Part 31

GHENT (Flem. _Gent_, Fr. _Gand_), the capital of East Flanders, Belgium, at the junction of the Scheldt and the Lys (Ley). Pop. (1880) 131,431, (1904) 162,482. The city is divided by the rivers (including the small streams Lieve and Moere) and by canals, some navigable, into numerous islands connected by over 200 bridges of various sorts. Within the limits of the town, which is 6 m. in circumference, are many gardens, meadows and promenades; and, though its characteristic lanes are gloomy and narrow, there are also broad new streets and fine quays and docks. The most conspicuous building in the city is the cathedral of St Bavon[1] (Sint Baafs), the rich interior of which contrasts strongly with its somewhat heavy exterior. Its crypt dates from 941, the choir from 1274-1300, the Late Gothic choir chapels from the 15th century, and the nave and transept from 1533-1554. Among the treasures of the church is the famous "Worship of the Lamb" by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. Of the original 12 panels, taken to France during the Revolutionary Wars, only 4 are now here, 6 being in the Berlin museum and two in that of Brussels. Among the other 55 churches may be mentioned that of St Nicholas, an Early Gothic building, the oldest church in date of foundation in Ghent, and that of St Michael, completed in 1480, with an unfinished tower. In the centre of the city stands the unfinished Belfry (_Beffroi_), a square tower some 300 ft. high, built 1183-1339. If has a cast-iron steeple (restored in 1854), on the top of which is a gold dragon which, according to tradition, was brought from Constantinople either by the Varangians or by the emperor Baldwin after the Latin conquest. Close to it is the former Cloth-hall, a Gothic building of 1325. The hotel-de-ville consists of two distinct parts. The northern facade, a magnificent example of Flamboyant Gothic, was erected between 1518 and 1533, restored in 1829 and again some fifty years later. The eastern facade overlooking the market-place was built in 1595-1628, in the Renaissance style, with three tiers of columns. It contains a valuable collection of archives, from the 13th century onwards. On the left bank of the Lys is the Oudeburg (s'Gravenstein, Chateau des Contes), the former castle of the first counts of Flanders, dating from 1180 and now restored. The chateau of the later counts, in which the emperor Charles V. was born, is commemorated only in the name of a street, the Cours des Princes.

To the north of the Oudeburg, on the other side of the Lys, is the Marche du Vendredi, the principal square of the city. This was the centre of the life of the medieval city, the scene of all great public functions, such as the homage of the burghers to the counts, and of the auto-da-fes under the Spanish regime. In it stands a bronze statue of Jacob van Artevelde, by Devigne-Quyo, erected in 1863. At a corner of the square is a remarkable cannon, known as _Dulle Griete_ (Mad Meg), 19 ft. long and 11 ft. in circumference. It is ornamented with the arms of Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, and must have been cast between 1419 and 1467. On the Scheldt, near the Place Laurent, is the Geerard-duivelsteen (chateau of Gerard the Devil), a 13th-century tower formerly belonging to one of the patrician families, now restored and used as the office of the provincial records. Of modern buildings may be mentioned the University (1826), the Palais de Justice (1844), and the new theatre (1848), all designed by Roelandt, and the Institut des Sciences (1890) by A. Pauli. In the park on the site of the citadel erected by Charles V. are some ruins of the ancient abbey of St Bavon and of a 12th-century octagonal chapel dedicated to St Macharius. In the park is also situated the Museum of Fine Arts, completed in 1902.

One of the most interesting institutions of Ghent is the great Beguinage (Begynhof) which, originally established in 1234 by the Bruges gate, was transferred in 1874 to the suburb of St Amandsberg. It constitutes a little town of itself, surrounded by walls and a moat, and contains numerous small houses, 18 convents and a church. It is occupied by some 700 Beguines, women devoted to good works (see BEGUINES). Near the station is a second Beguinage with 400 inmates. In addition to these there were in Ghent in 1901 fifty religious houses of various orders.

