ABSTRACT In the south-western part of the Netherlands saltmaking on the basis of the digging out of saltmarshes contributed much to the destruction of large tracts of land. The complete production process from digging up the peat to the clear cookingsalt is not fully known. Often the engraving "Darinkdelven" of J.C. Philips (1745) is used as an illustration. Its qualities as a source of knowledge about the salt production process are discussed and a much older painting is presented as a better source. In analysing the painting, it will be shown that it depicts a real situation in the wetlands off Zierikzee on the island of Schouwen in Zeeland.

Introduction

The engraving "De Zelneering of het Darink-Delven" is a very popular illu-s-tration in Dutch historical geography. It was made by J.C. Philipsz in 1745 and its use in Wagenaar's National History of the Netherlands in 1750, a standard book that was reprinted well into the 19th century has made it known to a very broad public. In the 19th century a lithograph was made after it, giving it a new life. During the 20th century the engraving was reproduced in many books, notably in "Man made lowlands. History of water management and land reclamation in the Netherlands"[Van der Ven, 1993.] and most recently in Augustijn's (1999) De veenontginning (12de - 16de eeuw).

The popularity of Philipsz's engraving

Philipsz's engraving, together with its text explanation, illustrates the first steps in salt production from sali-nated peat as it was practised during the later middle ages in Zeeland. Salt production was then an important economic activity, but at the same time it paved the way for further incursions of the sea into the coastal plain of Zeeland, Flanders, Brabant and Holland. This medieval way of salt produc-tion was one of the factors that shaped the islands and waters of Zeeland and its surrounding region. The engraving is nearly always just used as an illustration, while its explana-tion in the best cases is translated into a more fluent text. I have never seen any critical analysis of the engraving and its text as a source for our knowledge of this type of salt production.

The first reason to have some doubts about the qual-ity of the engraving as a source is that the engraving dates from 1745, that is at least 250 years after this way of working stopped as a operation on a grand scale. The second reason is that the text mentions that the engraving was made after an old painting in the hospital of the town of Zierikzee in Zeeland. As such it is a secondary source. It would be interesting to find that "old painting" as it is the primary source.

This paper identifies that "old painting", and analyses it to see whether we can recognise the topography shown. If we can, that gives some more credibility to the painting as a source. Then we will try to date the painting. If it is a compilation of lose elements, that would make a firm dating impossible. We will use a number of separate elements to find a date for it. The "reading" of the source is the last part. What does the painting show about the medieval way of salt production in Zeeland?

Identifying the Original

As I worked through the literature, not less than nine "versions" of this picture seemed to exist. What was their mutual relationship? Just as is often done with charters, I tried to construct a scheme on the basis of "a is a copy of b". Only one version cannot be fitted in: it is just mentioned and we have no further information about it. Three others seem to be the same objects as three versions in the main line of the scheme. Going back from the engraving we have a drawing by Cornelis Pronk, made after the original in the Zierikzee Hospital. Going forward from the engraving we have a water-colour painting that was the basis for the lithograph of 1847 (Figure 3). The painting that is now in the Lord Mayor's Room of the Zierikzee townhall museum, seems to be the sought after original (Figure 4).

Recognising the Topography

Can we find out from which place the painting was made? If the painter sat down and made his sketches from a well-chosen vantage point, this might be possible. But if the painter compiled the painting from a number of separate images or even from pure fantasy, finding a viewpoint will be impossible. A number of potential spots were checked. On the basis of the position of the main church of Zierikzee is the most likely location from where the view was taken. The exact spot was found by evaluating the directions of windmills, dikes and churches. The painting was made from the western dike of the little (44 hectare or 100 acres) polder Alteklein (the name means: too little). The painting shows the water of the Gouwe, the dikes of Schouwen and Duiveland, the mouth of the old harbour and part of the town of Zierikzee (Figure 5).

Further analysis of the picture shows that the salterns are shown much larger than they should have been. Therefore they take up too much space, so that the water of the Gouwe dwindles to a small gully at the right side of the painting. Also the town of Zierikzee is shown a bit enlarged. Although many directions are recognisable, some are not. So it looks like the painter added some fantasy-churches to make the horizon more interesting. In reality one looks out over the wide sea arm of the Easter Sceldt. The first land is many kilometres away. We conclude that the painting was made, presumably after sketches, of a real landscape as it was seen from a point on the western dike of the polder Alteklein. The painter added some fantasy-churches on an empty horizon and he also enlarged the important parts of the picture.

Dating the Painting

The Townhall museum and the literature say without any argument that the painting dates from the 16th century, or the middle of that century. Evaluation of the painting must also include a more rigorous dating. In principle, the age of the painting can be estimated on the basis of: style, wood of the panel, the panel's back, clothing, buildings, ship types, historical geography

Style.

Most art-historians date the painting as being from the 16th century or as middle 16th century. There is no signature of the painter: this is a medieval practice. We cannot look inside the salterns: a medieval painting should open up at least one building to show us the inside. Typical of this is the way the Christ-child is often shown inside a very open stable. Here all of the salt-sheds are painted in a realistic way: that looks post-medieval. A dating in the 16th century seems quite possible.

