Bourgeois of Brussels


In Brussels, as in most European cities, one needed the capacity of bourgeois to exercise political rights but also to practice a trade, which in Brussels meant to be a member of the guilds or of the Seven Noble Houses.
The charter of Brussels, as codified in 1570 in Articles 206 and following, provided the conditions of admission to the bourgeoisie of the city. The Bourgeois were the patrician class of the city. This social class was abolished by Napoleon during the French occupation.

Capacity of bourgeois

The non-bourgeois inhabitants, called "inhabitants" in French and "ingesetene" in Dutch, have none of these political rights, but are not less protected by communal laws, and can appeal to urban justice, as well as buy property. The capacity of Bourgeois, which implied an oath, was seen as a pledge of loyalty to the city and the urban community.
In Brussels, the bourgeois were sometimes called "poorters" name often given to citizens of important cities called walled cities. This word derives from the Dutch word fallen into disuse poorte, city or place closed by walls, like the imposing stone houses that the rich bourgeois of the Seven Noble Houses lived in during the early days of the city, and to which was also given the name of "poorte" or "porta" in Latin, and whose synonym was "herberg" or "hostel" and which are also called steen. Each of these "poorte" had a name, for example: "Poorte van den Galoyse", "Poorte van Coeckelberg", "Gouden Poorte", "Priemspooerte", the "Raempoorte", "porta t 'Serclaes' known as 'the Palace', 'Slozenpoorte', 'Poorte van de Tafelronde' or 'Poorte van Vianen'.
The European Medieval practice of naming houses was rich and varied in Brussels.
The capacity of bourgeois, that is to say of citizen of a city having political rights in opposition to the simple inhabitants, forms the base of the urban organisation of cities. This urban system in Europe dates back for many cities still existing today to Greco-Latin antiquity, others were founded around the year one thousand. This system of urban civilization developed in parallel to the rural civilization rooted in the Neolithic era.

Abolition by Napoléon

Under Napoleon, the Law abolished for good, in the territories that were submitted to France, the differences of status between cities and countryside and abolished the quality of bourgeois or citizen of a city. In other parts of Europe, as it is now in Switzerland, this system has endured. In Germany, it was slowly abolished, and only Hamburg and Bremen retain the Hanseatic designation freie Stadt from their days as free imperial cities.

Subsisting bourgeois families of Brussels

The following is a chronological list of surviving Brussels bourgeois families with the date of admission and of which of the Seven Noble Houses they currently descend from, if any. Namely, the houses of Sweerts, Sleeus, Steenweeghs, Roodenbeke, Serroelofs, Coudenbergh, and Serhuyghs.

[Middle Ages]

15th century

  • 1447, approximately, Leyniers family.
  • 1452, approximately, d'Arschot family, then van Schoonhoven, then d'Arschot-Schoonhoven
  • 1458, 11 January, van Droogenbroeck family
  • 1458, 9 August, van Cotthem family
  • 1460, approximately, Meeûs family,
  • 1461, approximately, Devadder ou de Vaddere family.
  • 1487, 9 July, Aelbrechts said de Borsere family
  • 1488, 9 May, van Droogenbroeck family
  • 1489, approximately, t'Kint, then t'Kint de Roodenbeke family
  • 1490, Van der Meulen family
  • 1490, approximately, Jambers family
  • 1490, 4 December Ranspoet family :
  • 1492, 27 June, Obrechts dit de Vos family :
  • 1498, 6 April Moyensoen family :

16th century

  • 1501, approximately, de Lens family.
  • 1543, van Volxem family
  • 1590, approximately Damiens family.
  • 1590, approximately, de Walsche family.
  • 1591, approximately, Robyns, then Robyns de Schneidauer family.

17th century

  • 1601, approximately, van der Borcht family.
  • 1608-1609, van Berchem family.
  • 1611-1612, Roberti family.
  • 1617-1618, van Dievoet family .
  • 1619-1620, van der Belen family.
  • 1623-1624, Maskens family.
  • 1626-1627, de Viron family.
  • 1633-1634, Dansaert family.
  • 1637 and 1655, Blondeau family.
  • 1649, 3 July, Orts family.
  • 1655, 12 January, Blondeau.
  • 1668, de Burbure family.
  • 1683, 20 January, Deudon family.
  • 1696, 22 March, Poot family or Poot-Baudier family.
  • 1698, approximately, Heyvaert family.

18th century

  • 1707, 12 October, Drugman family.
  • 1711, 7 January, de Meurs family.
  • 1712, 14 June, Demeure family.
  • 1711, 3 June, Brinck family .
  • 1729, 29 January, Fanuel family.
  • 1733, 22 September, Cattoir family.
  • 1741, 21 June, de Reus family.
  • 1745, 10 February, Picqué family.
  • 1752, 24 February, Triest family.
  • 1752, 29 May, and 1755, 18 February, Allard family.
  • 1753, 10 March, Stinglhamber family.
  • 1764, 16 June, van Cutsem family.
  • 1766, 19 September, Walckiers family.
  • 1767, 3 August, Marousé family.
  • 1768, 17 June, Hap family.
  • 1769, 14 July, Lequime family.
  • 1776, 8 February, Héger family.
  • 1782, 8 April, Poelaert family.
  • 1783, 12 February, de Voghel family.
  • 1785, 14 January, van Hoegaerden family.
  • 1786, 11 December, van Hoorde family.
  • 1794, 27 May, Wittouck family.
  • 1794, 10 September, D'Ieteren family.
  • 1794, 16 December, Pitseys family.
  • 1795, 7 January, Becquet family.
  • 1795, 29 January, Janlet family.
  • 1795, 9 March, Van Nuffel family.
  • 1795, 20 May, Wielemans family.