As a manufacturing centre Ghent, though not so conspicuous as it was in the middle ages, is of considerable importance. The main industries are cotton-spinning, flax-spinning, cotton-printing, tanning and sugar refining; in addition to which there are iron and copper foundries, machine-building works, breweries and factories of soap, paper, tobacco, &c. As a trading centre the city is even more important. It has direct communication with the sea by a ship-canal, greatly enlarged and deepened since 1895, which connects the Grand Basin, stretching along the north side of the city, with a spacious harbour excavated at Terneuzen on the Scheldt, 21-1/2 m. to the north, thus making Ghent practically a sea-port; while a second canal, from the Lys, connects the city via Bruges with Ostende.

Among the educational establishments is the State University, founded by King William I. of the Netherlands in 1816. With it are connected a school of engineering, a school of arts and industries and the famous library (about 300,000 printed volumes and 2000 MSS.) formerly belonging to the city. In addition there are training schools for teachers, an episcopal seminary, a conservatoire and an art academy with a fine collection of pictures mainly taken from the religious houses of the city on their suppression in 1795. The oldest Belgian newspaper, the _Gazet van Gent_, was founded here in 1667.

_History._--The history of the city is closely associated with that of the countship of Flanders (q.v.), of which it was the seat. It is mentioned so early as the 7th century and in 868 Baldwin of the Iron Arm, first count of Flanders, who had been entrusted by Charles the Bald with the defence of the northern marches, built a castle here against the Normans raiding up the Scheldt. This was captured in 949 by the emperor Otto I. and was occupied by an imperial burgrave for some fifty years, after which it was retaken by the counts of Flanders. Under their protection, and favoured by its site, the city rapidly grew in wealth and population, the zenith of its power and prosperity being reached between the 13th and 15th centuries, when it was the emporium of the trade of Germany and the Low Countries, the centre of a great cloth industry, and could put some 20,000 armed citizens into the field. The wealth of the burghers during this period was equalled by their turbulent spirit of independence; feuds were frequent,--against the rival city of Bruges, against the counts, or, within the city itself, between the plebeian crafts and the patrician governing class. Of these risings the most notable was that, in the earlier half of the 14th century, against Louis de Crecy, count of Flanders, under the leadership of Jacob van Artevelde (q.v.).

The earliest charter to the citizens of Ghent was that granted by Count Philip of Flanders between 1169 and 1191. It did little more than arrange for the administration of justice by nominated jurats (_scabini_) under the count's _bailli_. Far more comprehensive was the second charter, granted by Philip's widow Mathilda, after his death on crusade in 1191, as the price paid for the faithfulness of the city to her cause. The magistrates of the city were still nominated _scabini_ (fixed at thirteen), but their duties and rights were strictly defined and the liberties of the citizens safe-guarded; the city, moreover, received the right to fortify itself and even individuals within it to fortify their houses. This charter was confirmed and extended by Count Baldwin VIII. when he took over the city from Mathilda, an important new provision being that general rules for the government of the city were only to be made by arrangement between the count or his officials and the common council of the citizens. The burghers thus attained to a very considerable measure of self-government. A charter of 1212 of Count Ferdinand (of Portugal) and his wife Johanna introduced a modified system of election for the _scabini_; a further charter (1228) fixed the executive at 39 members, including _scabini_ and members of the commune, and ordained that the _bailli_ of the count and his _servientes_, like the _podestas_ of Italian cities, were not to be natives of Ghent.

Thus far the constitution of the city had been wholly aristocratic; in the 13th century the patricians seem to have been united into a gild (_Commans-gulde_) from whose members the magistrates were chosen. By the 14th century, however, the democratic craft gilds, notably that of the weavers, had asserted themselves; the citizens were divided for civic and military purposes into three classes; the rich (i.e. those living on capital), the weavers and the members of the 52 other gilds. In the civic executive, as it existed to the time of Charles V., the deans of the two lower classes sat with the _scabini_ and councillors.

