and their
politics.
- M.W.J. de Bruijn, Husinghe
ende hofstede. Een institutioneel-geografische studie van de rechtspraak over
onroerend goed in de stad Utrecht in de middeleeuwen
(Utrecht 1994) - a wealth of information on jurisdiction, houses and their
owners and tenants.
Of
other larger (recent) studies one should mention:
- J. Kuys, Kerkelijke organisatie in het
middeleeuwse bisdom Utrecht (Nimwegen 2004) - a much needed guide to the
ecclesiastical institutions in the medieval diocese of Utrecht.
- K. van Vliet, In kringen van
kanunniken. Munsters en kapittels in het bisdom Utrecht 695-1227 (Zutphen
2002) - a new synthesis on the emergence of collegiate chapters and their
importance for the ecclestiastical life of the Northern Netherlands.
- A.J.
van den Hoven van Genderen, De heeren van de Kerk. De
kanunniken van Oudmunster te Utrecht in de late middeleeuwen (Zutphen
1997)
- on the canons of the Salvator chapter, with a very interesting
archive.
- C.J.C.
Broer, Uniek in de stad. De oudste geschiedenis van de kloostergemeenschap
op de Hohorst sinds 1050 de Sint-Paulusabdij te Utrecht (...) (Utrecht
2000) - St. Paul's was the only Benedictine monastery in town.
- J.P.
Gumbert, Die Utrechter Kartäuser und ihre Bücher im frühen 15.
Jahrhundert (Leiden 1974) - the first book of the great Dutch
palaeographer is concerned with the Utrecht Carthusians and their
books.
- W.H.
Vroom, De financiering van de kathedraalboue in de middeleeuwem in het
bijzonder van de dom van Utrecht (Maarssen 1981) - a study on the finances
of cathedrals in medieval Europe with Utrecht's cathedral as an
example.
- Dirk
J. de Vries, Bouwen in de late Middeleeuwen. Stedelijke architectuur in het
voormalige Over- en Nedersticht (Utrecht 1994) - late medieval building
history in the western and eastern halfs of the diocese Utrecht.
There
are important essays in the following volumes:
- De
Utrechtse bisschop in de middeleeuwen, C.A. Rutgers (ed.) (Den Haag 1978)
- a collection of -partly re-edited- articles on episcopal
history.
- Utrecht
tussen Kerk en Staat, R.E.V. Stuip and C. Vellekoop (eds.) (Hilversum
1991) - essays on the relations between ecclesiastical institutions and the
city.
- Utrechters
entre-deux. Stad en Sticht in de eeuw van de Reformatie, 1520-1620, H. ten
Boom a.o. (eds.) (Delft 1992) - the Middle Ages influenced Utrecht for a long
time : the Reformation could not win the field at once nor
completely.
- Romeinen,
Friezen en Franken in het hart van Nederland. Van Traiectum tot Dorestad 50
v.C.-900 n.C., W.A. van Es and W.A.M. Hessing (eds.) (2nd ed.,
Utrecht-Amersfoort, 1994) - on archaeology; important for early medieval
Dorestad on the Rhine.
- De
kerk en de Nederlanden. Archieven, instellingen, samenleving. Aangeboden aan
prof.dr. C. Dekker bij zijn afscheid (...),
E.S.C. Erkelens-Buttinger a.o. (eds.) (Hilversum 1997) - a Festschrift with
important articles on the church history of Utrecht.
Summary
General
literature Medieval
Utrecht Edited
sources Law
in medieval Utrecht Medieval
city records Links
Sources
The
editions of sources mentioned here bear on many themes:
- Groot
Placaatboek...'s lands van Utrecht...tot het jaar 1728..., J. van de Water
(ed.) (3 vol., Utrecht 1729) - this cartulary is not always reliable or
accurate, but often it offers the only edition.
- Oorkondenboek
van het Sticht Utrecht tot 1301, S. Muller Fz., A.C. Bouman, K. Heeringa
and F. Ketner (eds.) (5 vol., Utrecht-'s Gravenhage 1920-1959) - a critical
edition of all charters and references in other sources until the 14th
century.
- Bronnen
tot de bouwgeschiedenis van den Dom te Utrecht, N.B. Tenhaeff, W.J.
Alberts a.o. (eds.) (3 vol., 's-Gravenhage 1946-1976) - the building accounts
of the St. Martin's chapter and its gothic cathedral are a fine source for
social and economic history.
- Sources
concerning the hospitallers of St. John in the Netherlands, 14th-18th
centuries, J.M. van Winter (ed.) (Leiden, etc., 1998) - many of these
sources are concerned with Utrecht.
