"Extraordinary and finely decorated genealogy, intended to show the legitimate descent of the Zeghers family, with more than 525 beautifully drawn coat of arms.
Collection consisting of larger leaves and some smaller leaves (the latter are numbered), together constituting the genealogy of the Zeghers family. Large folio (48 x 34 cm) and folio (40.5 x 24.5 cm). Manuscript in brown ink in Dutch, Latin and French. Both the loose leaves as the booklet are written in a neat 17th-century hand in different styles, for example writing more calligraphic headings, some parts in a more cursive hand and some in a more secretary hand. The collection consisting of the loose leaves is richly illustrated with 528 drawn coat of arms in brown ink (plus some heraldic shields which remained blank), the larger ones often accompanied by animals like eagles, lions and dogs. Also with some other drawings in brown ink, such as a knight and some heraldic clothing. Also with one large engraved coat-of-arms of the Zeghers van Wassenhove family which is mounted on one of the leaves and other small engraved coat-of-arms of the Zeghers van Wassenhove family loosely inserted. Also with 11 engraved illustration which are scrapbook-like mounted on various pages as part of decoration, including one large engravings with the banderolle cutout and filled with hand-drawn coat-of-arms of the Zeghers family and related families, also in brown ink. In the small booklet the genealogical trees are drawn, but the coat of arms all left blank. The smaller leaves sewn, the other leaves loose, stored together in a modern white cardboard folder."
"The present collection is executed by two notaries of the Council of Brabant (the most important court in the Duchy of Brabant) named Joannes van Ham and Jan Baptiste Bellaert and the authenticity of the documents were confirmed by the priest Jan Baptiste Geerincx and another nobleman named Francois Ignace Mazner, who signed the document both together with Van Ham and Bellaertin the council house of Antwerp in 1692. We may assume the other extracts were also written ca. 1692 and so is probably the smaller booklet. A finely executed and legal genealogy on the noble Zeghers family, being a rich source of information on the history of this interesting family.
With some 19th- or 20th-century small notes, probably used for research, inserted between the leaves. Some positions in a few genealogical trees are filled in with pencil by a modern hand (names or coat of arms). Some marginal (water)staining, paper edges a little frayed, some marginal loss of marginal text on one leaf, one drawing cut out, first and last leaf of the smaller booklet loose, but overall an interesting genealogical manuscript with beautiful drawings in good condition.
[74] ll, including a few blanks; [1], 4-49 pp. On the Zeghers family: NNBW V, col. 1171."
Genealogy of the Flemish Zeghers family, both comprising the Zeghers van Wassenhove and the Zeghers van Idegen branch including the by marriage related families, intended as a legal act of certification for the legitimate descent of Jeronimo Zeghers van Idegen van Wassenhove from the noble Zeghers family, in particular of Gilain Zeghers (1493-1564), who was lord of Wassenhove, Arentsberge and Ammers, but also advisor of Karel V in The Hague. His sons, Gilainand Jan Zeghers, joined the compromise of noblemen in the Dutch Eighty Year's War, revolting against the suppression of protestants in the Low Countries. Because of this, they were persecuted and banned by the Duke of Alba and fled to the Northern Netherlands. The present manuscript was commissioned by Jeronimo Zeghers van Idegen van Wassenhove for himself and for his own offspring to prove their aristocratic origin. It contains extracts of several legal documents derived from archives, testaments, codicils and contracts. The larger loose leaves therefore contains information on various family members (including their pedigrees) from the 13th century on and is beautifully decorated with 528 executed coat of arms (and some coat of arms which were left blank) and other drawings. The smaller booklet contains more contemporary genealogical information, particularly 17th-century, and the coat of arms in this smaller booklet are (probably because of this) left blank, as it was not finished yet.
Languages: Dutch, French, Latin
Image capture notes:
-White slides with black text were added to separate and identify each item in the collection.
-Images of the 19th century notes were captured in the order they were found in within the collection.
Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A449573/datastre...
