Two fascinating books show what the nobility still means ★★★★☆

The nobility is a residue of old, good or bad times. A charming anachronism. Certainly in the Netherlands, where he already ceased to be a significant power factor during the Republic. Scions of noble families have therefore become adept at putting themselves into perspective. As a rule, they pronounce their surname casually, or omit part of it – if it is a double surname. If their origin is nevertheless mentioned, they shrug their shoulders. Perhaps that is often a pose for the stage and the nobility feels quite comfortable in the privacy of its own environment. But outwardly modesty is exercised – often in conjunction with service to society.

In the Netherlands, the nobility – 325 families with 10 to 11 thousand members – makes up only a fraction of the population. The Quote 500 is not their domain. And the nobility has long ceased to set standards – a development that is increasingly regretted because the once-maligned ‘old boys network’, unlike today’s crypto-penoze, was also a community of values. In 2002, experts Yvo van Regteren wrote Altena and Binnert de Beaufort, accompanied by the then QuoteEditor-in-chief Jort Kelder: ‘Old Money represents a culture that has nothing to do with money directly, or often nothing at all. It’s a way of life dominated by convention.’

To survive

This quote is included in good names, the book by historian Kees Bruin about nobility and patriciate in post-war Netherlands. Even more than in the 1960s and 1970s, when the article of faith ‘levelling’ became fashionable, their place in society has changed under the influence of the new (money) elite, which no longer aims to ‘lead by example’. to give. Nevertheless, the ‘notable elite’ has managed to maintain itself reasonably well in the meritocracy of the Zuidas and the process of mortification, which was long believed to eventually kill the nobility, has been brought to a halt.

That is not even the result of a sophisticated survival strategy. In the revision of the Nobility Act, which came into effect in 1994, all things considered, there were only three future scenarios: abolish, do nothing or modernize – which could mean, for example, that nobility titles could also be passed on to posterity through the female line . The legislator chose the second option. This means that the nobility can only be refreshed by recognizing old lineages that previously did not want to make their status visible (‘didn’t need’), or by incorporation of families who carry a noble title abroad.

In all, 39 requests to be added to the nobility register have been granted in the last eighty years. Not enough to be able to speak of great social mobility, but enough to keep the size of the nobility in the Netherlands stable.

Stagnant water

‘You could say’, writes Kees Bruin: ‘In the Netherlands, nobility is standing water that is nevertheless reasonably clear.’ In other words: it is clear who does and who does not belong to this small minority. It is different with the Dutch patriciate, the other branch of the notable elite, with which families of some social significance can seek affiliation. A claim to a place in the so-called Blue Book – a variation on the Red Book of noble families – is indeed tested and weighed, but the criteria are so arbitrary and ephemeral that the patriciate, according to Bruin, ‘flows more (than the nobility, red.) but is cloudier’. Where nobility and patriciate were still closely intertwined in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the patriciate has proved to be less valuable.

For both branches of the notable elite, the family coat of arms has traditionally been the most important characteristic of first name. A so-called motto has been added to more than 400 Dutch coats of arms: a concise wisdom, an admonition, an allusion to the family name or the coat of arms itself. The reference book Coat of arms of Dutch lineages contains a ‘reasoned overview’ of coats of arms used (also of families that have since become extinct), their origin and meaning. For example, the authors counted 310 coats of arms in Latin – not always flawless. Of the cited Roman authors, Horace, Virgil, Cicero, and Ovid are the most beloved. Frequently used Latin words are virtus (virtue or bravery), labor (hard work), fides (trust) and pietas (duty or piety). After Latin, French is the most commonly used language in the coat of arms, followed by Dutch, English/Scottish, German, Frisian and other languages.

At one time, agreements were confirmed with the lacquer imprint of a family coat of arms. Gradually, however, the family coat of arms – graced by helmets, feathers and resilient animals – expressed family pride, historical awareness or vulgar ostentation. In that regard, the authors of Coat of arms of Dutch lineages to the third edition of Hildebrands Camera obscura (1851) in which the ‘bourgeois man’ (and former planter) Kegge considers the purchase of a carriage where ‘the great Hanseatics and noble lords (can) take a point. I’d like to have a coat of arms painted on it with a gold wedge on a silver field, and a great planter’s crown of sugar cane and coffee beans on top.’