Ter Doest Abbey ( nl, Abdij Ter Doest) was a Cistercian

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 con ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, in the present Lissewege, a district of

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

History

Lambert, lord of Lissewege, left an estate with a chapel in 1106 to the Benedictines, who built an abbey there. This affiliated itself to the

Cistercian order 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 Sain ...

in 1175 as a daughter house of

Ten Duinen Abbey Ten Duinen Abbey or the Abbey of the Dunes ( nl, Abdij Ten Duinen) 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 re ...

Koksijde Koksijde (; french: Coxyde ; vls, Koksyde) is a town and a municipality in Belgium. It is located on the North Sea coast in the southwest of the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises apart from Koksijde, the villages of ...

, 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, usually 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 reclamat ...

in the coastal areas of Flanders,

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

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 province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, and also in the wool trade. Saint Thorfinn, otherwise Thorfinn of Hamar, exiled bishop of Hamar in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, took refuge at Ter Doest after his opposition to King Eric II of Norway. 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 choir, ...

of Ter Doest, fought with the Flemish in the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, where he is said to have unhorsed the French leader, Robert, Count of Artois, 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 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

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 tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious orga ...

, 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. 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, 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