 It has been suggested that the rioters connected the saint especially with Philip II, whose monastery palace of the Escorial near Madrid was dedicated to Lawrence, and was just nearing completion in 1566.<ref>Arnade, 103–104</ref> Iconoclastic attacks spread rapidly northwards and resulted in the destruction of not only images but all sorts of decoration and fittings in churches and other church or clergy property.However, there was relatively little loss of life, unlike similar outbreaks in France, where the clergy were often killed, and some iconoclasts too.<ref>Arnade, 116</ref>

The attacks reached the commercial centre of the Low Countries, Antwerp, on August 20, and on August 22 Ghent, where the cathedral, eight churches, twenty-five monasteries and convents, ten hospitals and seven chapels were wrecked.From there, it further spread east and north, reaching Amsterdam, then a much smaller town, by August 23, and continuing in the far north and east into October, although the main towns were mostly attacked in August.