Historica narratio profectionis et inavgvrationis serenissimorvm Belgii principvm Alberti et Isabellæ, Avstriæ archidvcvm : et eorum optatissimi in Belgium aduentus, rerumque gestarum et memorabilium, gratulationum, apparatuum, et spectaculorum in ipsorum susceptione et inavgvratione hactenus editorum accurata descriptio
Historica narratio is a 1602 Antwerp account by Joannes Bochius, printed by the Plantin office, of the entry and inauguration of Archdukes Albert and Isabella into the Low Countries, written for readers interested in state ceremony. Its engraved plates show triumphal arches, stage-like facades and fireworks set against sky and crowds, with small figures giving scale; a designer could take from them the layered architectural framing, the scrolled ornament and the theatrical use of smoke and flame.