The constitution and liberties of the city, which survived its incorporation in Burgundy, were lost for a time as a result of the unsuccessful rising against Duke Philip the Good (1450). The citizens, however, retained their turbulent spirit. After the death of Mary of Burgundy, who had resided in the city, they forced her husband, the archduke Maximilian, to conclude the treaty of Arras (1482). They were less fortunate in their opposition to Maximilian's son, the emperor Charles V. In 1539 they refused, on the plea of their privileges, to contribute to a general tax laid on Flanders, and when Charles's sister Mary, the governess of the Netherlands, seized some merchants as bail for the payment, they retaliated by driving out the nobles and the adherents of Charles's government. The appearance of Charles himself, however, with an overwhelming force quelled the disturbance; the ringleaders were executed, and all the property and privileges of the city were confiscated. In addition, a fine of 150,000 golden gulden was levied on the city, and used to build the "Spanish Citadel" on the site of what is now the public park.

In the long struggle of the Netherlands against Spain, Ghent took a conspicuous part, and it was here that, on the 8th of November 1576, was signed the instrument, known as the Pacification of Ghent, which established the league against Spanish tyranny. In 1584, however, the city had to surrender on onerous terms to the prince of Parma.

The horrors of war and of religious persecution, and the consequent emigration or expulsion of its inhabitants, had wrecked the prosperity of Ghent, the recovery of which was made impossible by the closing of the Scheldt. The city was captured by the French in 1698, 1708 and 1745. After 1714 it formed part of the Austrian Netherlands, and in 1794 became the capital of the French department of the Scheldt. In 1814 it was incorporated in the kingdom of the United Netherlands, and it was here that Louis XVIII. of France took refuge during the Hundred Days. Here too was signed (December 24, 1814) the treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States of America. After 1815 Ghent was for a time the centre of Catholic opposition to Dutch rule, as it is now that of the Flemish movement in Belgium. During the 19th century its prosperity rapidly increased. In 1866-1867, however, a serious outbreak of cholera again threatened it with ruin; but improved sanitation, the provision of a supply of pure water and the demolition of a mass of houses unfit for habitation soon effected a radical cure.

See L. A. Warnkonig, _Flandrische Staats- und Rechtsgeschichte bis 1305_ (3 vols., Tubingen, 1835-1842), and Gueldorf, _Hist. de Gand_, translated from Warnkonig, with corrections and additions (Brussels, 1846); F. de Potter, _Gent van den oudsten tijd tot heden_ (6 vols., Ghent, 1883-1891); Van Duyse, _Gand monumental et pittoresque_ (Brussels, 1886); de Vlaminck, _Les Origines de la ville de Gand_ (Brussels, 1891); _Annales Gandenses_, ed. G. Funck-Brentano (Paris, 1895); Vuylsteke, _Oorkondenboek der stad Gent_ (Ghent, 1900, &c.); Karl Hegel, _Stadte und Gilden_ (Leipzig, 1891), vol. ii. p. 175, where further authorities are cited. For a comprehensive bibliography, including monographs and published documents, see Ulysse Chevalier, _Repertoire des sources hist. Topo-bibliogr._, s.v. "Gand."

FOOTNOTE:

[1] Bavo, or Allowin (c. 589-c. 653), patron saint of Ghent, was a nobleman converted by St Amandus, the apostle of Flanders. He lived first as an anchorite in the forest of Mendonk, and afterwards in the monastery founded with his assistance by Amandus at Ghent.

GHETTO, formerly the street or quarter of a city in which Jews were compelled to live, enclosed by walls and gates which were locked each night. The term is now used loosely of any locality in a city or country where Jews congregate. The derivation of the word is doubtful. In documents of the 11th century the Jew-quarters in Venice and Salerno are styled "Judaca" or "Judacaria." At Capua in 1375 there was a place called San Nicolo ad Judaicam, and later elsewhere a quarter San Martino ad Judaicam. Hence it has been suggested Judaicam became Italian Giudeica and thence became corrupted into ghetto. Another theory traces it to "gietto," the common foundry at Venice near which was the first Jews' quarters of that city. More probably the word is an abbreviation of Italian _borghetto_ diminutive of _borgo_ a "borough."

