Cities 07

Here's what our group came up with.
The few physical features that were mentioned in Durer's brief account were primarily surrounding the church. He mentions a "beautiful tower" and "splendid stalls of sculptured stone work". Perhaps as an artist, these things stood out to him the most. A sort of main street is implied by the path of the parade and shops, and a marketplace seems evident.
The political atmosphere and religious leadership in Antwerp are such that the Church and State are fairly well intertwined, with the church holding sway over the state. The church is Catholic.This is apparent because of the importance of the Virgin Mary and the saints. The parade is meant to be a narrative about the church or perhaps a religious holiday but it is also a sort of portrait of the hierarchy in Antwerp which Durer frames nicely in his record of it. The parade starts with the musicians and workers and ends with soldiers, clergy and scholars. The religious icons are last which is an inference to the fact that the people, or at least the parade organizers, see Catholicism or the icons of Catholicism as the ultimate authority.
The importance of trade is shown in the luxurious imports like gold, and fine clothes that are part of the parade and used in the religious art work. At the same time however, the order of the parade shows that the workers and artisans who create trade goods are on a lower standing than those who consume them, trade them or decide which ones the church will consume.
Specialization is a part of Antwerp's social organization. There is a clear hierarchy visible in the parade order.
Durer seems to be explaining this event as one would explain a sunset or an eclipse. He makes allusions. to all the topics that we discussed but only because they are features of the parade. He is primarily subjective about the aesthetic qualities of the parade and the city and is not as analytical or opinionated( about things other than the beauty or mood of the event) as some of the other writers from this section.
I think it's important that Durer observed that "at Antwerp they spare no cost on such things, for there is money enough." This seems to be the only city we read about in which there is no mention of an underclass or extremely oppressed class. Although the church obviously rules and likely limits freedoms, and some obviously have more than others( I realize one could argue that inequalities of any sort imply oppression of some sort.), no one in this procession seems destitute. Even the widows whom Durer describes as "very sorrowful to see" are able to "support themselves by their own hands" and he observes a few he'd call "stately." Perhaps it is just the brevity of this writing, or something that Durer overlooked. Could Antwerp have been the most egalitarian city( or at least one without slavery, prostitution-which was probably similar to indentured servitude, or religious/ethnic/political conflict) or is it just that such issues are not the type that anyone wants to parade around town?