Dutch Republic Amsterdam was very different from England during Queen Elizabeth and King James I's reigns
Stepping into the Begiijnof in Amsterdam is like returning to an earlier time. The former island is greener and more peaceful than the rest of the modern city centre. Most of the buildings around the central courtyard are privately owned, but the famous Het Houten Huys is open to the public. It is one of Amsterdam’s few remaining wooden dwellings which predate the familiar seventeenth century brick houses which line the city’s canals.
During the early 1600s, when Naming the Dead is set, the Bejinhof was even more secluded than now, being accessed by a single bridge. The name derives from the French word béguinage which means a convent or religious community of women. After the 1578 Alteration, when Amsterdam became Protestant, the city authorities allowed Catholic nuns to continue living on the island. Unusually for that time, they were allowed to follow their own beliefs and practices, providing they were discreet. Later, Amsterdam would extend this principle to more religious groups, including Jews and Muslims.
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