The first Archbishop of Prag, Arnestus or Ernest von Pardubitz, was an industrious collector of MSS. and employed many scribes. Another of the famous patrons in Prag was Gerhard Groot, who employed one of the best penmen to copy St. John Chrysostom's _Commentary on St. Matthew_. In 1383 he founded at Deventer the famous House of the Brothers of the Common Life, who made a business of transcribing books; and, indeed, so profitably, that, for instance, Ian van Enkhuisen of Zwolle received five hundred golden gulden for a Bible. On account of the goose-quill which the brothers wore in their hats, they were familiarly known as the Brethren of the Pen.[49] [49] Wattenbach, _Schriftwesen im Mittelalter_, p. 264. CHAPTER VIII NETHERLANDISH ILLUMINATION What is meant by the Netherlands--Early realism and study of nature--Combination of symbolism with imitation--Anachronism in design--The value of the pictorial methods of the old illuminators--The oldest Netherlandish MS.--Harlinda and Renilda--The nunnery at Maas-Eyck--Description of the MS.--Thomas à Kempis--The school of Zwolle--Character of the work--The use of green landscape backgrounds--The Dukes of Burgundy--Netherlandish artists--No miniatures of the Van Eycks or Memling known to exist--Schools of Bruges, Ghent, Liége, etc.--Brussels Library--Splendid Netherlandish MSS. at Vienna--Gerard David and the Grimani Breviary--British Museum--"Romance of the Rose"--"Isabella" Breviary--Grisailles. In speaking of the Netherlands we have to bear in mind that some portions of what are now called the Netherlands were once parts of Germany, while others were parts of France. In the thirteenth century Netherlandish art was simply a variety either of Northern German or Northern French. The earlier schools of Flanders and Hainaut, and perhaps of Brabant, belong rather to France, while Holland, Limburg, Luxembourg, and the Rhine districts were more inclined towards Germany. But as soon as the schools of Ghent and Bruges and other Burgundian centres began to assert their claims, it was speedily apparent that they had an individuality of their own. In no country had the study of nature a more direct influence on the character of illumination. The allegorical method which so long had characterised both French and German art was promptly abandoned, and direct realism both in figure and landscape became the prevailing characteristic. Symbolism, it is true, remained in the representation of cities and other generalities of pictorial composition, but the details were in all cases direct imitations of contemporary facts. Half a dozen soldiers or houses might indicate an army or a city, and even some particular army or city named in the text, but the individual soldiers, though representing the army of Alexander or Roland, would wear the equipment or armour of the artist's military acquaintances, or his overlord's own company. The city, whether Ghent or Bagdad, would consist of the same sort of houses