13. verloren eer

13. At the door of St. John's Church
1623
Lost honor returns with difficulty
Insulting words, blamages, reputations publicly damaged. In February 1623, for example, the church door suddenly read in cow letters:
    "Michiel Cremers is a church thief, he has stolen Master Jan's money.
Michiel was deeply affected in his soul and even more deeply affected in his honor. He thought that bailiff Walraven van den Bogart was the author of those words and let everyone know it. That was foolish. Now it was the bailiff's turn to feel his honor tarnished, and Michiel paid the bill. He did penance on his bare knees, the entire high mass, from beginning to end, in linen clothes, with a five-pound burning wax candle in each hand. Then he was obliged to join the procession, and on his return to the church he had to offer the two candles to the house of the Blessed Sacrament.
And was that the end of the matter? How will Michiel have fared afterwards in that rather isolated village community? Did people continue to mock him? In 1623 people did not practice grammar. Otherwise the poor fellow would have realized the difference: The bailiff accuses? Yes. The bailiff accuses? Better not!