|
17th-century writers frequently associated the broom with spiritual and moral purity. This can be seen in the frontispiece to Petrus Wittewrongel's influential, domestic conduct book Oeconomia christiana, ofte christelicke huys-houdinge (Christian Economy, or Christian Household). In the frontispiece, a maid wields a broom in a purely symbolic manner as she vigilantly sweeps away objects of vice, among them playing cards, that can undermine the spiritual and moral well-being of the family to her right.
Petrus Wittewrongel (1609-1662) was a minister at Amsterdam who is best-known for writing this book.
|
