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Church of St. Jacques. GHENT. 6. Route. 69
ivileges, freedoms, and customs of the county and city of Ghent; comp.
2 Hither the members of the medieval guilds, ‘ces tétes dures de
‘e, as Charles V. termed his countrymen, flocked at the sound of
ll to avenge some real or im y infringement of their rights,
ere the standard of r riably erected. Here Jacques van
de (p. 56) burned the papal interdict against Flanders in 1340; and
quare, on May 2nd, 4 Gerard Denys at the head of his party,
2d chiefly of wea , attacked his opponents the fallers
h such fury that even the elevation of the host failed to separate the
combatants, of whom upwards of 500 were slain. This fatal day w.
sequently entered in the civic calendar as ‘Kwade Maandag (Wicket
In 1381 the citizens here took the oath of fidelity to their leader
and here, in 1477, Hugonet and D’Imbercourt, the
uisters of Mary of Burgandy, were executed by the rebellious towns-
men, in spite of the entreaties of the young duchess.
In the centre of the square, on the site occupied by the statue
of Charles V. destroyed in 1792, rises a bronze Statue of Jacques
van Artevelde, over lifesize, executed by De Vigne-Quyo (4863).
The powerful demagogue is represented fully accoutred, in the act of
delivering the celebrated speech in which he succeeded in persuad-
ing the citizens of Ghent to enter into an alliance with England
against the will of the Count of Artois. The reliefs on the pedestal
have reference to the three most important treaties concluded by
Artevelde on behalf of Flanders. — The ancient buildings which
formerly lent an interest to this square are now represented by a
single house at the corner of the Rue des Peignes, on the S. side,
known as the Toreken, formerly the guild-house of the tanners, dating
from 1481. On the N. side of the market is the Socialist Warehouse
(1899), bearing the inscription ‘ Werklieden aller Landen, vereenigt U’
(‘workmen of all countries, unite’), and the Club House (‘Ons Huis’;
1900) of the Maatschappy Vooruit, two buildings in an interesting
modern style by Ferd. Dierkens.
On the S.E. the Marché du Vendredi is adjoined by the Pracz
Sr. Jacauzs (Pl. D, 3, 4), in the middle of which rises the Church of
St. Jacques (Pl. D, 4), dating partly from the beginning of the 13th
and partly from the 15th century. It was restored in 1870-73. The
W. towers and the lower part of the central tower are Romanesque.
In the left aisle are two paintings by G. de Crayer: Members of the
Order of the Trinity ransoming Christian captives, and the Virgin. The
pulpit, with a statue of the Apostle James, is by Van Poucke, and the tomb
of Jean Palfyn (p. 79), on the right side of the nave, by the furthest
pillar from the W. door, is by the » artist (1784). The choir contains
a beautiful marble ciborium (of 15' and the double tomb of W. van
Bronchorst and his wife, by Jan Mattheys (1659).
A good view of the principal towers of the city is obtained from
the N. side of the square.
The suppressed Baudeloo Convent contains the Athenaeum
(Grammar School) and the Town and University Library (Pl. D, 3),
founded in 4797, with upwards of 200,000 vols., 2100 MSS., a col-
lection of about 7000 drawings, 14,000 engravings, plans, and views
of Ghent, from the 16th cent. till the present time, and about
25,000 pamphlets of the 16-18th centuries. Adm., see p. 55. — The
BarDEKER’s Belgium and Holland. 15th Edit. 5
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