Henrica van Erp (c. 1480 – 26 December 1548), was a Dutch abbess and author of her monastery's Chronicle, making her one of the first historians of 16th-century
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Biography
Henrica van Erp was the daughter of Johan van Erp (knight) and Hildegunda Heins of Heijm. She had a sister Jacoba van Erp, who became abbess of the
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, 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 ...
monastery Het Munster in
Roermond
Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Roer ...
from 1520 to 1558 or 1559. Her brother Jan van Erp was a "high back" (in Dutch: hoogschout) of
's-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
between 1505 and 1521.
Henrica's parents probably placed her in the
Benedictine Monastery
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
of Oostbroek (also called the Oostbroek Women's Monastery) in
De Bilt
De Bilt () is a municipality and town in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. It had a population of in . De Bilt houses the headquarters of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI).
It is the ancestral home and namesake for the pro ...
when she was a child. About 15 to 20 nuns would have been living there at the time. Oostbroek was one of five monasteries for noble women known to have been established in and around the city of Utrecht at the time.
On 15 September 1503 she was elected monastery abbess as confirmed in a deed. She continued to lead her congregation for more than 45 years and was responsible for managing the community's property holdings and resources, as noted in the chronicle. According to Huygens ING: "Many procedural documents and accounts have been preserved, especially regarding the exploitation of peat soils between De Bilt and Soest." At that time peat was the country's primary fuel source and a source of income.
After her death in Utrecht on 26 December 1548, van Erp was buried in the abbey church. When the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
reached the Netherlands, many Catholic monasteries, including hers, were demolished. Among the ruins of the monastery, destroyed in 1580 or 1585, her tombstone was discovered in 1612.
Two family coats of arms were also placed in the tombstone, the left one with a blocked Andrew's cross, the judge with a six-pointed star. In the left arm we recognize the coat of arms of the noble genus
Van Erp Van Erp is a Dutch toponymic surname meaning "from/of Erp".
Author
Abbess van Erp's chronicle was handwritten and the original is now lost, however, the document was copied at the end of the 17th century by amateur historian Andries Schoemaker (1660 – 1735) from Amsterdam. Schoemaker's copy dates from around 1700 and was published in 1698 by Antonius Matthaeus and is currently held in the library collection of
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
. Because of her chronicle, the abbess is considered to have been "the first historian of our local history."
The chronicle contains notes about events that took place in and around the monastery, and was probably written largely by the abbess herself. Van Erp is mentioned in the chronicle, but it appears those notes were added by others during the years of her leadership. According to Huygens ING:
The chronicle (58 pages) starts with the founding year of the Women's Monastery: 'in the year 1139, when the women's monastery was timbered, and the ladies were put here in the monastery', according to her - rewritten - opening sentence. She tells of the restoration of the monastery tower in 1518 and maintenance of the buildings, of the dressing of new ones and the death of old monks, and of the natural disasters and wars that the monastery experienced in its years. She pays ample attention to the plundering of the
Gelderland
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
superior,
Maarten van Rossum
Maarten van Rossum (c. 1478 – June 7, 1555) was a military tactician of the duchy of Guelders who became field marshal in the service of Charles, Duke of Guelders. He was greatly feared outside his home country for the ruthless manner in ...
. She also describes the visit of Emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
to Utrecht.
After van Erp's death, her chronicle was continued by others describing the period 1549 to 1583, and the work of three succeeding abbesses, Johanna van Hardenbroek (1549 – 1570), Maria van Zuylen (1570 – 1579) and Catharina van Oostrum (1580 – c. 1589).
Van Erp's chronicle was republished in 2010 based on Schoemaker's handwriting and included a translation into modern Dutch, along with commentary by Anne Doedens and Henk van Looijestein. The version was a collaborative project between the
Utrecht Archives
The Utrecht Archives (Dutch: ''Het Utrechts Archief'' (HUA)) is a records department in the Dutch city of Utrecht. The Utrecht Archives manages the biggest and richest collection of documents about the history of the city and the province of Utrec ...
and
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
Library. This edition of the chronicle is in the Utrecht Archives.
A digital edition of van Erp's work is available on th Utrecht Chronicles website