Chain of the Veere Chamber of Rhetoric, anonymous, c. 1530
In the late Middle Ages, many Dutch towns witnessed the emergence of societies of amateur orators and poets, the so-called rederijkers (derived from the French word rhétoriqueur, or ‘rhetorician’). This ceremonial chain was worn by the dean of Missus Scholieren, the chamber of rhetoric in Veere. It is one of the oldest rhetorician chains to have survived.