Titelpagina van het pamflet: Wieghe ofte Afbeeldinghe ende aenwijsinghe hoe de Spaensche ende Paepsche Princen tegenwoordelijck door haar soet praten alle Coningen en Princen (die haer souden mogen hinderlick wesen in het oprichten haerer Spaensche Monarchie) in den Slaep Wiegen, tot dat sy gereet sullen zijn Ons het Net over hooft te trecken : overgeset uyt het François in Nederlandtsche Tale, 1615 1615

This woodcut was made in the Netherlands in 1615 and served as the title page for a political pamphlet. The anonymous artist highlights anxieties about Spanish and Catholic influence, warning of a conspiracy to lull European monarchs into complacency. The visual codes are striking. We see figures representing Spanish and Papal interests operating a large cradle, metaphorically "lulling" kings and princes to sleep with "sweet talk." This imagery taps into the deep-seated fears about foreign interference and religious domination prevalent in the Dutch Republic at the time. The pamphlet itself is an intervention in the on-going power struggle between Protestant and Catholic states in Europe, reflecting a self-consciously progressive stance against perceived oppression. To fully understand this image, a historian might consult archives of political pamphlets, religious treatises, and diplomatic correspondence. This artwork's meaning is contingent on the complex social and institutional contexts of its time.