Heavy labour and little profit. The receivers of the fines and confiscations at the council of Holland 1463-1566

One of the questions which is often addressed when researching the officers of a sovereign, is why certain men obtained or were appointed in the available offices. Little doubt has been cast over the desirability of obtaining an office in service of the sovereign. The following article deals with the office of receiver of fines and confiscations in Holland, which, surprisingly, for a long time was not popular at all. By studying the different forms of advantages of 'capital' the function brought with it and the background of the receivers, it will be made clear how the office developed from an undesirable to a desirable function. With this case-study more light can be shed on the not always self-evident desirability of other available functions, and the recruiting mechanisms involved when they were vacant. Reprinted by permission of the International Institute of Social History