The Battle of Lekkerbeetje

During the Eighty Years War a Frenchman fighting for the Dutch, Charles de Br�aut�, insulted the commander of the Spanish garrison at ’s-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc), Anthonie Schets van Grobbendonck. The two decided to settle the matter with an equivalent of single combat but involving twenty a side, which took place on 5 February 1600 on a heath near Vugterheide. Grobbendonck annoyed de Br�aut� by sending a deputy in his stead, one Gerard Abrahams van Houwelingen (known as ‘Lekkerbeetje’ which translates as ‘tasty morsel’ perhaps indicating that he was something of a snacker). Both Lekkerbeetje and de Br�aut� were killed, but the Spanish were deemed to have won. This throw-back to the age of chivalry was frequently painted.

Sebastian Vrancx created the genre of battle scenes in the Low Countries, cavalry pictures of battles sometimes relating to actual historical engagements, such as the well-known Battle of Lekkerbeetje, a popular composition, the original of which is lost and only known from a countless number of copies of varying quality. In most cases, however, these battlefield scenes do not represent any real event.