St. Donatian's Cathedral ( nl, Sint-Donaaskathedraal) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

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 ...

. Located on the Burg, one of the main squares in the city,Dunford and Lee, p.174.McDonald, p.14.McDonald, p.25. it was the largest church in Bruges. The cathedral was destroyed in 1799 in the wake of the dissolution of the Diocese of Bruges during the aftermath of 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 conside ...

History

St Donatian's Church (Dutch: ''Sint-Donaaskerk'') was built by

Arnulf I, Count of Flanders Arnulf I (c. 893/899 – 27 March 965), called "the Great", was the first Count of Flanders. Life Arnulf was the son of margrave Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische S ...

, c. 950 AD,McDonald, p.26. in order to house the relics of

Saint Donatian In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

that had been brought to Bruges in c. 870 AD by monks from

Torhout Torhout (; french: Thourout; vls, Toeroet) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of Wijnendale and Sint-Henricus, and the hamlet of De Dr ...

. The church was built in the Romanesque architectural style. There was an octagonal main building, with a tower and a sixteen-sided

ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...

. The building stood on the Burg square, across from the ''Stadhuis'' (city hall). St Donatian's Church became a cathedral following the installation of the first Bishop of Bruges in 1562. The Bishopric of Bruges was created in 1559 (McDonald, p.15, 26), but the position was not filled until 1562 (McDonald, p.26). St. Donatian's was destroyed in 1799 by occupying forces of the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

. The former site of St Donatian's is now occupied by the ''Crowne Plaza Brugge Hotel''; the foundations of the cathedral were uncovered in 1955 and are visible in the hotel's cellars. Jan van Eyck 058

* On 2 March 1127,Davis, p. 10. Charles the Good, Count of Flanders was assassinated in St Donatian's. *

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. A ...

's painting ''

The Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele ''The Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele'' is a large oil-on-oak panel painting completed around 1434–1436 by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It shows the painting's donor, Joris van der Paele, within an apparition of sa ...

'' (1436), which also depicts St Donatian,Dunford and Lee, p.177.McDonald, p.98. was commissioned by

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Joris van der Paele Joris van der Paele or Georgius de Pala (ca. 1370–1443) was a scribe in the papal chancery, a successful career ecclesiastic, and a patron of the painter Jan van Eyck. Life Joris van der Paele was born in or near Bruges around 1370, into a fami ...

as an altarpiece for the church. The painting is now housed in the

Groeningemuseum The Groeningemuseum is a municipal museum in Bruges, Belgium, built on the site of the medieval Eekhout Abbey. It houses a collection of Flemish and Belgian painting covering six centuries, from Jan van Eyck to Marcel Broodthaers. The museum ...

in Bruges (Dunford and Lee, p.177; McDonald, p.97-98). Jan van Eyck himself was buried in St Donatian's Church in 1441.

Notes

References

Sources

*Davis, R.H.C. (1990). ''King Stephen'', Third Edition. London and New York: Longman. *Dunford, M. and Lee, P. (2002). ''The Rough Guide to Belgium and Luxembourg'', Third Edition. London and New York: Rough Guides Ltd. *McDonald, G. (2002). ''Insight Compact Guide: Bruges'', Second Edition. Singapore: APA Publications. {{Coord, 51.209109, 3.227249, format=dms, type:landmark_region:BE, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Belgium Buildings and structures in Bruges Roman Catholic churches in Bruges Burial sites of the House of Metz Demolished buildings and structures in Belgium Buildings and structures demolished in 1799