Beggars, Iconoclasts, and Civic Patriots is a terrific book. In Peter Arnade's hands, the story of how iconoclasm, noble ambitions, and civic pride could have combined to produce a narrative able to justify and carry the Dutch revolt becomes comprehensible. Arnade moves easily among source genres and disciplines, making excellent use of images, stories, and songs alongside political pamphlets, chronicles, ... Read moretheoreticians' commentaries, court records, financial accounts, and diplomatic agreements.
Martha Howell, Miriam Champion Professor of History, Columbia University Incredible as it may sound, in such a well-belabored field, this book offers a novel view on the Dutch Revolt.... The well-known history of noble and popular protest against Habsburg centralization, tax regimes, and religious policies is traced not through diplomacy and military encounters, but by carefully looking at the 'iconic high moments of the Dutch Revolt'-at how people behaved, at the cultural scripts that the followed, and the representation of those events in contemporary media.... Beggars, Iconoclasts, and Civic Patriots is a joy to read. It dazzles its readers with a lavish use of contemporary images and the recreation of the visual effects of the displays of established power and patriotic protest. It succeeds in its stated aim 'to capture the political dramas and cultural conceits around which people rallied, found political voice, and forged a rebellion.'
Joke Spaans
Journal of Ecclesiastical History
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