Cloth Seal, Dutch, Naarden
Cloth Seal, Dutch, Naarden, Image & Found by Peter Eggers.
Found near Graft, Netherlands, 56mm.
Shield bearing double headed eagle* // ENKEL STAEL, NAERDEN IN H...
From the finder, "here is the big NAERDEN (nowadays NAARDEN) cloth seal, found in the mud near my birth-village Graft. It dates from before 1572, when that city was destroyed by the Spanish. Diameter: 56 mm. On one side a two headed eagle on the other : in the middle ENKEL STAEL (that’s about the quality oft the produced cloth) on the edge: NAERDEN IN HO….. (Holland)"
For other examples of Naarden cloth seals see Europlombs, "The first attestation of Naarden dates from the reign of Emperor Otto I (936 - 968); the city is mentioned as Naruthi. Naarden probably received his right of citizenship around 1300 from Count Florent V; however, the city had already been granted the right to hold a market long before that date. Naarden is no longer at the place of its origins. The waters of the Zuiderzee becoming more and more threatening for the small town, it was decided to rebuild the town in a safer place after its complete destruction during the War of the Hooks and the Cods. The site chosen for the reconstruction was situated on a height between the Zuiderzee and the marshes which bordered the city to the south; moreover, a strategic location insofar as one had to go through there to reach the towns of the county of Holland from the east of the Netherlands.
The arms of the city come from the eagle of the Germanic emperors (legend has it that it was Otto I who gave it to the city) and which were adopted for several cities in the Netherlands."
The Belgian Traveller: A Complete Guide Through Belgium and Holland, Or Kingdoms of the United Netherlands. With a Sketch of the History, Constitution, and Religion of the Netherlands, Etc, Edmund Boyce, 1827, p.182, "Four miles beyond Muiderburg is the small but strong town of Naarden ... The principal manufactures are velvets and cloths." I am wondering if this seal comes from a later flowering of the Naarden cloth industry as the lettering looks to be of a later date? The extract below supports this continuance of cloth production after the 1572 massacre.
See Anton Cruysheeren & OlafLangendorjf, Loden van de textielstad Naarden, 2014, "We may assume that the Naardense textile industry and trade came to an abrupt end on December 1 1572 with the (Spanish) conquest of the city and the ensuing massacre. However one of the inventoried seals from Naarden is for the year 1588 (Fig. 19a-b). This proves that the whole textile production line up to and including the steel (quality) seal again was in operation, which contradicts the current state of knowledge about the abrupt end of the Naarden cloth industry. The carnage may be after all not have been as drastic as was thought. As soon as possible, the lost personnel were replaced by residents from the region, including those from Hilversum and Laren, presumably traditionally workers in textile production from their own villages. This may show that not only the wool was delivered to the textile workers in the city of Naarden, but that at the time - and probably before - perhaps the looms were also lined up in the villages. Also weaver families from the cities of Weesp and Muiden will have contributed to the resilient recovery of textile production, although never at the levels of yesteryear.
... DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE*
Originally the Naarden coat of arms had a double-headed eagle. The bird of prey refers to the German two-headed eagle, which since 1433 is the coat of arms of the Roman-German emperors. After 1433 the double-headed eagle was frequently used on coins and textile seals to ensure a valid and reliable character. For trade with the (other) German principalities and cities the double-headed eagle adorned the textile seals of Dutch cities that (mainly) had a market in the current Germany. E.g. those of Amsterdam, Bolsward, Delft, Gouda, Leiden and Naarden. Although Naarden had city rights already at the end of the 13th century, the city coat of arms with the double-headed eagle did not appear until after 1433. Since the city charter was accompanied by the use of a specific seal and the introduction of a city coat of arms, Naarden will originally have had another (still unknown) coat of arms. Probably the first arms of Naarden will be related to the county of Holland, since in 1280 the 'Naerdincklant' (Naarderland / Gooiland) including Naarden was transferred from the Elten women's monastery to the county of Holland under the well-known count Floris V. The most common and obvious heraldic symbol is the Dutch climbing lion. It is precisely this image that adorns a textile lead that was found near Oud Naarden (fig. 6a-6b). The oldest known city stamps with the double-headed eagle date from 1534. Introduction of the new city seal of Naarden must therefore have been somewhere between 1433 and 1534. Our theory is that Naarden is the new city coat of arms because of the great trade interests and the prosperity associated with the textile industry which was specifically aimed at the German / Baltic markets. Weassume an introduction somewhere between 1435 and 1450, since the sales of Naarden cloth already had a wide, international distribution."
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