Processen
Item
-
Country
-
BE
-
Name of institution (English)
-
FelixArchief (Antwerp City Archives)
-
Language of name of institution
-
dut
-
Contact information: postal address
-
Oudeleeuwenrui 29, 2000 Antwerpen
-
Contact information: phone number
-
0032 33389411
-
Contact information: email
-
stadsarchief@antwerpen.be
-
Reference number
-
BE SA 167
-
Type of reference number
-
Archival reference number
-
Title (English)
-
Processes
-
Title (official language of the state)
-
Processen
-
Language of title
-
dut
-
Creator / accumulator
-
Stedelijke rechtbanken (Courts of Antwerp)
-
Schepenbank
-
Date(s)
-
1500/1800
-
Language(s)
-
dut
-
Extent
-
13 storage units
-
Type of material
-
Cartographic Material
-
Graphic Material
-
Textual Material
-
Scope and content
-
The Processen is part of the Rechtspraak (Judiciary) series of the Stadsbestuur (City Council) fonds. It contains judicial information, sentences, and related documentation. The Losse stukken uit processen (Loose pieces from processes) subseries also contains maps, sketches, portraits, and other graphic material.
The processes have been described and are available for online search by names of the plaintiffs or defendants or beginning/ending dates of the trials. Some of them report cases related to Portuguese New Christians in Antwerp. An example can be found in Processen supplement, 6103, which contains judicial information about the judicial inquiry conducted in 1608 against the brothers André Faleiro and António Faleiro concerning their religious practices. These two brothers were later persecuted by the Inquisition of Lisbon (Frade 2021, 281-288).
-
Archival history
-
In the 13th century, the city of Antwerp kept its documents in the Town Hal, in a chest about two meters long, named "privilegiekom". The chest had 13 locks, whose keys were distributed among the city officials, and it could only be opened with the 13 keys. The development of the city and the growing complexity of its administration resulted in an increase in the number of documents. Therefore, the "privilegiekom" became too small to store all records. Prior to the French Revolution, the various city institutions headquartered in the Town Hall had the responsibility of keeping their own documents. However, in 1796, a city archivist was appointed to preserve and manage the archives. The city archive remained in the Town Hall until the first half of the 20th century. After that, the archive was moved to several different locations. During World War II, the most valuable documents were secured in a castle near Rochefort. In 1953, the archive was temporarily accommodated at Meirbrug. At last, on December 15, 1956, a new place in Venusstraat was inaugurated, and the city archives remained there for about 50 years. In 2006, the archive moved to the Sint-Felixpakhuis. Since then, it has been called the FelixArchief.
-
(source: FelixArchief website)
-
Administrative / Biographical history
-
The Schepenbank (Court of the Aldermen) was a court usually composed of seven members appointed by the "heer" (lord), under the chairmanship of the "schout" (sheriff), "drossaard" (landdrost) or "meier" (mayor), as the lord's representative. In some cities, as Antwerp, there were "dubbelheerlijkheden" (double lordships), whereby the lordship was divided between two lords, who often jointly appointed the members of the Schepenbank.
The presence of all "schepenen" (aldermen) was only required when pronouncing sentences in criminal cases. For other court hearings, the presence of five or two "schepenen" was sufficient.
That was the case of the Vrijwillige Rechtspraak (Voluntary Justice), which only demanded the presence of two "schepenen". It consisted of matters such as the registration of transfers of ownership, interest transactions, inheritances, etc. The "schepenen" also acted as guardians of orphans, and of mentally disabled or incapacitated people, and acted as protectors of their heritage and interests. They were also responsible for collecting the "belasting" (tax). For this specific task, they were assisted by "bedezetters" (tax officials) and "burgemeesters" (burgomasters).
-
(source: Houtman, Erik. 2006. Overzicht van de Archieven En Verzamelingen van Het Rijksarchief Te Antwerpen. Vol. I (Overheidsarchieven). Brussels: Algemeen Rijksarchief.)
-
System of arrangement
-
The Processen series comprises one subseries (Losse stukken uit processen, i.e., Loose pieces from processes) and two units: Detailtoegang op de processen van de schepenbank (a detailed description of the processes composed in 2009, which are digitally available on the archive website) and Processen supplement (processes' supplements).
-
Finding aids
-
The Processen supplement subseries contains index cards by person name, place, and subject, available for consultation in the archive's reading room. The loose pieces from processes are individually numbered and described in detail in the archive.
-
Author of the description
-
Kevin Soares, 2022
