At the period of which we speak, Antwerp counted among its inhabitants
nearly a thousand merchants from other countries, each of whom had his own
attendants; one chronicle estimates, perhaps with some exaggeration, the
number of strangers engaged in commerce at five thousand.[4] Twice a day these merchants met on Change, not only for purposes of trade
and for information of the arrival of ships, but principally for banking
operations.
To convey an idea of the amount of wealth at the disposal of the houses of
Antwerp, it suffices to say that the king of Portugal obtained in one day
in this city a loan of three millions of gold crowns, and Queen Mary of
England contracted a debt of seventy millions of francs.
One merchant, called the rich Fugger, left at his death legacies amounting
to nearly six millions of gold crowns, a sum which for that period would
seem fabulous, if the fact were not established by indisputable documents.
This wealth and the presence of so many nations vying with each other had
carried luxury to such a height that magistrates were frequently obliged
to publish edicts, in order to restrain the lavish expenditure. This was
not done on account of the foreign inhabitants of the place, but for the
advantage of many noble families and the people of the middle classes, who
were tempted by the example of others to a display of magnificence which
might have seriously injured their fortunes.
The greater part of the Italian merchants from Lucca, Genoa, Florence, and
other cities beyond the Alps, were noblemen, and from this circumstance
they were thrown into intimate intercourse with the noble families of
Antwerp, all of whom spoke fluently three or four languages, and who
particularly studied to speak with purity and elegance the soft Italian
idiom.[5] In the Hipdorp, not far from the Church of St. James, stood an elegant
mansion, which was the favorite resort of the élité of the Italian
merchants. It was the residence of William Van de Werve, lord of Schilde.
Although this nobleman did not himself engage in mercantile transactions,
because the aristocratic families of Brabant regarded commerce as an
occupation unsuitable to persons of high birth,[6] he was very cordial and
hospitable to all strangers whose rank entitled them to admission to his
home circle. Moreover, he was extremely wealthy, luxurious in his manner
of living, and so well versed in three or four different languages, that
he could with ease enter into an agreeable and useful conversation in
either of them.
The house of Mr. Van de Werve had still other attractions to noble
foreigners. He had a daughter of extraordinary beauty, so lovely, so
modest, notwithstanding the homage offered to her charms, that her
admirers had surnamed her la bionda maraviglia, "the wonderful blonde."