Saint Gerlach
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Gerlach (Gerlache, Gerlac, Gerlachus van Houthem, Gerlac of Valkenberg) (d. c. 1170) was a 12th-century
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
. His cult is centered at Houthem near
Valkenburg Valkenburg means ''falcon castle'' in Dutch and can refer to: * Valkenburg aan de Geul, a town and municipality in the province of Limburg ** Valkenburg Castle, ruined castle near Valkenburg aan de Geul * Valkenburg, South Holland, a village in the ...
in the south of the province of
Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
.


Life

The ''Vita Beati Gerlaci Eremytae'', written around 1227, describes his legend and life. Originally a licentious
soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...
and
brigand Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first record ...
, Gerlache became a pious
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
upon the death of his wife and went on
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. At Rome, he nursed the sick for seven years. He also performed rites of
penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...
for the sins of his youth. Upon returning to the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, he gave up all of his possessions to the poor and took up residence in a hollow
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
on his former estate near Houthem. He ate bread mixed with ash and traveled by foot each day on pilgrimage to
Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...
, to the
Basilica of Saint Servatius The Basilica of Saint Servatius () is a Roman Catholic Church (building), church dedicated to Saint Servatius, in the center of Maastricht, Netherlands. The architecturally hybrid but mainly Romanesque architecture, Romanesque church is situated ...
. He was engaged in a dispute with local monks, who wanted him to enter their
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
. The common people in the area considered him a saint, but the monks appealed to the local
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
. They accused Gerlach of actually being incredibly rich, his oak actually being the location of a cache of treasure. The bishop commanded that Gerlach's oak be cut down. Gerlach, however, had by this time made powerful friends, including
Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen Benedictines, OSB (, ; ; 17 September 1179), also known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictines, Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mysticism, mystic, visiona ...
, and received protection. Nevertheless, his oak was cut down, but the bishop found no treasure and wanted to make up his mistake to Gerlach by having the oak cut up in planks and having a small hut constructed with those. Legend states that when Gerlach had done enough penance, water from the local well transformed itself into
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
three times as a sign that his sins had been forgiven. He died shortly after, barely fifty and legend has it that the last rites were administered to him by the
Servatius of Tongeren Saint Servatius (; ; ; died 13 May 384) was bishop of Tongeren (Latin: ''Atuatuca Tungrorum'', the capital of the Tungri). Servatius is patron saint of the city of Maastricht and the towns of Schijndel and Grimbergen. He is one of the Ice Sai ...
himself.


The name

Gerlach is a male forename of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and
Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this case, those constituents are ''ger'' (meaning 'spear') and ''/la:k /'' (meaning 'motion'). The meaning of the name is thus 'spear thrower'.


Veneration

Gerlach's grave became a site of pilgrimage. In 1201 a
Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...
monastery was established on the site of Gerlach's small chapel. The order venerates Gerlach of Valkenburg as a Blessed, with a feast day of 5 January. In 1225 the small abbey became a convent for noblewomen. The area suffered greatly during the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
. The abbey church was rebuilt in 1721 as a new parish church for the village of Houthem. The monastery later became a hotel, the
Château St. Gerlach Château St. Gerlach, formerly St. Gerlach Monastery or Sint-Gerlachusstift, is located in the church village of Houthem in Valkenburg aan de Geul in the valley of the Geul river, in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, Netherlands. It ...
. Sint-Gerlachuskerk is a pilgrim church on the
Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tra ...
. It contains a museum and a silver reliquary housing Gerlach's skull. On the occasion of the 850th anniversary of the parish, a bust of Gerlach was reconstructed based on the skull. Contributors to the project included
Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...
and
Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
of
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
who had a guided tour of the church and museum while staying at the Chateau during a concert in
Landgraaf Landgraaf (; ) is a municipality in southeastern Limburg, Netherlands, forming part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. ''SnowWorld'' is the largest indoor ski piste in Europe. Population centres * Nieuwenhagen * Schaesberg * Ubach over W ...
in June 2014.Parochie St. Gerlach te Houthem
/ref>


References


Sources


Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary: lác


External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerlach, Saint Year of birth unknown 1170 deaths 12th-century Christian saints Dutch hermits Dutch Roman Catholic saints Saint Gerlach Medieval Dutch saints Saint Gerlach Premonstratensians