Explanation of the Open-Air Satirical Print on a Volunteer of the Flying Legion

This Dutch broadside explains a satirical print mocking the Flying Legion, a volunteer militia corps. The numbered captions—six in total—describe comic misadventures: a fleeing officer, soldiers abandoning their posts, a thief with rope and courage, a dangerous ford, a fearful recruit, and finally a cowardly regiment. Printed as letterpress text, this explanation sheet accompanied the visual satire, a common practice in 18th-century Dutch political humor. Such satirical prints and their accompanying texts descend from the Northern European tradition of popular moral commentary, prefiguring the captioned illustrations that would evolve into modern comic narrative. Here, military pretension and civic incompetence meet public ridicule through accessible, crude humor.