Paulus van Beresteyn
Dutch lawyer (1588-1666)
Paulus van Beresteyn (1582 – 1666), was a Dutch lawyer in Haarlem, known best today for his portrait painted by Frans Hals in 1619.
Biography
He was a lawyer in Haarlem who lived first on the Wijngaardstraat, and later on the Zijlstraat. He rented the house on the Wijngaardstraat from the heirs of Arnout van Beresteyn (1556-1612), a family relation. During the years 1615-1617 he was commissioner of the court of justice in Haarlem. He first married Elisabeth Sybrands. She died and in 1618 he married a second time to Anna van Steyn, who died less than a year later, probably in childbirth. Catharina Both van der Eem, who was his third wife, had her portrait made to match his marriage portrait, when they married in Leiden op 12 December 1619. Because later historians have attributed Catharina's pendant to Pieter Soutman, it is unclear whether this portrait was first prepared by Hals, whose portrait of Paulus matches the pendant in many respects. Catharina also features in the Beresteyn family portrait, which includes their daughter Emerantia and son Claes.
All of these portraits hung in the Hofje van Beresteyn thanks to their son Claes who founded it.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Paulus van Beresteyn” as dutch lawyer (1588-1666). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as dutch lawyer (1588-1666). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 15, 2022. The linked authority identifier is Q11776271. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1582, 1666, 1619 and 1556.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Paulus van Beresteyn”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Paulus van Beresteyn primary sources, Paulus van Beresteyn archive and Paulus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Paulus van Beresteyn”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Paulus van Beresteyn” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.