Groenendael Priory

Groenendael Priory (French: Prieuré de Groenendael; Dutch: priorij van Groenendaal; meaning, "green valley"; alternate, Gruenendale) is located in the Forest of Soignes in the municipality of Hoeilaart in the Flemish Brabant, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southeast of Brussels, Belgium. The former monastery of Augustinian canons was founded around 1343. Reduced to the rank of priory in the fifteenth century, it was referred to as a 'useless convent' in 1784 and demolished shortly afterwards. John of Ruysbroeck had established the hermitage in the Forest of Soignes outside Brussels on 13 March 1349 which eventually developed into a "motherhouse of the congregation". Ruysbroeck was canonized by the Catholic Church on 1 December 1908 and his relics were preserved at the Priory till 1783. It was shifted to Brussels following the destruction of Groenendael by Joseph II; they were lost during the French Revolution.

History

Small chapel near the priory which was used by John of Ruysbroeck.

Duchesse Jeane of Brabant had allotted the forest land to the Priory and also to many other monasteries in the region. In 1304, an old shooting lodge of Jean II was given to a hermit on condition that after he died, it would go to another religious person who was serving God. In 1343, three canons of St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral founded a religious community based on the Rule of St. Augustine. These included Franco de Coudenberg (1386); the mystic, Ruysbroeck (1293–1381 at Groenendael); and Ruysbroeck' uncle, Jan Hinckaert, canon of St. Gudule cathedral.

Ruysbroeck was persecuted for his attack on a woman known as Bloemardinne who was propagating false tenets in Netherlands; he had countered it with his own set of pamphlets. He and his three other friends left Brussels in 1341 and migrated to Groenendael. There, he established a hermitage or the community of Canons on 13 March 1349 and it eventually developed into a "motherhouse of the congregation". He became famous for his saintly ways and his teachings had a great influence in the community which he served till his death in 1381. His picture portrayal was made in his canonical habit sitting under a tree of the forests of Groenendael, with a tablet on his knee. Coudenberg became the first provost and Ruysbroeck the first prior. Their association with the canonical order of St. Augustine was very loose, despite attempts by the Augustinian abbey of Abbey of St. Victor, Paris. Their revenue included selling wood, as well as bequests an legacies. The religious group prospered until 1400, with a religious choir, without lay brothers. The necrologe includes the names of the brothers. The monks lived on the produce from their estate, which included orchards, a nursery, and kitchen gardens. The Benedictine nuns of the forest lived next to the priory. The religious community dispersed in the second half of the fourteenth century, though the congregation rebounded in 1412. Groenendael lost the title of monastery and became a priory, which was rebuilt and enlarged between 1450 and 1500. In 1520, Philip of Cleves erected a palace near the monastic buildings which often served as hunting accommodations for Charles V; the Infanta Isabella stayed there frequently and also contributed to its embellishment.

Groenendael Priory, 1910

The priory was abolished in 1784; the church and other buildings were sold and demolished three years later in 1787. The furniture was scattered. An attempt to restore the priory by the Council of Brabant in 1790) failed with the arrival of the French. A coup de grace occurred in 1796. Charles V frequently came to Groenendael with other royalty to indulge in the sport of hunting. A banquet occurred here at the end of a hunting party which brought together Charles V, Philip II, Eleanor widow of Francois I, Mary of Hungary, Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, and Mulay Hassan, former king of Tunis.

Architecture and fittings

A chapel with two altars, which were built by Ruysbroeck, Coudenberg, Hinckaert, and Jan van Affinghem (the cook), was consecrated in March 1344. The cloister is characterized by arched windows in a building, which is otherwise simple in construction. The prior's house was built in 1783, shortly before the final closing of the priory, and it was restored in 2009. The scriptorium was built shortly after 1435, abandoned in the early sixteenth century after the rise of the water table, and re-discovered in 2005. The room and its preserved architecture are unique examples of medieval architecture; it is in need of restoration. The laundry room, built in 1743, was converted into a ranger house in the nineteenth century. The nave of the church was converted. The barn, which was built after 1777, now serves as the Bosmuseum "Jan van Ruusbroec" (Museum of the Sonian Forest). A water mill, built in 1662 along the river was transformed into a house during the second half of the eighteenth century. There are terraced gardens located on the southern slope behind the nave of the church. Some of the church furniture was reused in area churches. The main altar is from Herfelingen and other are from Erps-Kwerps. The stalls were made in Vilvoorde. The confessionals are from Wezembeek. The Bishop of Cambrai was benefactor of Groenendael's monastic library.

The remains of the former priory are protected since 1998.