Costen van Halmale explained

Costen van Halmale (–1508) was a lawyer and chronicler who served on Antwerp's city council.

Life

Halmale was born between 1432 and 1437, the son of Jan van Halmale and Margriet Bacheleer. He studied law at the University of Orléans, matriculating in 1457.^[1] In 1472 he married Katharina van Werve. From 1491 to 1508 he served as an alderman of Antwerp, and in 1487 as mayor. He died on 5 April 1508.^[1]

Writing

Halmale was the initial author of a family chronicle that was continued by his son and grandson. Known as the Annales Antwerpienses, this gave other historians an important view of family and political relations in 16th-century Antwerp.^[2] This manuscript is conserved in the Royal Library of Belgium.^[1]

Further reading

• Book: Hannah Skoda. Patrick Lantschner. R. L. J. Shaw. Contact and Exchange in Later Medieval Europe: Essays in Honour of Malcolm Vale. 2012. Boydell Press. 978-1-84383-738-1. viii, 260–261.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Halmale, Costen van. Hilde De Ridder-Symoens. Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek. . Huygens. May 6, 2017. Dutch. Hilde De Ridder-Symoens.
2. Damen. M.. 2014. Patricians, knights or nobles? Historiography and social status in late medieval Antwerp. The Medieval Low Countries. 1. 173–203. 10.1484/J.MLC.5.103717. 11245/1.485710. free.