Dieleghem Abbey (french: Abbaye de Dieleghem) or Dielegem Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Dielegem) is a former

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 Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

located in the

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Jette Jette (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Flemi ...

, Belgium.

History

The oldest reference to the abbey dates from 1095, when the

Bishop of Cambrai The Archdiocese of Cambrai ( la, Archdiocesis Cameracensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Cambrai'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Help ...

issued a charter in its favour. Initially administered by

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

canons, in 1140, the abbey's monks switched to the rules of the

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 of the Catholic Church ...

order. In the 13th century, the abbey now called Dieleghem possessed half of the municipality's territory and played an important social and economic role until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. The abbots,

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

d from 1532, sat in the

States of Brabant The States of Brabant were the representation of the three estates (nobility, clergy and commons) to the court of the Duke of Brabant. The three estates were also called the States. Supported by the economic strength of the cities Antwerp, Bruss ...

; the representation of the three estates (

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

s) to the court of the

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

. In November 1796, the

canons regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

were evicted and deported to an island off the shores of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, France. Dieleghem Abbey was looted and subsequently destroyed, sparing only the abbot's residence. Other abbeys in Flanders, like Afflighem,

Grimbergen Grimbergen () is a municipality in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, 10 km north of the capital Brussels. It comprises the towns of Beigem, Grimbergen, Humbeek, and Strombeek-Bever. In 2017, it had a population of 37,030 and an are ...

and

Groot-Bijgaarden Groot-Bijgaarden (officially) or Grand-Bigard is a village and deelgemeente in the municipality of Dilbeek, a suburb of Brussels, in Flanders, Belgium. Toponymy The name Bijgaarden is derived from the Germanic word for enclosure. The appellation ...

, shared a similar fate. The abbot's former residence now houses the collections of the museum of the County of Jette.County of Jette Communal Museum
, brusselsmuseums.be

References

Notes

External links

County of Jette Communal Museum
brusselsmuseums.be
De abdij van Dielegem
erfgoed.brussels
Abdij van Dielegem
irisnet.be {{coord, 50, 53, 02, N, 4, 19, 10, E, type:landmark, display=title Christian monasteries in Brussels 1095 establishments in Europe Premonstratensian monasteries in Belgium Jette

History

References

Notes

Further reading

External links