The Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady (Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap) was a religious confraternity founded in 1318 in

'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 ...

to promote the veneration of the Mother of God. The brotherhood was organized around a carved wooden image of the Virgin Mary in St John’s Cathedral in 's-Hertogenbosch. The Brotherhood had two types of members: ordinary members and sworn members, also called 'swan-brethren' because they used to donate a

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

for the yearly banquet. Sworn members were clerics in principle; in fact they were often chosen among the nobility, the magistrates, etc. As a result, the Brotherhood also functioned as an important social network.

Well-known members

* Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450 – 1516), painter.P. Gerlach, ‘Jheronimus van Aken alias Bosch en de Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Broederschap’, in: Jheronimus Bosch: Bijdragen bij gelegenheid van de herdenkingstentoonstelling in 's-Hertogenbosch 1967 ('s-Hertogenbosch 1967), pp. 48–60; G.C.M. van Dijck, Op zoek naar Jheronimus van Aken alias Bosch (Zaltbommel: Europese Bibliotheek, 2001). * Nycasius de Clibano (? – 1497), singer and composer *

Jheronimus de Clibano Jheronimus de Clibano (Jherome Du Four) (c. 1459 – between March 26 and May 16, 1503) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. He was a member of the Habsburg ''Grande chapelle'', the distinguished choir of Philip I of Castil ...

(c. 1459 – 1503), singer and composer *

Jan Heyns Johannes "Jan" Heyns (14?? in Bruges – 1516 in 's-Hertogenbosch) was a Flemish-Brabantic architect. Originally from Bruges, Jan Heyns was active in 's-Hertogenbosch from 1495. There he became the architect in charge of building the St. Joh ...

(? – 1516), architect *

Frans Crabbe van Espleghem Frans Crabbe van Espleghem was a Flemish artist born c. 1480 Mechelen, Belgium, d. 1553 Mechelen, Belgium. Frans Crabbe began exploring printmaking after Albrecht Dürer's visit to the Netherlands in 1521. Crabbe was known for doing engravings, e ...

(c. 1480 – 1553), Flemish artist *

Jan van Wintelroy Jan van Wintelroy or Joannes Wintelroy ( fl. 1520–1576) was a Franco-Flemish composer and choirmaster. Life and work From 1529 onwards, Wintelroy was connected to the ''Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady'', or in Dutch ''Illustre Onze ...

(? – 1576), composer and choirmaster * Matthaeus Pipelare (c. 1450 – c. 1515), composer and choirmaster *

Frederik van Egmond Frederik of Egmont (ca. 1440–1521) was count of Buren and Leerdam, Lord of IJsselstein and councilor of Charles the Bold and Maximilian I. Frederik was the second son of William II of Egmont and Walburga of Meurs. Together with his brothers, ...

(c. 1470 – 1539), Count of Buren and lord of IJsselstein * William the Silent (1533 – 1584), leader of the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

Well-known members

References

Further reading