A broadside on the trial of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt

A broadside listing the names of the 24 judges who condemned Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt to death on 13 May, 1619. It features an engraved portrait in the center, copied from Willem Jacobsz. Delff’s 1617 engraving after the famous painting by Michiel van Mierevelt. And below the engraving is a poem praising Van Oldenbarnevelt as a “martyr for the state”.

Van Oldenbarnevelt's death sparked a war of words in the Dutch Republic, resulting in a plethora of pamphlets and broadsides that either denounced or praised him (or sometimes, both). Traditionally, these broadsides were dated just after Van Oldenbarnevelt's death in 1619.

Maureen Warren, however, has shown that these broadsides were actually published during the Stadtholderless Period, in ca. 1658 and 1663/1664. From the capitals used in the present broadside, it can be inferred that it was printed after 1661 (we thank historian of printing types John Lane for pointing this out).

There are several variants of the present broadside. Apparently the first was issued by remonstrant publisher Johannes Naeranus. Warren suggests that the poem could be written by the jurist Cornelis Bosch.