Ter Doest Abbey () 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 ...

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 ...

, in the present

Lissewege Lissewege () is a sub-municipality of the city of Bruges located in the province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1971. On 1 January 1971, it was merged into Bruges. Lissewege also includes Zeebrugge ...

, a district of

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

History

Lambert, lord of Lissewege, left an estate with a chapel in 1106 to the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

, who built an abbey there. This affiliated itself to the

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 ...

in 1175 as a daughter house of

Ten Duinen Abbey Ten Duinen Abbey or the Abbey of the Dunes () was a Cistercian monastery at Koksijde in what is now Belgium. It was one of the richest and most influential religious institutions in the medieval County of Flanders. It later relocated from Koksijde ...

Koksijde Koksijde (; ; ) is a town and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in Belgium. It is located on the North Sea coast in the southwest of the Flanders, Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises apart from Koksijde, the v ...

, of the filiation of Clairvaux. It had a daughter house of its own, the Abbey of Onze Lieve Vrouw Kamer, founded in 1223. The abbey played an important part in the building of dykes and the

reclamation of land Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ...

in the coastal areas of Flanders,

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

and

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

, and also in the wool trade. Saint Thorfinn, otherwise

Thorfinn of Hamar Thorfinn of Hamar (died 1285) was the Bishop of the Ancient Diocese of Hamar in medieval Norway. Biography Thorfinn was born in Trøndelag, possibly in Trondheim, Norway, and may have been a Cistercian monk before becoming Bishop of Hamar. A ...

, exiled bishop of Hamar in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, took refuge at Ter Doest after his opposition to King

Eric II of Norway Eric Magnusson (1268 – 15 July 1299) (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr Magnússon''; Norwegian: ''Eirik Magnusson'') was the King of Norway from 1280 until 1299. Background Eirik was the eldest surviving son of King Magnus the Lawmender of Norway, and h ...

. He died in the abbey on 8 January 1285 and was buried there. Willem van Saeftinghe, a

lay brother 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 ...

of Ter Doest, fought with the Flemish in the

Battle of the Golden Spurs The Battle of the Golden Spurs (; ) or 1302 Battle of Courtrai was a military confrontation between the royal army of Kingdom of France, France and rebellious forces of the County of Flanders on 11 July 1302 during the 1297–1305 Franco-Flem ...

in 1302, where he is said to have unhorsed the French leader,

Robert, Count of Artois Robert III of Artois (1287 – between 6 October & 20 November 1342) was a French nobleman of the House of Artois. He was the Lord of Conches-en-Ouche, of Domfront, and of Mehun-sur-Yèvre, and in 1309 he received as appanage the county of B ...

, whereupon other Flemish soldiers killed him. In 1308 during a revolt of the lay brothers, Willem killed the cellarer of the abbey, and injured the abbot, Willem van Cordewaegen, so badly that he nearly died. In 1624 Ter Doest was united with Ten Duinen, which in 1627 moved to Bruges. It was dissolved in the French Revolution in 1796.

Buildings

Almost the only building to survive is the

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...

, 50 metres long and over 30 metres high, built in 1250. The abbey once had a vast church with three aisles, which was destroyed in 1571 by the

Calvinists Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

. The church stood close to the abbey farm, t Groot Ter Doest'', built in 1632, which still stands, as do an octagonal chapel of 1687 and a monumental porch of 1662.Joseph Delmelle, ''Abbayes et béguinages de Belgique'', Rossel Édition, Bruxelles, p.30-31

Abbots

The list of the abbots of Ter Doest: *1174–1179: Desiderius Haket *1179–1190: Jan van Brugge *1190–1204: Mattheus van Gent *1204–1213: Willem van Oostburg *1213–1219: Daniël van Brugge *1219–1226: Salomon van Gent *1226–1230: Willem II van Tielt *1230–1237: Christiaan van Ieper *1237–1239: Willem II van Tielt *1239–1243: Hendrik van Craeywyc *1243–1256: Jan II Smedekin *1256–1274: Nicolaas Cleywaert *1274–1279: Jan III Stefaan *1279–1285: Willem III van Hemme *1285–1300: Arnulfus Neyhensis *1300–1302: Willem IV Mostaert *1302–1316: Willem V Cordewaegen *1316–1329: Nicolaas II Layenweerd *1329–1334: Hendrik II van Brabant *1334–1338: Petrus I van Axel *1338–1363: Michiel de Keysere *1363–1385: Willem IV De Smidt *1385–1417: Jan IV van Hulst *1417–1426: Thomas Vindevoet *1426–1461: Jacobus Schaep *1461–1482: Laurens De Vriendt *1482–1492: Hendrik III Keddekin *1492–1501: Martinus Weyts *1501–1506: Adriaan Lanchals *1506–1512: Jan V Vettegrave *1514- ? : Willem VII Pieters *?-1525: Josse Arents *1525–1536: Gilles van der Elst *1536–1537: Jan VI Huyssens *1537–1551: Petrus II Van den Driessche *1551–1556: Jan VII van Marissiën *1556–1559: Antonius Brakele *1559–1569: Vincent Doens

Notable monks

Jan van He Jan van He, Latinized Johannes de Capella (died before April 1311) was a monk of the Cistercian Ter Doest Abbey, in the County of Flanders, who graduated Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the Collège de Sorbonne in the University of Paris in 1303, ...

, theologian * Johannes de Pascuis, theologian

References

Bibliography

* Heirman/Van Santvoort, 2000: ''Le guide de l'architecture en Belgique'' (p. 90). Editions Racine: Brussels

External links

Châteaux Forts Médiévaux de Belgique: ''Grange dîmière Ter Doest''

Photos of the barn
* Charles Louis Carton and Ferdinand van de Putte
''Chronique de l'Abbaye de Ter Doest''
Bruges, Vandecasteele-Werbrouck, 1845 {{Coord, 51.28197, N, 3.2024, E, type:landmark_region:BE, display=title Christian monasteries in West Flanders Cistercian monasteries in Belgium Barns in Belgium Buildings and structures in Bruges