Death and Legacy
It was in fact a kangaroo court, and the stacked bench of judges on Sunday, 12 May 1619, pronounced a death sentence on Oldenbarnevelt. On the following day, the old statesman, at the age of seventy-one, was beheaded in the Binnenhof, in The Hague. Oldenbarnevelt's last words to the executioner were purportedly: "Make it short, make it short."
The States of Holland noted in their Resolution book on 13 May that Oldenbarnevelt had been: "…a man of great business, activity, memory and wisdom – yes, extra-ordinary in every respect." They added the cryptic sentence Die staet siet toe dat hij niet en valle which probably should be understood as a free Dutch translation of the old dictum sic transit gloria mundi, or possibly translated as "pride comes before the fall" (cf. Proverbs 16:17–8).
Oldenbarnevelt left two sons; Reinier van Oldenbarnevelt, lord of Groeneveld and Willem van Oldenbarnevelt, lord of Stoutenburg, and two daughters. A conspiracy against the life of Maurice, in which both sons of Oldenbarnevelt took part, was discovered in 1623. Stoutenburg, who was the chief accomplice, made his escape and entered the service of Spain; Groeneveld was executed.
Read more about this topic: Johan Van Oldenbarnevelt
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