Windesheim Monastery

Parts of the former monastery building

The Windesheim monastery near Zwolle was the original monastery of the Windesheim congregation . The monastery existed from 1386 until the end of the 16th century.

history

The background to the foundation of the monastery was the movement of the Devotio moderna . One of the most important representatives of this direction was Geert Groote . According to the later monastery chronicle, he is said to have advised the brothers associated with him on his deathbed to found a monastery. He apparently feared attacks from the church on the movement of the Devotio moderna. Some time after his death, the brothers looked for a suitable location. A citizen from Zwolle by the name of Berthold ten Have, who was a supporter of Geert Groote, gave his property worth 3000 guilders to the community, and later other donations were made. In 1386 the monastery was founded. The Bishop Florence von Wevelinghoven , then Bishop of Utrecht, registered the foundation benevolently.

At first only six brothers lived in the community, including the founder. The community was led by a prior . The brothers living there followed the Augustine Rule , and Carthusian influences played an important role in the way of life .

At the beginning there were no monastery buildings and the brothers used makeshift arrangements. Thanks to further donations, the church was consecrated in 1387. The example of Windesheim was quickly followed by other monasteries, which formed a congregation in 1394. Windesheim itself flourished and became the seat of the general chapter of the congregation.

The second prior was Johannes Vos (1391-1424). Under this, the monastery was almost completely completed in two construction phases. He was also the actual creator of the congregation and the first prior superior .

The existence of Windesheim was threatened by the Reformation in the Netherlands. The monastery was able to last until the end of the 16th century.

literature

• Real Encyclopedia for Protestant Theology and Church. Vol. 18, Gotha 1864, pp. 182-184
• Edeltraud Klueting : Monasteria semper reformanda. Monastery and order reforms in the Middle Ages. (Historia profana et ecclesiastica. History and church history between the Middle Ages and the modern age, Vol. 12) Münster 2005, p. 68

Coordinates: 52 ° 26 '54.6 "  N , 6 ° 7' 55.1"  E