Historia ALBUM I - Part 1

Introduction

Most Belgians who grew up in the 50s and 60s of the previous century, will immediately recognize the illustrations made by Jean-Léon Huens for the historical series: "'s Lands Glorie", "Our Country's Glory".

Illustrations made for 6 volumes, recognizable by their green covers, which are without a doubt the most comprehensive series of illustrations about the Belgian history. Released between 1949 and 1961 by publisher Historia Ltd.

In each volume 80-100 images could be pasted. Images that savers could trade for Historia Ltd. points. These points were collected from food packages.

The nearly 550 prints, each accompanied by a short text, show us the highlights and key figures of Belgian history.

In my childhood these illustrations have sparked my interest in history. And that interest has never stopped ever since.

Huens acquired the assistance of Jean Schoonjans, professor at the Facultés Universitaires Saint-Louis in Brussels, to write the accompanying captions.

For me these illustrations also have a personal value.

My grandfather, who was a storage keeper on one of the Congo boats of the Compagnie Maritime Belge, cutted and collected these points for me on his long trips from Antwerp to Congo. Being 10 years old, it was a big party every time he came home with bags of Historia points. My father drove me to a little shop where these Historia points were traded for the illustrations. Back home, I finally could admire the prints, for hours.

I hope you will enjoy the illustrations and texts as much as I did in 1956.

And I added Wikipedia links for those who want to know more...

Christiaan Cleutjens

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALBUM I – Part 1 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prehistory – Charlemagne 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Caverns

Thousands of years ago, in the Paleolithic Era, the inhabitants of our country lived in caverns, along the Meuse River and its tributaries.

They went hunting with very primitive weapons made of cut stone.

They are called cavemen.

The Reindeer Era

15,000 years B.C. other Paleolithic peoples, whose stone tools were much better than those of their predecessors, have inhabited our country.

They were the so-called people of the Reindeer Era.

Their way of life looked fairly simular to that of the Sami in Finland, a couple of decades ago.

The Dolmen

In the Neolithic Era , people used polished stones, which was a big progression on the cut stones. Those people erected Dolmen in memory of their dead. Such tombstones can still be found at Wéris and elsewhere in our country. Many legends were told about those megalithes.



 

The pile villages

The climate must have improved during the Neolithic Era . The people didn't inhabit caverns anymore; they lived in plains and build pile villages in the middle of swamps. That gave them security against unfriendly neighbors, and abundance of food.

Celtic warrior

During the metal, bronze, and iron era, Celtic tribes settled.

They probably belonged to the same race as the current inhabitants of Brittany and Ireland.

They were part of the larger family of the peoples of Gaul.



The Druids 

The real leaders of the Celts were the Druids. They were judges, priests, philosophers and wizards. In the beginning of the year they picked the sacred mistletoe with a golden sickle.

The Morini

About the 4th century before Christ our country became occupied by Belgian tribes. One does not know whether they were of Germanic or of Gallic origin. One of these tribes, who lived in the swamps, is called the Morini, another was called the Menapii.

The Treveri

Another Belgian tribe was that of the Treveri who inhabited our Ardennes, and for more than a thousand years, already knew how to smoke hams.

Weapons of the Ancient Belgians

The Ancient Belgians were particularly clever in forging the iron. Museums still have some of the weapons they forged. "The Gallic Iron" was widely appreciated.

The Romans

Until the Roman armies reached our borders in 57 BC, the Belgians were a happy people, although they lived in discord with each other.

The Romans were the most notorious best armed and best organized people of the world.

Julius Caesar

At the head of the legions that invaded our country stood Julius Caesar. Caesar was an extraordinarily wise and very ambitious man. He was one of the greatest generals in World History.

The most courageous...

Julius Caesar has left us the history of the Conquest of Gaul.  In that book our name is mentioned for the first time. Caesar says: “of all the peoples of Gaul, the Belgians are the bravest…”.

The battle of the Sambre

The encounter of the Roman and the Belgian armies took place on the banks of the Selle.

The Nervii, lead by their king Boduognatus, tried to halt the invasion, but despite their prowess and courage, they were defeated.

Ambiorix

When Caesar had defeated the Nervii and also the Aduatici, Ambiorix, king of the Eburones, convened all Belgian tribes for a general meeting and to stand up against the occupiers.

The Romans lost several legions. But because of their lack of unity and national spirit, the Belgians tribes were defeated.

The Roman Provinces

The Romans divided our country in provinces, Germania Inferior (main city of Cologne), Belgica Prima (capital Trier) and Belgica Secunda (capital Reims).

The Roman costume

For three centuries the Romans ruled over Belgian Gaul.

