The City of Ghent wants to prevent the auctioning of an historic 16th century letter and is sending the Scottish auction house Lyon & Turnbull an official request to demand the document’s return. The letter was sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England and is addressed to Ghent's first alderman.
Next week Edinburgh auction house Lyon & Turnbull will auction the letter that the Ghent authorities say belongs in the city archives. The city has sent a request asking for the historical document not to be sold. The auctioneers estimate the letter from Elizabeth Tudor could fetch up to 20,000 euros.
The letter was written on 30 December 1578 and signed by Queen Elizabeth I, the Protestant monarch of England and Ireland. The addressee is Jan van Hembyse, an alderman and leader of the Calvinist Republic of Ghent. In the letter, the Queen pleads for a fair trial for Roman Catholic noblemen imprisoned in the city.
The City of Ghent says research shows that the document should belong to its city archives. ‘It is an important historical document illustrating a turbulent period in the history of Ghent and Europe. 'The letter was addressed to the city and has also been delivered. That means it belongs in our archives,’ says alderman Watteeuw.
The delivery of the letter is a story in itself. It was made by an English spy, who also discussed the content of the letter with the alderman in person.
The Calvinist Republic of Ghent
In 1577, Protestant rebels stage a coup in Ghent. They manage to seize power and Ghent secedes from the County of Flanders. The rebels then establish a Calvinist Republic. The leader of the rebels, John of Hembyse, decides to imprison the city’s Roman Catholic elite.
At night, a barefoot Duke of Aarschot, the then governor, is lifted from his bed. There is international outrage over the arrest. William of Orange intervenes in early December 1578, travels to Ghent to arrange a settlement and succeeds.
Van Hembyse releases the Roman Catholic prisoners. That news had not yet reached Queen Elizabeth. She too was worried and wanted to assert herself on the international stage. That’s why she sent the letter to Ghent city council. The document was handed over a few weeks after the release of the prisoners. How it ended up back in Britain is still unclear.
The Calvinist Republic of Ghent survived for six years until 1584.