Abstract

This thesis addresses the changes and additions to the Haywain triptych that resulted in the Haywain tapestry, as well as how this work would have appealed to Catholic humanists and ecumenical reformers such as Cardinal Granvelle in the period 1530-1566. Following an exposition of the historical context of Catholic reformism in the Netherlands, this thesis will consider the circular composition of the Haywain tapestry – notably, the globus that circumscribes the image – and its affiliation with circular formats found in late medieval devotional manuals meant for solitary moral self-reflection. The thesis will also reflect on references in the tapestry to the subjects of Reformation-era debates such as Merit, Grace, and the Sacraments, as well as how the work’s composition—borrowed from modern devotional graphics and concepts—trained the viewer’s contemplation towards these topical issues.

What will emerge from this study is an object that, in its recognition of the theological and political turmoil of the sixteenth-century, functions as a prompt for humanist reflections on ideological controversy and unending conflict. These reflections will be divided into two distinctly humanist responses vis-à-vis the tapestry: the stoic response, in the form of struggle for reform and conciliation, which takes place within the space inside of the globus, and an attitude of world renunciation, associated with the seascape with the clear horizon. Finally, the meaning of the tapestry’s seascape shall be interrogated as a reflection of the humanist perception of the ‘New World’ as utopic alternative to a strife-ridden Europe.