ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways in which the Twelve Years’ Truce and the institution of peace altered the soundscape of Mechelen, a major city in the Southern Netherlands. It explores how rubrics of sound helped to generate and articulate local definitions of toleration and moves beyond existing interpretations of religious diversity in Mechelen which emphasize that Catholic leaders – above all, Archbishop Matthias Hovius – relied heavily on secular powers to regulate and counteract diversity during the Twelve Years’ Truce. Through a fresh discussion of archival sources, combined with a critical examination of Den Lusthof der Christelycke Leeinghe (Antwerp, 1622), a musical setting of the Mechelen catechism intended for use locally in Catholic homes and schools, this chapter will trace how Catholic leaders turned directly to members of the local laity, and to the medium of song, as a means of regulating the presence of dissident views peacefully, and encouraged lay Catholics to engage directly with religious “others” through the sensory media of singing and sound.
