Bruges and West FlandersOmond, George W. T. (George William Thomson)
History
Bruges and West Flanders
Omond, George W. T. (George William Thomson)
Bruges (Belgium) -- Description and travel; Flanders -- Description and travel
This 'shooting' was the favourite Flemish sport of shooting with
bow and arrows at an artificial bird fixed on a high pole, the
prize being, on great occasions, a golden bird, which was hung by a
chain of gold round the winner's neck. In the records of the Guilds
of St. George and St. Sebastian at Bruges there are notices relating
to Charles. The former was a society of cross-bowmen, the latter
of archers. On June 11, 1656, Charles and the Duke of Gloucester
were at the festival of the Society of St. George. Charles was the
first to try his skill, and managed to hit the mark. After the
Duke and many others had shot, Peter Pruyssenaere, a wine merchant
in the Rue du Vieux Bourg, brought down the bird, and Charles hung
the golden 'Bird of Honour' round his neck. On June 25 Charles
visited the Society of St. Sebastian, when Michael Noe, a gardener,
was the winner. The King and Gloucester both became members of
the St. Sebastian, which is still a flourishing society. Going
along the Rue des Carmes, the traveller passes the English convent
on the left, and on the right, at the end of the street, comes
to the Guild-house of St. Sebastian, with its slender tower and
quiet garden, one of the pleasantest spots in Bruges. There the
names of Charles and his brother are to be seen inscribed in a
small volume bound in red morocco, the 'Bird of Honour' with its
chain of gold, a silver arrow presented by the Duke of Gloucester,
and some other interesting relics. On September 15, 1843, Queen
Victoria, Prince Albert, King Leopold I., and the Queen of the
Belgians, went to the Rue des Carmes and signed their names as
members of this society, which now possesses two silver cups, presented
by the Queen of England in 1845 and 1893. The Duke of York seems
to have been successful as an archer, for in the Hotel de Ville
at Bruges there is a picture by John van Meuninxhove, in which
Charles is seen hanging the 'Bird of Honour' round his brother's
neck.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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