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ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Beeldenstorm or Iconoclastic Fury 1566

Synopsis
On August 10, 1566, a monastery at Steenvoorde in Flanders was sacked by a crowd led by the Calvinist preacher Sebastian Matte. It was the beginning of a wave of iconoclastic riots –known as the Beeldenstorm– which consisted of the destruction of images in churches, monasteries and other church buildings. The movement quickly spread east and north across the Low Countries, then ruled by the Spanish Habsburgs, reaching cities as important as Antwerp, Ghent, Valenciennes and others. Two weeks later, the governor of the Spanish Low Countries, Margarita de Parma, issued a provisional edict aiming at quelling the revolt, but this aim was not achieved until spring of 1567 when the king sent Duke of Alba with a huge army. His arrival meant the flight of Prince William of Orange, the execution of the counts of Egmont and Horne for treason and lese majesty and the creation of a Council of Troubles in charge of channeling the repression and persecution of those involved. Definitely, these events, which lasted until October, represented the foundations of the Protestant dissent and revolt against the sovereignty and Catholic policy of Philip II.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 2 months. Name in sources: Furia Iconoclasta. Location: Flanders Country (current): Belgium. Monarchy: Spanish. Main participants: Clergymen, Local elites, Others. Number of participants: >500. Main reasons & motivations: Political, Religion. Leadership: Sebastian Matte. Relevance: high.

Further reading
GALLEGOS VÁZQUEZ, Federico (2014). “La guerra de los Países Bajos hasta la Tregua de los Doce Años”, Revista Aequitas: Estudios sobre historia, derecho e instituciones, 4: 167-194. JUNOT, Yvs (2017). “La ville divisée par les violences confessionnelles: L’iconoclasme à Valenciennes en 1566”, in I. Cagneau, P. J. Olagnier and S. Schwerter (eds.), Divisions urbaines. Représentations, mémoires, réalités. Stuttgart: Ibidem, pp. 123-144. SOEN, Violet (2016). “The Beeldenstorm and the Spanish Habsburg Response (1566-1570)”, Low Countries Historical Review, 131/1: 99-120.
Cite this entry

González Trueba, Eloy (2022). "Beeldenstorm or Iconoclastic Fury 1566", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Encyclopaedia of Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. https://mappingrebellions.com/revolt/beeldenstorm-or-iconoclastic-fury-1566/ (accessed on 12 March 2026).