Dating of the wood.

The wood at the basis of the painting could give a good idea of the dating of the painting itself. Furthermore, it is possible that the back of the panel might show some written or carved information. Unfortunately, both the wood and the back are no longer available, because the painting has been restored three times. In 1933/1943 the dirt of four centuries was removed. The colours of the painting reappeared. The painting got moist during the WWII inundation of Schouwen in 1944. In 1949 followed restoration of cracks in the wood and painting, but the painting got moist again in the 1953 flooding of Schouwen. This resulted in new cracking and even the paint coming off. In 1958 a very radical restoration was carried out. All of the old wood was removed and the paint was transplanted onto a new wooden carrier. So there remains no old wood to date and there is no longer an old back to inform us.

Clothing.

The clothing of the workers and the supervisors is only datable with difficulty. Books about clothing in those times seem only to address the higher classes. The dress of the gentleman (right) can date from the period 1525-1550.

Buildings.

On the not-yet restored painting the tower of the main church of Zierikzee carries the bell-tower of 1535, as shown here in Figure 6. It is also shown on the engraving by Pronk/Philipsz. The tower got a new spire in the second restoration of the painting because the original bell-tower was lost in a big crack. The chapels around the choir, finished in 1527 are clearly shown. The new townhall of 1554 is not yet visible. This dates the painting between 1535 and 1554.

Ship types.

The rowingboat probably is a precursor of the later ships of the Biesbosch. It could also sail. The sailingship is of a construction that occurred well into the 20th century. So, both ships do not give us a date. There is not yet a "tjalk" to been seen: this dates the painting before about 1600.

Historical Geography.

During the 16th century the tidal channel of the Gouwe was silting up. After its damming with the Steenen Dijk (Stone Dike) in 1610 a number of polders were created in the Gouwe. The tides were then banned from the depicted area. As the painting still shows open water with tide-effects, it must date from well before 1610.

Dating: conclusion.

From this analysis we conclude that on the painting the bell-tower is ready but the townhall not yet. This dates the painting to the period 1535-1554. The clothing suggests a date of 1525 - 1550, but the other indicators are very vague and indicate only the whole 16th century. The dating does not show elements that could not date from the short period 1535- 1554.

So we can date the painting to a period of 20 years. Can we refine the dating further? We must then take refuge to some guessing. In 1540 emperor Charles V made a working visit to Zierikzee. From that year also dates a big map of Schouwen island. We know that they ordered all men to work on the dikes on the day the emperor made a roundtrip over the island. Perhaps the town coun-cil gave the emper-or an illustrated impression of the economy of the town and island. Both the map and the painting "Darink-Delven" could have figured in such a presentation of the local problems and prides.

The end of saltmaking from salinated peat

The sources point to an important transformation of the salt industry of Zeeland during the 15th century. Previously raw salt was won from locally cut salinated peat and then refined in the salterns. During the 15th century imports of raw sea salt from the French, Spanish and Portuguese coasts replaced the locally made raw salt. So the refineries went on with their activities, even well into the 20th century, but the cutting of salinated peat, its burning to ashes and the transport of the ashes to the salterns stopped. The replacement was so strong that places that stuck to the old system saw their salt industry crumble and eventually stop altogether. Around 1500 most salt was made from imported raw salt. That means that the Zierikzee painting of the Darink-Delven shows an activity that was already 40 years or more outdated as a big commercial business at the time of painting. Nevertheless on a smaller scale it might have lingered on, like peatdigging for fuel which was even practised during World War II. The painting presumably shows us (and Charles V) a lost part of an important industry, of which the details were in 1540 still well known to many people in and around Zierikzee. As the painting shows quite a realistic and recognisable landscape, the dating points to a single moment in time and since it was made at a moment when the shown details were still well known, we may trust the painting as a source for the knowledge of the medieval saltmaking in Zeeland.

Reading of the painting as a source for the knowledge of the medieval salt production in Zeeland

The painting shows the process of the "darink delven" or "zoute moernering" in 16 steps. The process starts in the middle foreground and goes on following an ellipse, starting to the left.

1. Removing the clay layer (centre, right). The place of action is a flat low island, only about 10 cm (4 inches) above the waterlevel. In the foreground the rim of the island shows clearly the marks of earlier digging. With a scoop (narrow, about 10 cm wide and 30 cm long blade) flat light brown coloured tiles of clay are removed and thrown on a heap, without much order. Two men.

2. Cutting of the peat (centre, left). With a vertical cutting device (spade or "greef"?) the peat is cut into turves. The turves are coloured very dark, nearly black. One man cuts, a second one lifts the wet turves out of the pit, a third one brings them in his hands to nr. 3, a turfboat. There is on the island no heaping of turves and no drying. Around the pit lay the claytiles that were cut away in step 1. Three men. 3. Loading of the turfboat (centre, back). On the island where the turves are cut, a small boat (like a rowing boat, without mast or sails) lies on "dry" land. In the boat stands one man. He neatly piles up the turves in the middle of the boat. On the stern of the boat a kind of anchor with its rope are visible. One man.

