The Baptistery
The baptistery at the Pieterskerk used to have a baptismal font, given by Count William II of Holland, Holy Roman Emperor of the German Empire (13th century). Nowadays, the baptistery is a place of commemoration for the Pilgrims and their leader, John Robinson.
John Robinson
The theologist John Robinson (1576-1625) was one of the leaders of the English Pilgrims, who stayed in Leiden from 1609 to 1620. He lived in the house called De Groene Poort (The Green Gate) to the south of the church near the baptistery. When most of the Pilgrims left Leiden to go to America, Robinson stayed behind. He bought a grave in the Pieterskerk but its precise location is unknown. Memorials for Robinson can be found in the form of a commemorative stone in the baptistery and as a brass plaque on the outside of the southern wall of the baptistery.
The chandelier
The brass chandelier with six candles in the former baptistery dates from 1575-1580 and was probably made in Lübeck. The style of the shaft is Gothic. The dove is the Christian symbol of the Holy Ghost because the Holy Ghost revealed himself as a dove at the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan river.
