Contentious Citizens in the Low Countries, 1250–1550

In theory, citizens of late medieval cities had a say in the functioning of their urban communities. But, in practice, many of them were deprived of political power through formal or established channels. In the late medieval Low Countries, however, people made themselves heard in a remarkable variety of ways. While it is commonplace in the historiography to focus on the (relatively rare) violent methods of dissent and protest, this book offers instead a comparative study of the more commonplace (and, often, effective) non-violent counterparts: insults, libels, songs, slogans, and petitions that citizens addressed to the urban authorities. Drawing on wide range of sources and methodological approaches, this book demonstrates that, across the late medieval Low Countries, contentious citizens continuously spread innovative political ideas in public. The group of people who participated in these dissenting activities was broad, including women, who were an integral part of the political community and fostered public discontent by using their voices in innovative ways. This is a rich history of the scintillating ideas, incendiary poetry, and outrageous language of late medieval urban men and women—and the ways in which they effected change through their main weapons: their voices.