Conventions and other regional meetings of Estates and towns of Gelre and Zutphen 1423-1584

Edited by M.J. van Gent

This publication aims to present, as far as possible, a complete reconstruction of all the official conventions and regional meetings (meetings between the nobles and the towns or between a minimum of three main towns) in the dukedom of Gelre between 1423 and 1584. All kinds of documents that can be associated with these meetings in one way or another have been compiled in a database. The collected archive material covers a broad spectrum ranging from summonses to the meetings, reports of the meetings (including the official reports of the conventions), agenda items and decisions made at the meetings, to letters that contain references to the meetings. This is the first time that such a collection has been compiled concerning the history of Gelre. The documents were collected from numerous archives all over Gelderland as well as other institutions outside this province.

The database contains almost 2,100 documents (records), a substantial number of which can be called up in the form of digital photos. The records have been arranged chronologically and, as far as possible, sorted per meeting. Each record contains key information about the document in question, including the date it was written and a brief description of its contents. The database can be searched in a variety of different ways, for example by date and by (abbreviated) words and names. All kinds of old documents from a broad selection of archives are now available through modern means to researchers and other interested parties. By uploading the digital photos they can easily search through countless texts in their quest for data and quotes. In this way, the database can also serve as an excellent starting point for all kinds of research into specific developments within the dukedom of Gelre relating to (among others) political, economic, social, financial and religious issues.