LUYSTER VAN BRABANT

A document published in 1699, theLuyster van Brabant—its full title,Den Luyster en de glorie van het hertogdom van Brabant—consisted of a compendium of rights and privileges accorded to thenations. It derives from a collection of documents found in a strongbox in 1698. The chest was retrieved from a group of materials that had been stored in the Tour du Miroir (site of theGaleries Saint-Hubert), which collapsed on 7 November 1696. Long thought lost, the documents were published together in theLuysterby members of the nations. Fearful that they would be used to justify demands for greater autonomy, King Charles II, through his governor,Maximilian II Emmanuel, banned the book. The action spawned an uprising by craftsmen in 1700. The insurgents met defeat and an edict by the Council ofBrabantmaintained the existing restrictions on privileges. Rebels cited theLuyster van Brabantagain in 1716 in renewing their demands.

See alsoAnneessens, Frans; Spanish Regime.