Dendermonde Ros Beiaard Jan Desmarets 01

Ros Beiaard of Dendermonde is a large folkloristic horse. It differs from the other Ros-Beiaard horses because it is used only once every ten years and because the horse is carried by people. The Ros Beiaard is on

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, under the "

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The legend of Ros Beiaard

* See: Ros Beiaard

't Peird van Dendermonde

The Ros Beiaard of

Dendermonde Dendermonde (; french: Termonde, ) is a city in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, Mespelare, Oudegem, Schoonaarde, and Sint-Gillis-b ...

is carried through the town every ten years by a guild of bearers, called the 'Pijnders'. In keeping with the

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

, four young brothers from Dendermonde (de Vier Heemskinderen) wearing full armour sit astride the horse. The legend of Ros Beiaard is acted out during the procession.

Dimensions and weight

From the ground to the tallest part of the head, the Ros Beiaard is 4.85 m high. If the decorations on top are added, the horse is 5.8 m high. From nose to tail, the Ros is 5.2 m long and the width is exactly 2 m. The head of the Ros Beiaard is made out of oak wood and it is 120 cm long and 50 cm wide. The horse weighs 800 kg without the brothers on top. The wooden frame has three spaces and has space for 12 bearers or 'Pijnders'.

The four 'Heemskinderen'

Every ten years, the selection of the four 'Heemskinderen' is difficult. The criteria are severe: * It has to be four consecutive brothers, without a girl in between. * They all have to be born in Dendermonde. * The parents and grandparents have to be born in Dendermonde. * They have to be between 7 and 21 years old on the day of the procession. * They have to live in Dendermonde or one of its suburbs.

19th century

In 1807, the Ros was ridden by Pieter-Emmanuel, Pieter-Frans, Pieter-Jan and Bernard-Jozef Blomme. The horse was used to celebrate the birthday of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and the Concordate. In 1850 the brothers were Edmond, Désiré, Henri and Lodewijk Spanogh. The procession celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Court and the Academy of Arts. The historian David Lindanus was also commemorated and

king Leopold II * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

attended the procession. The inauguration of the statue of Pater De Smet in 1878 entailed a new procession and the knights were Isidoor, Omer, Petrus and Frans Willems. They also celebrated the inauguration of the new lock in the

Dender The Dender (Dutch, ) or Dendre ( French, ) is a 65-kilometre (40 mi) long river in Belgium, the right tributary of the river Scheldt. The confluence of the two rivers is in the Belgian town of Dendermonde. The Western or Little Dender is 22 kilome ...

. When Polydore de Keyser, Lord Mayor of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, visited his birth town Dendermonde in 1888, the Heemskinderen were Henri, Lodewijk, Gustaaf and Alfons Pieters. In 1899, the Ros Beiaard was ridden by Pieter, Adhemar, Lucinthe and Leo Dieltjens. They celebrated a new bridge over the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

20th century

In 1914, the knights were Jan, Leo, Pieter and Edward De Bruyn. The celebration was the appointment of Leo Bruynincx as mayor of Dendermonde. In 1930, Dendermonde celebrated the centenary of the Belgian independence and the Horse was ridden by Henri, Jean, Pierre and Albert Van Damme. In 1952, Jozef, Rafaël, Pieter and Jan Bombay were the knights. The town hall existed for 500 years and this was celebrated. In 1958, because of the

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

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 ...

, the brothers Emiel, Albert, Jozef and Luc Leybaert rode the Ros. In 1975 the brothers Dirk, Wim, Boudewijn and Kris De Jonghe rode the Horse. In 1990 the honour befell the brothers Veldeman. In 2000 the brothers Roy, Nick, Ken and Dean Coppieters rode the Ros.

21st century

In 2010 the procession was held in May and the Van Damme brothers rode the horse. In 2022 the brothers Marteen, Wout, Stan and Lander Cassiman rode the horse. The procession was originally scheduled to be held on May 24th 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was postponed.

The ''Pijnders''

The guild of the ''Pijnders'' originated in the 14th century and had the monopoly on loading and unloading ships and cellars with wine and beer. Today, the ''Pijnders'' are the only persons allowed to carry the ''Ros Beiaard'' in the processions. The task of the ''Pijnders'' must not be underestimated, as they occupy a main function in the procession in carrying the horse. The movements of the horse have to be synchronized with the directions of the director. The ''Pijnders'' are divided into three groups consisting each of twelve carriers. Every group has its leader who has to set the pace and order the special movements.

The Hymn

The legend is told in the city hymn of Dendermonde. The hymn also refers to the rivalry with the neighbor city of Aalst who purportedly envy the Dendermonde for its horse. Ros Beiaard lied2

External links

Official Website
(in Dutch and French)

References

{{Reflist Dendermonde Belgian folklore Belgian culture Belgian legends Medieval legends Horses in mythology