Introduction

When the Antwerp Mint's valued possessions and archive were removed shortly before the sale of the premises on 4 December 1797, the local antiquarian Jan Baptist van der Straelen (1761-1847) noted that the goods included “a fine painting depicting justice, painted in the year 1594 by Martin de Vos, which was decorated on either side with portraits of the serving members of the Serment as well as that of the painter […].” This picture is known as The Tribunal of the Brabant Mint, the institution responsible for manufacturing gold and silver coins under the authority of the Duke of Brabant in present-day Belgium (fig. 1.1). Its painter, Maarten de Vos (1532-1603), was the city of Antwerp's leading master. The members of the Serment (Oath) were current officeholders within the college of ninety minters, each of whom had solemnly sworn loyalty to the Duke. Founded in 1291 by Duke Jan I of Brabant (1252/1253-1294), the consortium of Brabant Mints was already a venerable institution. In 1411 a subsequent duke had extended to the workmen and minters, their wives and households, the immense privilege of jurisdiction over their own affairs except for crimes of murder, rape or larceny. Members of the Mint also became exempt from military service and all property taxes, including excise tax on beer and wine. The Minters gained the right to bear arms and the position of Minter was largely the preserve of certain families, passed down from generation to generation, like a noble title.