Maskerade door studenten van de Leidse Hogeschool, 1840 (plaat 12) 1840

Jacobus Ludovicus Cornet created this print, “Masquerade by Students of the Leiden Academy,” in 1840. Notice the central figures: students adorned in medieval costumes, mounted on horseback. The heraldic shields they carry are emblazoned with symbolic devices. These motifs transport us back to the age of chivalry, a period romanticized for its ideals of honor and courtly love. The shields, banners, and feathered helmets are not mere decoration. They're potent symbols of identity, lineage, and allegiance. We see similar emblems in medieval tapestries and illuminated manuscripts, each a vessel carrying cultural memory and a yearning for a heroic past. Consider the fleur-de-lis pattern, for example. Once associated with French royalty and divine right, here, it resurfaces, repurposed by students in masquerade, a playful yet poignant echo of bygone power. The image evokes a sense of nostalgia, where the past is not merely remembered, but reimagined and reenacted. A reminder that the symbols of history are ever-evolving.