They introduced their their way of clothing, the tunica and the gown, and their language, Latin.

Latin would later develop into Walloon, the language of southern Belgium.

Roman House

The Romans gave us their way of living and how to build houses.

They built great farmhouses, called "villa", for the wealthy citizens. But they also built other houses that were more modest, but all very well decorated.

The Roman road

 

The Romans have constructed long and straight roads or vias in latin, to transport their troops quickly to the far ends of their wide imperium. And for the advantage of their postal service.

 

The padded geese

These long roads were also used to supply the capital: Rome was the center of that road network and of the world. The Menapii send Rome their famous padded geese.

Roman school

While we filled the stomachs of the Romans, they fed our minds. Roman schools were built and Roman masters teached our people. Latin gradually became the common language.

Gallo-Roman in a litter

The Roman morals and way of life were adopted, especially by the wealthy Gallo-Roman land owners. They lived a rich life and travelled in a sedan chair.

Gallo-Romans at dinner

The opulence of the Roman era was mainly reflected in the care that was spent eating. The Roman dishes were extremely fine and costly. With their guests they lay around the tables and were served by slaves.

Roman market

There were not so many cities in our country. In current Belgium two cities remain from the Roman period: Tongeren and Tournai.

Probably markets were being held in some villages like Arlon and Gemblours.

Roman coins, lamps and tableware

In our museums we find many preserved Roman objects: coins, kitchen utensils, pots and lamps, toilet amenities, rings, even swastikas.

The Roman Gods

The Romans have made us familiar with their religion. Their gods were very numerous.

The most important were Jupiter and the goddess Juno, whose statues were worshipped in, with columns and pediments ornamented, temples.

The rebellion of Civilis

The old spirit of independence of our tribes came alive again after years of Roman occupation. It was reflected in the uprising of the Batavians lead by Civilis.

Carausius

The Romans had to suppress a rebellion that was aroused by Carausius, a Belgian chief of Menapian origin, who had become Roman Fleet Admiral and who hoped to rule over our region.

The border of the Rhine

The Roman occupation lasted until the 4^th century and stretched up to the Rhine. The borders, which were called "limes", were strongly guarded by troops, who guarded the border line in wooden towers.

Saint Servatius

Christianity was spread in Belgium at the end of the Roman era. But earlier there were already bishops in Tournai and Tongeren. The first known bishop is Saint-Servatius. He lived in Tongeren in the 4^th century and died in Maastricht.

The Teutons

On the other side of the "limes" was the Germanic forest. Many fierce Teuton tribes lived there, commonly known as Germans. Their morals were quite simple, and they loved warfare.

 

The Franks

Among the Germanic peoples who lived close to our borders, stood the Franks. Their warriors wore a short battle axe and they were famous for their bravery.

Migration of the Franks

By the end of the 3rd century, the Franks moved further and peacefully occupied our region, which were sparsely populated. They established themselves in the North of our country. Flemish was developed from their language.

Childeric,

king of the Franks

In the 5th century, Childeric, son of Merovech, became king of the Franks. It's in Tournai that he was put on the shield. That was the way of the Franks to ‘crown’ a king.

The Vase of Soissons

Clovis, the son of Childeric, conquered all of Gaul. From then on, it will be called "France". He forced the awe of his warriors. A soldier once broke a vase, that Clovis claimed as share of the catch, with his axe. He paid his audacity with death. Clovis hit him on the head with the soldiers axe, according to the story of the Vase of Soissons.

The baptism

of Clovis

Clovis defeated the Alemanni at Tolbiac. When he feared a defeat during the battle he promised to convert to Christianity if he triumphed. He did.

He kept his promise and in 496 he was baptized, together with thousands of his warriors, by Saint Remigius at Reims,

Saint Clotilde

The conversion of Clovis to the Christian faith, was in fact the work of his wife, Saint Clotilde. She was the daughter of a Burgundian king.

She outlived her husband for several years and played a conciliatory role during the wars of her sons.

The "Lazy" Kings

The last Merovingians, or descendants of Clovis were called the Rois Fainéants or "Lazy Kings". They used to live a vain life and left ruling of their domains to a “Mayor of the Palace”.

Charles Martel

A Mayor of the Palace from the Meuse region, Charles Martel, the son of Pepin of Heristal, became all-powerful after he stopped the Arab invasion into France at the battle of Poitiers in 732.

The ordination of Pepin the Short

Pepin the Short, the son of Charles Martel, dislodged the last Merovingian king and called himself King of the Franks. He was consecrated by Pope Stephen II and was the founder of the dynasty of the Carolingians.

(To part 2 of ALBUM I)