Princely Power in the Dutch Republic: Patronage and William Frederick of Nassau (1613–64) (review)

Although patronage is a topic that scholars have studied from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, social-science treatments have tended to predominate the literature and thus to color the most recent studies. Many historians tend to view patronage as a static and strictly hierarchical arrangement of networks. But in early modern Europe, patronage (and its correlate, clientage) was inextricably interwoven with all aspects of both public and private life, making the static construct increasingly problematical. In this study of the patronage network of William Frederick of Nassau-Dietz, Janssen offers a case study of patronage to counterbalance the many studies that portrayed patronage/clientage as a one-dimensional arrangement.

Janssen makes use of a variety of sources to present this case study, but the letters and extensive diaries of William Frederick are clearly his most important and richest sources. To counter the self-promoting bias of his autobiographical evidence, Janssen makes it a point to ask what function the texts filled for William Frederick when he wrote them rather than to accept them as a "mere record of his life" (9). For Janssen, the diaries contain a "detailed record of favours, services and courtesies exchanged" throughout William Frederick's adult life (11). Coupled with thousands of letters to and from William Frederick, these diaries provide a full picture of his patronage relationships.

Janssen focuses on revealing the dual roles that William Frederick played as patron on one hand and client on the other. The multifaceted nature of patronage relationships is even more clearly illustrated in the case of William Frederick because of the additional aspects of public and private patronage networks. Though not necessarily unique to the Dutch experience, the roles that William Frederick played as Stadholder in the province of Friesland (public) and as Count of Nassau-Dietz (private) meant that he needed to cultivate distinct patronage/clientage relationships. The result was a complex and dynamic social and political milieu that William Frederick was forced to negotiate throughout his life.

The organization of the book reflects these diverse roles. Janssen first presents William Frederick as patron establishing relationships and bestowing favors by virtue of both his political office and his hereditary county. As Stadholder, William Frederick was under certain constraints as a patron due to his office and the expectations and requirements set by the Frisian provincial states. As Count of Nassau-Dietz, he had no such constraints and could be much more flexible in granting favors. Later in the book, Janssen presents William Frederick as the client of William II, the prince of Orange, his wealthier and more powerful relative. Janssen deftly illustrates the switch that William Frederick made from patron to client when in his cousin's court in The Hague.

Janssen's argument that "clientage was not a matter of fixed relationships, but a process of continual adaptation to change and to different social environments" is convincing (185). In William Frederick, he found a compelling example to demonstrate the dynamic nature of patronage relationships.