An Historic Trail

Sint Janshuysmolen

This blog is an adjunct to last week’s on the Lyres of Ur because the second suggestion I had for my Californian visitors was to visit the one windmill of the four remaining, which is open to the public. It is called Sint Jansshuysmolen and there is a distinct whiff of a serious ascension about the entry. One climbs up a robust ladder with a side rail at one side only and it seems a Long Way Up. To actually view the wooden machinery closely, one needs to ascend a further indoor ladder but really dear reader, it is all Worth It.

 Triumphant arrival

The windmill itself is the only one built to stand in its present place. Commissioned by the bakers of Brugge, it was constructed in situ in 1770 to replace an earlier mill belonging to Sint Janshospitaal which was blown down in 1744. It is fascinating to be in the interior and to marvel first at the lack of space. The monumental size of the wheels and the cogwheels which service the machinery [I think!] is astonishing and one feels the eighteenth century miller must have been both slight in stature and fleet of foot to negotiate the interior working areas safely and effectively. I first visited this mill in 1989 I think, with my husband Eric and loved it then but had not thought of a re-visit. My loss I think. To enter this windmill reminds a visitor of the dignity and effort of important traditional labour and the ingenuity of man in providing the means to supply essential food. A visit for me to remember.

Soon after my Californian guests and I had been windmilling, we wandered towards a possible saunter along the inner ring of canals and I remembered Cafe Vlissinghe, conveniently nearby, so we stopped off there. The nineteenth century interior never suggests to me its extreme age; it is well-preserved and cared for, comfortable and quite dark while the outside area at the rear has been seriously improved over the years since I first saw it in the 1990s when it was somewhat unkempt. Vlissinghe has been continuously open since 1515; miraculous given the Dutch, French, German,

 Cafe Vlissinghe, inside.

Burgundian predators who entered and occupied Brugge at what, from this viewpoint, seems like regular intervals over the centuries. The first recorded landlord was Jan Brey in 1515 but the building is older and can be traced back to 1485. The earliest known owner recorded is Jacob de Wulf but it is not known if the building was a tavern during his late fifteenth century ownership.

To complete a delightful day of discovery, after Luc Vanlaere’s lute/harp concert/exposition, we went to Pomperlut, a tapas restaurant opposite the children’s playground end of Astridpark. The first shock was to find the playground fenced off and dug up! Still have not found out why but continue to hope it simply means an upgrading and not a removal!!

Pomperlut in handsome 17th century building
at the corner of Minderbroedersstraat and Schaarstraat.

Entering Pomperlut which is old Flemish dialect for mushroom, is like taking a trip back in time. The seventeenth century building is almost completely covered in wood, with old chandeliers, unique lamps and a large fireplace so that one feels almost as it one has stepped back to Brugge in the seventeenth century! The ambience is warm and friendly and the food and wine were divine!!

It was a memorable experience with excellent service, all helping to generate a longing to return.

The Lyres of Ur

  Luc's Lyre of Ur in front of other harps.

Californian friends on a fleeting visit caused me to consider various locations within the mediaeval Egg which they would enjoy discovering but two venues were a must. One was a welcome return, for me, to see and hear the talented Luc Vanlaere, the harpist extraordinaire who gives free concerts in Oud Sint Jan’s five days a week. The description of harp concert really doesn’t begin to cover the range of musical instruments on show which Luc plays so beautifully during his 45 minute recital. But this time, it was exciting to see his latest venture. He has re-created the Lyre of Ur to a dazzling and authentic degree. It incorporates more than 300 pieces of inlaid mother of pearl and 33 pieces of Lapis Lazuli while the obligatory bull’s head decoration, and other sections of the structure, are covered with three layers of 24 carat gold leaf. I believe Luc said that the whole project had taken him two years to complete. It is stunningly beautiful and a huge accomplishment for him.

 Leonard Woolley during the excavations in the
cemetery of Ur, 1929.

Internet investigation has revealed that in 1929 a team of archaeologists, led by Leonard Woolley, representing a joint expedition of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, discovered the remains of four musical instruments when excavating the Royal Cemetery of Ur in Iraq in what had been southern Mesopotamia. The lyres and one harp were over 4,500 years old and were richly decorated in the style of the court art of Mesopotamia. The instruments had been placed with the remains of ten women with one skeleton lying against a lyre and her skeletal hand placed where the strings would have been. Woolley recovered the delicate form of the wooden frames by using liquid plaster; the wood of the lyres had decayed but because the surfaces had been lavishly decorated with gold and silver, recovery was possible.

The Golden Lyre of Ur in
the National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad.

 Because of the place of discovery, it is thought that the lyres were used in burial ceremonies as accompaniment to songs. Each lyre had eleven strings which, when played, produced a buzzing sound repeated throughout each song. These ancient instruments were of two types: box and bowl with the box lyre having a boxlike body and the bowl lyre, a round body with a curved back. The Lyres of Ur are box and would have been played in an upright position and the strings plucked with both hands.

The bull's head from the Queen's Lyre
 now in
the British Museum.

The three reconstituted lyres were distributed between the participating institutions with the Golden Lyre of Ur given to the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. The name comes from the head of the decorative bull which is of solid gold. Its eyes are of lapis lazuli and inlaid mother of pearl. The Queen’s Lyre, one of two found by Woolley in the grave of Queen Pu-abi, is similar to the Golden Lyre with the bull’s head masked in gold and similar decoration of lapis lazuli and mother of pearl. It is in the British Museum. The third, the Bull-Headed Lyre, shaped slightly to resemble a bull, has its head, face and horns wrapped in gold foil with hair, beard and eyes of lapis lazuli and further shell inlay. This is in the Penn Museum in Pennsylvania which also has the Silver Lyre, one of two discovered in ‘The Great Pit’ in the same cemetery. This beard-less bull [possibly a cow] is covered in sheets of silver attached with tiny silver nails and decorated with lapis lazuli.

Silver Lyre of Ur in
Penn Museum. 

Having been enchanted to discover the Lyres of Ur, I am even more

 Detail of the 'Peace' panel of the Standard
of Ur, showing lyre-player.
Excavated from the same site as the
Lyres of Ur.

impressed with Luc Vanlaere’s ingenuity, skill and vision in recreating to such a high degree of authenticity, his own copy which is on display, and played, at his regular concerts in Brugge. This is a must for any visitor!