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In 1625, Johan de Mortaigne was appointed as the first Steward ("hofmeester") of the States General. Today we examined this document in the Fagel collection describing the "Function of the Steward touching the Ceremonial and Reception of foreign Lords, Princes and Ambassadors".
It is a fascinating document that vividly describes how an ambassador's arrival would be arranged, from his first reception in his hotel, to the dining and travel arrangements on the way to The Hague.
The steward's tasks in important ceremonial aspects of an ambassadorial visit are outlined here. One of them was to inquire whether the ambassador wanted a public or a secret audience.
For more see: Heringa, Eer en hoogheid van de staat.
The same file contains a description of the tasks and outfits of the States trumpeters, whose 'main responsibility' was to 'stand guard and parade' before the assembly room of the States General.
They were dressed in official clothes: trousers, hat, stockings, and a 'magnifique oppermonteering'. Shockingly, the costs of the four trumpeters' 'rich' outfits (811 guilders per annum) was more than three times their wage!
