2009-05-01 Pilgrims welcomed in Leiden again

Leiden

Pilgrims

On 1609 Feb 12, the burgomaster and alderman of the City of Leiden granted John Robinson and his congregation permission to come and live in Leiden. They arrived on 1609 May 1.

That’s 400 years ago today, and an American delegation visited Leiden to commemorate the occasion.

This delegation consisted of many members of the Pilgrim Society and Pilgrim Hall Museum, including director Peggy Baker. Among them was James Baxter, the curator of the Alden House Museum. I briefly spoke with Alice C. Teal, editor of the Mayflower Quarterly published by The Mayflower Society. The group counted several Mayflower descendants.

Full Day

They had a full day. The day started with a visit to the Pilgrim Archives. Here they enjoyed their morning coffee with a celebratory Mayflower petit-four.

Mayflower Petit-four

The Burgomaster is on vacation with his family, so the group was welcomed by loco-burgomaster Gerda van den Berg.

It had been announced that Peggy Baker, the director of the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, would present the town of Leiden, the people of Leiden, and Lakenhal Museum with certificates of friendship from The Pilgrim Society, the Town of Plymouth, and the Senate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but she brought a few surprise certificates as well.

Once the certificates were presented, she unveiled the Pilgrim Archives web site. All visitors were presented with a large photo book about Leiden. Peggy Baker remarked that she is not only the Pilgrim Hall Museum’s director, but its librarian as well, and will enter the book into the museum’s library.

Pilgrim Walk

The delegation enjoyed beautiful weather as Jeremy Bangs, the director of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum, led them on a walk through Leiden along places of historical interest.

American delegation walking through Leiden

Jeremy Bangs points out details on Pieterskerk (Peter Church) while walking the American delegation through Leiden.

The group enjoyed lunch in Koetshuis De Burcht, a restaurant situated at the foot of the historical Burcht in the centre of Leiden and then continued to visit Bangs’ own museum.

Pilgrim Publisher

In the afternoon, the group visited the Lakenhal Museum. Jeremy Bangs spoke about the Pilgrims as a publishers of religious books and pamphlets. His detailed knowledge was evident from both his talk and the ease with which he answered questions.

There was harpsichord music before and after his talk by renowned harpsichordist and organist Christina Scott Edelen. She played several pieces by Orlando Gibbons and John Copracio, English composers who visited Leiden in 1613.

paintings

Next week, the Lakenhal will open the Holland Mania exhibition, that celebrates two quadricentennial; the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims in Leiden as well as more than 400 years of trade relations with Japan.

During this exhibition, the Lakenhal will display Jennie Brownscombe’s 1914 painting The First Thanksgiving, on loan from the Pilgrim Hall Museum, in combination with Jan Hendrik van der Laar’s 1861 painting Dankdag op 3 October 1574 (Thanksgiving on 3 October 1574) .

In exchange, the Pilgrim Hall Museum will display Jan van Goyen ’s 17th century Gezicht op Leiden (View of Leiden). As it was still in the Lakenhal today, the group went to take a look at it, and at an early work by Leiden’s most famous citizen, Rembrandt van Rijn.

Leiden Pilgrims

There are a quite a few Mayflower descendants in Leiden. Moses Fletcher travelled with the Mayflower, but his children did not. His daughter Priscilla Fletcher married Thomas Koet, and members of the Koet family had been invited to the Lakenhal.

Although the beautiful sunny day was ending with a small drizzle, I got American and Dutch Mayflowers descendants to pose together at the Lakenhal entrance.

American and Dutch Mayflower Descendants 2009

American and Dutch Mayflower Descendants gathered together at the Lakenhal entrance on 2009 May 1, 400 years after the Pilgrims' arrival in Leiden.

surprise certificates

The surprise certificates that Peggy Baker brought were for Jeremy Bangs, who had spent months organising the day. He was presented with an Honorary Life Membership in the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants as well as the Pilgrim Society and Pilgrim Hall Museum Award for Distinguished Service in recognition of his work for the international commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims in Leiden.

updates

2011-08-12

The General Society of Mayflower Descendants has broken the link to the Mayflower Quarterly. The broken link has been removed.