4. Unloading of the turfboat (left, front). One had to wait for high tide to float the boat. It then went to a clearly higher terrain to the left, where steps 5 - 10 take place. We see two man taking the turves with their hands out of the boat, apparently to throw them on the bank. There we see a heap of turves, not as neatly piled up like in the boat, but also not completely crumbled. The turfboat has a simple rudder and helm. Two men.

5. Wheeling of the turves (left, front). One man transports neatly heaped turves with a wheel-barrow further to the left, to nr. 6. One man.

6. Women build with the still wet turves a round hollow pile (far left). Apparently they want to dry the turves this way, for up to here there was no drying phase. Wet turves will not burn. Two women.

7. A woman in the background brings a big fish and a can. She represents the caring for the workers. One woman.

8. Pointed heaps (left, somewhat more to the back). The dried turves are piled up in another kind of heap: more closed, tent-like and with a sharp top. Because of the blackness of the turves, no further details can be seen. At the foot of the 'tent' some black turves lie around. One woman. (two or three figures in the background watch the activities).

9. Burning of the turves (left, back). One woman works with a scoop or spade at the burning heap of turves. The turves are now painted as red glowing. Flames come out of the heap. The smoke is grey. Some dispersed turves (black) lie around the burning heap. No use is made of the generated warmth or smoke: they blow away in the wind. One woman.

10. Putting the ashes into a sack (left, back). A woman and a man are filling a sack with the light brown and partly grey ashes from a neat ash heap. The woman scoops the ash, the man holds open a light coloured sack. In the background a well dressed couple watch the activities: one woman, one man.

11. The sacks with ash are loaded into a ship (left, back). One man carries a light coloured sack with ashes to a ship. The man wears, like the one at the sack-filling, as protection an empty sack over his head and back. He carries the sack high on his shoulder or against his head.

12. Ship for the transport of the ash (left of centre). This is a somewhat bigger boat, perhaps a 'pleit'. The ship has on the stem a mast with a big and a small sail. It has a half cylindrical covering (partly opened) over the middle of the ship. Access to the ship is by a nearly horizontal gangplank. The ship lies in the water. To the right on the painting two ships of this type are moored at the other side of the central watercourse, near to smoking saltsheds. On these ships a rudder can clearly be seen. In the centre-background such a ship sails towards the saltsheds (or is it just a ship passing by?).

13. Industrial quarter (right). Outside the townwalls of Zierikzee is an industrial quarter, with landing-stages, at least 12 saltsheds and at least two windmills. The landing-stages have a quay reinforced by poles and beams, rising approximately 1.5 meters (5 ft) out of the water. There are jetties ending in a vertical board. I guess this is a flap that can be turned down to serve as a gangplank. At each jetty stands a kind of simple crane: a vertical pole on which a second one balances. From them hangs something like a bucket. Identical 'cranes' can be seen between the saltshed, away from the landing-stages.

14. Unloading of the ashes (right). Not much happens on the landing-stages, but one man (and perhaps a second one) walks with a light coloured sack on his neck from one of the two ships towards the saltsheds. There stands someone and also on the stem of the ship stands a person. At the foremost landing-stage (without ship) stands another person. Five persons.

15. Saltsheds (right). The saltsheds stand closely together. They are quite big buildings, apparently with a strong internal construction to carry a high and steep reed covered roof. The walls under the roof show vertical poles, between which is a yellow-brown filling. I guess this to be wattle and daub. Some buildings do not show the vertical poles. In the wall there are a simple door and some small windows. At the lower rim of the roof are also some small windows. Some saltsheds have chimneys. The two foremost sheds are shown without chimney, but they are smoking like the others. Perhaps they have a smoke-hole in the roof. At the third building an external construction is shown. It consists of two vertical elements and a horizontal element in between. It is not clear what this is. Note: two buildings of the same type are also shown at the left side of the painting, perhaps only as decoration. Or is the construction identical to the standard farm buildings, and the buildings to the left are just farms? But then they stand outside the dikes and that is not usual in Zeeland.

16. Refuse heaps (right, front). Yellow brown refuse was dumped around the saltsheds. It lies even in the water in front of the quay, where it must have been troublesome. Most refuse however lies on a spacious terrain (on the painting to the front right). On that terrain two men are busy, one of them with a scoop or spade, the other with a small dog. Between them and the first saltshed stands a third person. In the background a man walks over undulating terrain towards the town. Four men.

Conclusion

The original behind the 1745 engraving by Philipszn is still available as the painting "Darink Delven". That painting is in the Townhall Museum in Zierikzee. It was painted between 1535-1554, probably in 1540, and shows in 16 steps the outdoor part of the medieval process of saltmaking from salinated peat in the Gouwe east of Zierikzee. It was painted from living memory illustrating the methods shown, that were in general use till c. 1500. The painting looks like a quite reliable source for our knowledge of medieval salt production in Zeeland.

References

Augustijn, B. (1999) De veenontginning (12de - 16de eeuw), Beveren: Gemeentebestuur Ven, G.P. van de (ed.) (1993) Man Made Lowlands, History of Water Management and Land Reclamation in the Netherlands, Utrecht: Matrijs

Version August 24, 2002.