SOURCE: Sheidley, William E. “George Gascoigne and The Spoyle of Antwerpe (1576).” War, Literature, and the Arts 8, no. 1 (spring-summer 1996): 49-64.

In the essay below, Sheidley contends that The Spoyle of Antwerpe is one of only a few contemporary works that has a direct appeal to modern readers.

On Sunday, November 4, 1576, some 6,000 mutinous Spanish soldiers, angry over lack of pay and pillage, poured down from their citadel and burst through the defenses of the wealthy and beautiful Dutch city of Antwerp. Over a period of several days they rampaged through the town, stealing or extorting its portable riches, raping and murdering its inhabitants, burning many of its houses and public buildings, and turning the Bourse or mercantile exchange into a gambling hall. On hand to witness these atrocities, which shocked all Europe and remained notorious for decades, was the English poet George Gascoigne, himself a veteran of the Lowlands wars...