The earliest regular ghettos were established in Italy in the 11th century, though Prague is said to have had one in the previous century. The ghetto at Rome was instituted by Paul IV. in 1556. It lay between the Via del Pianto and Ponte del Quattro Capi, and comprised a few narrow and filthy streets. It lay so low that it was yearly flooded by the Tiber. The Jews had to sue annually for permission to live there, and paid a yearly tax for the privilege. This formality and tax survived till 1850. During three centuries there were constant changes in the oppressive regulations imposed upon the Jews by the popes. In 1814 Pius VII. allowed a few Jews to live outside the ghetto, and in 1847 Pius IX. decided to destroy the gates and walls, but public opinion hindered him from carrying out his plans. In 1870 the Jews petitioned Pius IX. to abolish the ghetto; but it was to Victor Emmanuel that this reform was finally due. The walls remained until 1885.

During the middle ages the Jews were forbidden to leave the ghetto after sunset when the gates were locked, and they were also imprisoned on Sundays and all Christian holy days. Where the ghetto was too small for the carrying on of their trades, a site beyond its wall was granted them as a market, e.g. the Jewish _Tandelmarkt_ at Prague. Within their ghettos the Jews were left much to their own devices, and the more important ghettos, such as that at Prague, formed cities within cities, having their own town halls and civic officials, hospitals, schools and rabbinical courts. Fires were common in ghettos and, owing to the narrowness of the streets, generally very destructive, especially as from fear of plunder the Jews themselves closed their gates on such occasions and refused assistance. On the 14th of June 1711 a fire, the largest ever known in Germany, destroyed within twenty-four hours the ghetto at Frankfort-on-Main. Other notable ghetto fires are that of Bari in 1030 and Nikolsburg in 1719. The Jews were frequently expelled from their ghettos, the most notable expulsions being those of Vienna (1670) and Prague (1744-1745). This latter exile was during the war of the Austrian Succession, when Maria Theresa, on the ground that "they were fallen into disgrace," ordered Jews to leave Bohemia. The empress was, however, induced by the protests of the powers, especially of England and Holland, to revoke the decree. Meantime the Jews, ignorant of the revocation, petitioned to be allowed to return in payment of a yearly tax. This tax the Bohemian Jews paid until 1846. The most important ghettos were those at Venice, Frankfort, Prague and Trieste. By the middle of the 19th century the ghetto system was moribund, and with the disappearance of the ghetto at Rome in 1870 it became obsolete.

See D. Philipson, _Old European Jewries_ (Philadelphia, 1894); Israel Abrahams, _Jewish Life in the Middle Ages_ (1896); S. Kahn, article "Ghetto" in _Jewish Encyclopedia_, v. 652.

GHIBERTI, LORENZO (1378-1455), Italian sculptor, was born at Florence in 1378. He learned the trade of a goldsmith under his father Ugoccione, commonly called Cione, and his stepfather Bartoluccio; but the goldsmith's art at that time included all varieties of plastic arts, and required from those who devoted themselves to its higher branches a general and profound knowledge of design and colouring. In the early stage of his artistic career Ghiberti was best known as a painter in fresco, and when Florence was visited by the plague he repaired to Rimini, where he executed a highly prized fresco in the palace of the sovereign Pandolfo Malatesta. He was recalled from Rimini to his native city by the urgent entreaties of his stepfather Bartoluccio, who informed him that a competition was to be opened for designs of a second bronze gate in the baptistery, and that he would do wisely to return to Florence and take part in this great artistic contest. The subject for the artists was the sacrifice of Isaac; and the competitors were required to observe in their work a certain conformity to the first bronze gate of the baptistery, executed by Andrea Pisano about 100 years previously. Of the six designs presented by different Italian artists, those of Donatello, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti were pronounced the best, and of the three Brunelleschi's and Ghiberti's superior to the third, and of such equal merit that the thirty-four judges with whom the decision was left entrusted the execution of the work to the joint labour of the two friends. Brunelleschi, however, withdrew from the contest. The first of his two bronze gates for the baptistery occupied Ghiberti twenty years.