- De
registers en rekeningen van het bisdom Utrecht, 1325-1336, S. Muller Fz.
(ed.) (2 vol., 's Gravenhage 1889-1891) - episcopal accounts and
registers.
- Rekeningen
van het bisdom Utrecht, 1378-1523, K. Heeringa (ed.) (2 vol., Utrecht
1926-1932) - episcopal accounts.
Law
in medieval Utrecht
This
section concerns first of all the juridical organisation, administration and
courts in the city. Some
studies have been mentioned already. Here first a number of important edited
sources :
- De middeleeuwsche rechtsbronnen der stad
Utrecht, S. Muller Fz. (ed.) (3 vol. and glossary,
's-Gravenhage 1883-1885) - the third part contains an introduction and
descriptions of the sources; part
1 and part
2 are available online.
- De
gilden van Utrecht tot 1528. Verzameling van rechtsbronnen, J.G.Ch.
Joosting and J.C. Overvoorde (eds.) (2 vol., 's-Gravenhage 1896-1897) - the
guilds played an important role in Utrecht's history;
part 1 and part
2 are available online.
- De middeleeuwsche rechtsbronnen der
kleine steden van het Nedersticht, R.Th. Fruin (ed.) (3 vol., 's
Gravenhage 1892-1903) - statutes of the smaller cities near Utrecht, in the
western half of the diocese; part
1 is available online.
- A.J.
Maris, Repertorium op de Stichtse leenprotocollen uit het landsheerlijke
tijdvak, I : De Nederstichtse leenacten (1349-1581) ('s-Gravenhage
1956) - a repertory of episcopal fiefs.
- J.C.
Kort, Repertorium op de lenen van Gaasbeek (Hilversum 2002) - the
bishop eventually got hold of the Gaasbeek fiefs which are mainly located
within the province of Utrecht.
There
are editions of sources for ecclesiastical law, too. Notice the Muller
nephews:
- Bronnen
voor de geschiedenis der kerkelijke rechtspraak in het bisdom Utrecht in de
middeleeuwen, J.G.C. Joosting and S. Muller Hzn. (eds.) (7 vol.,
's-Gravenhage 1906-1924) - the episcopal jurisdiction has many aspects; there
is relatively little on ecclesiastical judges in this edition.
- Het
rechtsboek van den Dom van Utrecht door mr. Hugo Wstinc, S. Muller Fz.
(ed.) ('s Gravenhage 1895) - canon Hugo Wstinc wrote the first treatise on the
St. Martin's or cathedral chapter statutes.
- Rechtsbronnen
van den Dom van Utrecht, S. Muller Fz. (ed.) ('s Gravenhage 1903) - the
particular statutes of the St. Martin's (Dom) chapter provoked a number of
treatises.
There exist some studies on medieval lawyers
from Utrecht:
- Gerbenzon, Pieter, 'Some medieval canonists from the diocese of Utrecht',
Studia Gratiana [Collectanea Stephan Kuttner, vol. 2] 12 (1967)
249-263.
- McCurry, Charles, 'Jean de Sierck and a lost commentary on the Liber
Sextus', Bulletin of Medieval Canon Law 3 (1973) 142-144 - Jan van
Sierck (died 1309) was bishop of Utrecht (1291-1296) and afterwards of Toul.
For
the official
of the bishop and those of the collegiate chapters see the studies by Carla de
Glopper-Zuijderland:
- 'De
officiaal van Utrecht als beoorkonder van vrijwillige rechtshandelingen ten
behoeve van vijf Utrechtse kapittels in de 14de eeuw', Verslagen en
Mededelingen Stichting tot uitgaaf der bronnen van het oud-vaderlandse
recht, nieuwe reeks, 3 (1982) 87-159 - the officialates acted also as
chancery offices for the voluntary jurisdiction, mainly for the transferral of
ownership.
- 'VII.
The Netherlands', in: Ch. Donahue jr. (ed.), The records of the medieval
ecclesiastical courts I, The Continent (Berlin 1989) 163-176 - an
overview of sources in the Utrecht archives.
- ‘Het
oudste register van de officialiteit van Utrecht’, in: De kerk en de
Nederlanden...,
E.S.C. Erkelens-Buttinger a.o. (eds.). (Hilversum 1997) 201-213 - on the
oldest register of the episcopal official.
Summary
General
literature Medieval
Utrecht Edited
sources Law
in medieval Utrecht Medieval
city records Links
ov - February 8, 2008 / January 2016