Book I1IL

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Whence is the I (land, suyth- velandia fo call’d .
Roincrfvalla a City •
The City Gows-
vered as it were by hand f rom one generation to another, tha t each Citizen may know, and hold fafl in mind, in what {freights and danger of iheir lives their Anceflors were, when they fought with all their might , for religion and liberty,, for their Wives and * dear Children, and endeavour’d to lerve their Prince to their ut- moft power. In the mean while, it affords d'pccially this doctrine to pofterity, and they are warned of it by the yearly com¬ memoration of it., that when they are afflicted and in great dan¬ ger, they (hould lift up their Hearts unto the great and good God* and feek for fafety from him, that their Countrey befieged may be releived, that all things may profper, and that they may obtain the victory without fhedding of blood : which thing alone we read that Abraham, CMofes, ‘David, Ezechiws, Judith, and many more did, and by theft helps they wonn the victory. But fince th cScbeld , and Zirizea fituate therein, hath been often fet upon by Grangers , and fhaken with Warr, and none ofthelflands more than Suytjrjvelan- dia, which is fo called onely becaufe it is oppofite to the South * and Hretcheth fpatioufly , being a very pleafant Country toward the Coafts of Flanders and Brabant , though fome few years it fuf- ferd damage,and is become narrower than formerly by halfe.From this, a City of no fmali note call’d Romerfvalla was broken -off, which having no Land about it , nor ground about the walls , the Sea runs round it , that it fubfifts alone by making of Salt. In the WeHern part of the Ifland is the City Govs feituate, the walls are but a very fmali compafle, but it pleafantly and handfomely built, and the Citizens are very civil, and of laudable man¬ ners. There is befides this another Ifland joyns to Brabant , only a fmali narrow Sea runs between, wherein Hands Tole, fo called from the tribute and cuftome. It is an ancient little Town; from whence the fortr^fle of Martin is not farr diflant, it is the free Town that belongs to the Prince of Orange ; a delightfull place fet about with Trees , wherein there builds a multitude of birds, cfpecially Herons. There are befides thefe fome fmali Iflands of no great note , as Duveland, fo called from the frequency of Pigions there; Goerede , from the good harbour for Ships; Plate(J a, and many more not long fince won out of the Sea. I think it necdletfetoflay todeferibethem ; fince a defcription of Zealand newly fet forth , doth exadlly reprefent them all , which the curious may lookup- rhe originali of on at their leafure. As for the original of the Zealanders the re- theze landers. pon 1S COnflant,and derived to the Inhabitants by fucceffion, that they are derived from the Goths and Vandals , efpccially from zelandi»Den- j{|ancj 0f Norway, which the Danes call Zealand, wherein there ' Hafnia, Coop- Hands that famous place for Merchandice called Hafnia , common- mans Haven, ly coopmans-H aven from a Haven much frequented by Merchants , who firfl found this Land void of Inhabitants, and reduced it into Iflands, and firH fetting up Cottages, and fmali places, made it fit for paHure and arable Land.
2dand belongs For in C* far’s time there was a great part of this land,which is no *o HoUaRd* other but an Appendix to Holland, that is untilPd, nor ever was it
plough-
Tole a City of Zeland. Mar¬ tinis city.
Chap.2.
Of the Iflands in Zeland.
237
ploughed to fow upon, or dug, but full of Lakes and arms of the Sea, that hinders it, as, even to this day, Holland hath many Lakes fo that the way by land is cut off every where by them, and men muft pafle in boats, ; which is alfo ufed in Z eland in the places Acpuaria}r»hatt overflowed, which are nothing elfe but places without and with¬ in the {bores that are expofed to the Sea’s flouds. For when the Mediterranean Sea runs into them, they are full of water, fo that in the Winter there is no foot paflage, and there is no going to thofe places but by boats 5 But the ground beyond the ramparts, that for many acres, far and wide, goes as far as the creeks and Sea-coafts^is heaped up by thewaflung of the water, and is beaten upon with continual tioud, and fometimes when the Ocean fwels, as it doth at the full or new of the Moon, it is all overflowed 5 and when the Sea falls back again, it comes forth, that the places which arefomewhat high bear very good pafture to feed cartel.
Young Boyes and women formerly were wont to retreat into thefc u war, there places of retiring, and every one unfit for the war, when the Ro- amsofthesca mans invaded the Low-countries; for it was a very fafe Afylum for **&•*** for them, thefe places being hard to come to. For thefc are the pla- \weat!l*Hdm ces where are folds for fheep , and flails for cattel , we call them Stellen^ or rather St&lien, and in our dayes they arc fo ftopt creeps faze* with creeks, and winding ditches, through which the Ocean-flouds l(ind' come in, that an armed horfe-man if he chance to fall in, maybe fwallowcd up in them, therefore it is dangerous for any man to go there, that is not acquainted with the way. But there are ma¬ ny places of Zeland that are grafly plains, and green fields, with¬ out any ramparts about them, the ufe whereof will never fail in thofc countries : for what is broken off on one fide, will fall to the other fide by the wafhing of the water, that there can never want matter in this country to make Iflands of. Some of thefe from the green grade and pleafant fodder are called by the Inhabitants Garfen , but thofc thatare not fo green nor full of grafle and yeild no fuch plenty to feed their cattel, from feeding and pinching they call Scorren , when fome thoufands of Acres are heaped up by thefc, our men attempt to make Iflands of them, and both old and new Iflands were made up of thofe rudiments by mans labour. Many formerly invited by the richneffe of the foil and goodneffe of the ground, driving out the old inhabitants, have invaded this land, and gain’d the poffelfion of it by force of Arms. There were in the memory of our Great Great Grandfathers, fome that were ene¬ mies to Hollanders and Icelanders > who attempted to bring thefe Holland and Iflands under their fubje&ion, but thefe two Nations alvvaies con- zeUmdcnit* federate together, refilled their enemies manfully, whence it is dc7ate% that to this very day both nations ufe but one name, and live by the fame laws, and equity, and are of one mind againft the com¬ mon enemy. We may colle from thefe words ( The Maferuns forth of the mountain Vofevus, and 4. tfe hmnti ' being in one part received by the Rhein, it makes the Ifland of the Hoi- of the M«fe. landers, and sot far from it, within a mile it falls intethe Ocean ) that
the
bnt
238
Of the Iflands in Zeland.