Sibculo Abbey (), also called Groot Galilea (''Galilea Major''), was a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

founded in 1403 by followers of the

Modern Devotion Devotio Moderna (Latin; lit., Modern Devotion) was a movement for religious reform, calling for apostolic renewal through the rediscovery of genuine pious practices such as humility, obedience, simplicity of life, and integration into the communit ...

movement and dissolved in 1579 during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

of 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 ...

. Its remains are near the village of Sibculo in the municipality of

Hardenberg Hardenberg (; or '' 'n Arnbarg'') is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, Eastern Netherlands. The municipality of ...

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

Foundation

After the

Battle of Ane The Battle of Ane (Dutch Low Saxon:''Slag bi'j Aone'', Dutch:''Slag bij Ane''), was fought in 1227 between Otto II of Lippe, Bishop of Utrecht, and Rudolf II van Coevorden with his army of Drenths. The account of the battle comes from '' Qued ...

in 1227, it was one of the terms of the

Bishopric of Utrecht The archdiocese, archbishopric, diocese or Bishopric of Utrecht may refer to: * Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580) The historic Diocese of Utrecht was a diocese of the Latin Church (or Western) of the Catholic Church from 695 to 1580, and from 1559 ...

that on the spot where Bishop Otto of Lippe was killed, as a sign of reconciliation, a nunnery for twenty-five nuns should be built. After that site proved to be too marshy, in 1253 ''Zybbekeloe'' was selected as a possible alternative location. It was not however until 1403 that a group of followers of the Modern Devotion, men rather than women, under the leadership of Johan Clemme, a priest from

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, fought their way through the surrounding bog onto the sand ridge in the

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

under very difficult conditions to begin the construction of a viable community. In 1406 the chapel was dedicated and in 1412 the new community affiliated itself, as a daughter house of

Kamp Abbey Kamp Abbey (Kloster Kamp), also known as Altenkamp Abbey or Alt(en)feld Abbey (and in English formerly Camp Abbey) was the first Cistercian monastery founded in Germany, German territory, in the present town of Kamp-Lintfort in North Rhine-Westp ...

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

(of the filiation of

Morimond Morimond Abbey is a religious complex in Parnoy-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne department, in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France. It was the fourth of the four great daughter abbeys of Cîteaux Abbey, of primary importance in the spread of th ...

), to the successful

Cistercian Order The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

, which had a long tradition of establishing monasteries in remote places and carrying out land reclamation and clearance projects, and thus had valuable knowledge and experience to offer.

Growth and prosperity

The monastery flourished greatly, bringing new spiritual inspiration into the order and also achieving economic success. Under Prior Gerlachus van Kranenborg the church was completed, which attracted more possessions for the monastery. In 1480 the abbey owned 51 estates, of which three were worked in

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

lay brothers Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choi ...

, while the rest were leased out. At this time the community numbered 80 monks and 110 lay brothers. The monastery stood at the head of the ''Colligatie van Sibculo'', which developed into a congregation within the Cistercian Order of twenty monasteries in what are now the Netherlands,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

War and reformation

The 16th century was a period of unrest and insecurity, and thus damaging to the economy. The abbey was repeatedly plundered during the

Guelders Wars The Guelders Wars (, German: ''Geldrische Erbfolgekriege'') were a series of conflicts in the Low Countries between the Duke of Burgundy, who controlled Holland, Flanders, Brabant, and Hainaut on the one side, and Charles, Duke of Guelders, ...

and severely damaged by fire in 1523. When in 1579 the

was introduced in

, all monasteries were dissolved and their possessions confiscated by the civil authorities. The buildings of Sibculo Abbey fell into decay: building materials were sold or just removed.

Archaeology

The monastery site subsequently lay unused for centuries, prey to the elements. In 1928 the land was owned by the textile manufacturer Ludwig van Heek, who began the excavation of the building remains out of personal interest. He died after about a third of the structures had been uncovered. Nothing further was done with the site, beneath which are still buried many remains of the former abbey. When in 2003 the 750th anniversary of Sibculo was celebrated interest was reawakened in its history. A foundation was set up for the safekeeping and making accessible to the public of the abbey remains. Part of the site is designated as "archaeologically valuable", including the channel which surrounded the site and is still easily recognisable.

References

External links

Klooster Sibculo.nlForumCist.eu

Bibliography

*G. van Haaff, ''Groot Galilea in Zybbekeloe,'' Seinen, De Krim-Hardenberg, 1977 *Rudolf van Dijk, Mariska Vonk, Ton Hendrikman e.a., ''Moderne Devoten in monnikspij,'' IJsselacademie-Kampen; Titus Brandsma Instituut-Nijmegen, 2007 {{Coord, 52, 28, 53, N, 6, 38, 26, E, type:landmark_region:NL, display=title Cistercian monasteries in the Netherlands Buildings and structures in Overijssel 1403 establishments in Europe 1579 disestablishments