Brotherhood

Years ago, the inhabitants of Scherpenisse were threatened by, among others, the Spaniards and they were tired of it.
In 1594, thanks to Mary of Nassau, Lady of Scherpenisse and daughter of William of Orange, they formed a kind of neighbourhood prevention, they had had had it with those unwanted attackers!

It's been a long time since, I'm talking about the time of the Eighty Years' War, But... the Kloveniers' Guild of Scherpenisse, unique in its kind, still manages to entertain himself with hand and crossbows.

Formerly for the protection of the people,
but nowadays they mainly manage to guard the cosiness. Once a year, the brothers come a few days together: this is from Wednesday after Pentecost to Saturday, man what a party!
The ingredients are strong stories, red-white costumes, hard-boiled eggs, strict rules, but beer, yes beer, most of all. Gee, it's a shame I'm a woman, It is a private men's club with strict rules, all of which are in the original statutes.
The brothers are very disciplined in this,
for example, they are fined if beer is spilled,
when they swear or when they go through the streets with holes in their socks. It is now all tradition and there is so much more to it.
What do you think, for example, of archery with a wooden bird
on a high pole where kings are revered.
The Guild of Scherpenisse is a brotherhood coveted by many. By drinking a cup of milk, as a seal of trust given by mother or wife, a new member goes into parade through the streets
and become Guild Brother for the rest of his life.

Placed under the banner and accompanied by all the brothers with even a drummer in their midst, I get goose bumps over my both arms.

How beautiful, I experience a special fraternization that can warm the heart.
Even on death, their togetherness is a fact
And the coffin is very honorably clad with banner and silver eagle...
A true guild brother agrees the “yes “word to death,
when he deliberately enters the brotherhood.

by: a Voice of Thoughts www.angelienahuis.nl /info@angelienahuis.nl Tags: #broeders #broederplicht #geschiedenis #geschiedenisnederland #tholen #omroeptholen