Ghiberti brought to his task a deep religious feeling and the striving after a high poetical ideal which are not to be found in the works of Donatello, though in power of characterization the second sculptor often stands above the first. Like Donatello, he seized every opportunity of studying the remains of ancient art; but he sought and found purer models for imitation than Donatello, through his excavations and studies in Rome, had been able to secure. The council of Florence, which met during the most active period of Ghiberti's artistic career, not only secured him the patronage of the pontiff, who took part in the council, but enabled him, through the important connexions which he then formed with the Greek prelates and magnates assembled in Florence, to obtain from many quarters of the Byzantine empire the precious memorials of old Greek art, which he studied with untiring zeal. The unbounded admiration called forth by Ghiberti's first bronze gate led to his receiving from the chiefs of the Florentine gilds the order for the second, of which the subjects were likewise taken from the Old Testament. The Florentines gazed with especial pride on these magnificent creations, which must still have shone with all the brightness of their original gilding when, a century later, Michelangelo pronounced them worthy to be the gates of paradise. Next to the gates of the baptistery Ghiberti's chief works still in existence are his three statues of St John the Baptist, St Matthew and St Stephen, executed for the church of Or San Michele. In the bas-relief of the coffin of St Zenobius, in the Florence cathedral, Ghiberti put forth much of his peculiar talent, and though he did not, as is commonly stated, execute entirely the painted glass windows in that edifice, he furnished several of the designs, and did the same service for a painted glass window in the church of Or San Michele. He died at the age of 77.

We are better acquainted with Ghiberti's theories of art than with those of most of his contemporaries, for he left behind him a commentary, in which, besides his notices of art, he gives much insight into his own personal character and views. Every page attests the religious spirit in which he lived and worked. Not only does he aim at faithfully reflecting Christian truths in his creations, he regards the old Greek statues with a kindred feeling, as setting forth the highest intellectual and moral attributes of human nature. He appears to have cared as little as Donatello for money.

Benvenuto Cellini's criticism on Ghiberti that in his creations of plastic art he was more successful in small than in large figures, and that he always exhibited in his works the peculiar excellences of the goldsmith's quite as much as those of the sculptor's art, is after all no valid censure, for it merely affirms that Ghiberti faithfully complied with the peculiar conditions of the task imposed upon him. More frequent have been the discussions as to the part played by perspective in his representations of natural scenery. These acquired a fresh importance since the discovery of the data, from which it appeared that Paolo Uccello, who had commonly been regarded as the first great master of perspective, worked for several years in the studio or workshop of Ghiberti, so that it became difficult to determine to what extent Uccello's successful innovations in perspective were due to Ghiberti's teaching.

Cicognara's criticism on Ghiberti, in his _History of Sculpture_, has supplied the chief materials for the illustrative text of Lasinio's series of engravings of the three bronze gates of the baptistery. They consist of 42 plates in folio, and were published at Florence by Bardi in 1821. Still more vivid representations are the reproductions on a very large scale by the photographic establishment of Alinari. Both C. C. Perkins, in his _History of Tuscan Sculpture_ (1864), and A. F. Rio, in his _Art chretien_ (1861-1867), have treated Ghiberti's works with much fulness, and in a spirit of sound appreciation. See also the chapter expressly devoted to the history of the competition for the baptistery gates in Hans Semper, _Donatello_ (1887); the articles by Adolf Rosemberg in Dohme's _Kunst und Kunstler des Mittelalters_ (Leipzig, 1877); Leader Scott, _Ghiberti and Donatello_ (1882). In the _Sammlung ausgewahlter Biographien Vasari_, ed. Carl Frey, vol. iii. (1886), is given Ghiberti's commentary on art.

GHICA, GHIKA or GHYKA, a family which played a great part in the modern development of Rumania, many of its members being princes of Moldavia and Walachia. According to Rumanian historians the Ghicas were of very humble origin, and came from Kiupru in Albania.

1. George or Gheorghe (c. 1600-1664), the founder of the family, is said to have been a playmate of another Albanian known in history as Kupruli Aga, the famous vizier, who recognized George while he was selling melons in the streets of Constantinople, and helped him on to high positions. George became prince of Moldavia in 1658 and prince of Walachia in 1659-1660. He moved the capital from Tirgovishtea to Bucharest. From him are derived the numerous branches of the family which became so conspicuous in the history of Moldavia and Walachia.