31 - [HISTORY - GHENT] - STEUR, Charles

[HISTORY - GHENT] - STEUR, Charles "Memoir on the Ghent Uprising under Charles V" Brussels, M. Hayez, 1834 In-4°. Bottle-green half-maroquin. Spine with 5 raised bands decorated with blind-stamped fillets. Author’s name and title in gold. Slight rubbing. First edition of this major historical monograph devoted to the Ghent revolt of 1539–1540. Awarded a prize by the Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters of Brussels, this scholarly work by Charles Steur dissects one of the most dramatic conflicts in Flemish history. In it, the author rigorously analyzes the root causes of the uprising (the people of Ghent’s refusal to pay war subsidies to the emperor), the escalation of the municipal crisis, and the terrible repression orchestrated personally by Charles V against his hometown. The work brilliantly highlights the institutional consequences of this confrontation, marked by the permanent abolition of the city’s privileges and the promulgation of the famous “Caroline Concession.” Published at the very beginning of the Kingdom of Belgium, this dissertation holds particular political significance for the national historiography of the time, celebrating the spirit of resistance of the Flemish communes in the face of absolutism. References: National Bibliography of Belgium, III, 502; de Reume, Bibliographical Varieties, p. 194. Provenance: from the library of Philippe Kervyn of Volkaersbeke (ex-libris)