Antiquarianism, Local Traditions, and Urban Identity in the Early Modern Netherlands: The Controversy about the City of the Nervii

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the study of Roman remains led to the questioning of many local traditions, including those that associated the episcopal see of Tournai with the valiant Nervii. The rediscovery of ancient Itineraries and the absence of vestiges in Tournai led scholars to question this association: they preferred to locate the city of the Nervii in Bavay. This new thesis irritated several Tournaisian authors who defended the illustrious past of their city. This scholarly controversy illustrates the new role that the material evidence played in the construction of historical discourses and local identity at that time.