The Carthusians in the Netherlands. Seventeenth Signum Symposium. Roermond, the Netherlands, Saturday 27 October 2007
Symposium
The Carthusians in the Netherlands. Seventeenth Signum Symposium. Roermond, the Netherlands, Saturday 27 October 2007
For the seventeenth time, Signum (a contact group for the institutional-economic and politico-legal history of ecclesiastical institutions in the late
-medieval Netherlands) hosts a symposium, which will take place in Roermond on Saturday 27 October. Its theme is ‘The Carthusians in the Netherlands’. The order of the Carthusians has been one of the most famous religious orders in Christianity for many centuries. Founded by Bruno of Cologne in the twelfth century, the order has served as the prototype and the quality standard of Western monastic life for many centuries. Up until the present day, it has been a paragon of spirituality, discipline, and purity because of its unique way of life, uniting a solitary existence in the privacy of one’s cell with a communal life
amidst fellow monks. Spread all over Europe and the world, the Carthusians have also been present in the Netherlands for many centuries. This symposium will focus on the position of the Carthusians in the religious, institutional, and artistic constellation of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Besides a series of lectures, there will also be a tour in and around the buildings of the former Carthusian monastery, parts of which will be specially thrown open in honour of the occasion.
The symposium heralds
the major international exhibition on the Dutch Carthusians which is to take place in Roermond in 2008. The Signum symposium
will take place in the former Carthusian monastery (the present offices of the diocese), which, as of the fourteenth century, was built near the old suburb, where the market, the Minster, and the Cathedral are also to be found. This is lo
cated at Swalmerstraat 100, no more than a fifteen-minute walk from the Roermond railway station.
Programme :
| 09.30 | Reception and coffee/tea |
| 10.00 | Opening by chairperson Krijn Pansters (Utrecht) |
| 10.15 | Tom Gaens (Zelem) - The Carthusians in the Southern Low Countries |
| 11.00 | Coffee/tea break |
| 11.15 | Jan Sander (Den Bosch) - The Carthusian Monastery in Vught in a Historical Perspective |
| 12.00 | Lunch |
| 13.00 | Tour of the buildings and the environs of the Carthusian monastery, guided by Rob Dückers (Roermond) |
| 14.45 | Coffee/tea break |
| 15.15 | General meeting |
| 15.30 | Geert Claassens (Leuven) - The Carthusians in Herne and their Translation Activities |
| 16.15 | Liesbeth Zuidema (Leiden) - Carthusian Art: Rogier van der Weyden |
| 17.00 | Final discussion and conclusion |
| 17.30 | Drinks |
The fee is € 20,- for Signum members and € 10,- for students, to be paid in cash at the entrance. Those interested can register with the Signum secretary: Hildo van Engen, Regional Land van Heusden en Altena Archive, PO Box 79, 5256 ZH Heusden, e-mail: hildo@bkvu.nl).
Building historical and archaeological research (Birgit Dukers)
In the summer of 2005 a building historical research has started, with the aim of tracing the different building phases of the charterhouse of Roermond. This charterhouse is a unique complex, as it is the only remaining charterhouse in the Netherlands. The building parts that have survived t
he partial demolition after the suppression of 1783, like the chapel, refectory, chapterhouse and cloister, are being surveyed and measured. It is clear that the complex was built and enlarged in several phases. The city of Roermond has suffered from two city fires, in 1554 and 1665 and they also caused damage to the charterhouse, leading to several reconstruction campaigns. Especially the chapel has been altered many times. Next to the survey of the buildings, also archival research is done, to complete the building history as far as possible. The wooden roof constructions of the chapel and refectory have been dated by dendrochronological research.
In the autumn of 2006 an archaeological excavation took place in the former cloister garden around the charterhouse. This research was carried out by the archaeological institute SOB Research from Heinenoord. The aim of the excavation was to search for remains of the monks cells next to the western corridor of the cloister. These cells were demolished directly after the suppression. Already in 1984 an excavation had been done by the archaeological workgroup RURA, after the foundations of two demolished cells at the south side of the cloister. This excavation presented complete ground plans. Unfortunately at the west side the cells were more thoroughly demolished, sometimes including the foundations. Still, during the excavation of 2006 much information was gathered about the furnishings of the cells, due to findings like pieces of leaded light windows, floor tiles and roof slates. The cesspits of the monk cells contained a lot of everyday pottery, but also richly decorated glassware. At the moment, all the findings are being documented.
Organization and information :
'The Roermond Carthusians' Foundation
Location :
The exhibition will take place in the Carolus Chapel and offices of the diocese of Roermond, within walking distance of Roermond Central Station and close to the Market square.
The Board of the Foundation comprises the following people :
| Dr. Hans van de Mortel | Chairman |
| Mw. Riet Jeurissen | Secretary |
| Dhr. Frank Slenders | Treasurer |
| Drs. Liesbeth Zuidema | Board Member and Exhibition Curator |
| Drs. Krijn Pansters | Board Member |
| Dhr. Leo Molkenboer | Board Member |
| Drs. Rob Dückers | Board Member and Exhibition Curator
|
The Recommendation Committee comprises the following people :
| Mgr. Frans Wiertz | Bishop of Roermond |
| Dom. Marcel Theeuwes | Prior General of the Carthusian Order |
| Dhr. L.J.P.M. Frissen | Royal Commissioner in Limburg |
| Henk van Beers | Mayor of Roermond |
| Prof. Em. Dr. James Hogg | Editor Analecta Cartusiana |
| Prof. Dr. Peter Nissen | Radboud University, Nijmegen |
| Prof. Dr. Jos Koldeweij | Radboud University, Nijmegen |
| Prof. Dr. Jos Hermans † | University of Groningen |
| Prof. Dr. Reindert Falkenburg | University Leiden |
| Dr. Ulrich Bock | Kölnisches Stadtmuseum |
| Mw. Ria Oomen-Ruijten | Member of the European Parliament
|
Scholarly research framing the exhibition :
This exhibition has been embedded in a scholarly context in various ways. First of all, there is a Committee of Recommendation, comprising such honourable individuals as the Prior General of the Carthusian order, the bishop and the mayor of Roermond, and various renowned Professors from universities both at home and abroad. These are in charge of progress and quality control. Secondly, the Foundation has meanwhile gathered round it an international network of befriended scholars who care for Roermond, for the Carthusians, for medieval art, or for religious orders in a more general sense. This network has arisen from personal contacts of members of the Foundation and regular visits to international conferences, such as the Kartäuserforschung 1970-2006 conference, held in Aggsbach (Austria) in August 2006, or the International Medieval Congress, held in Leeds (UK) in July 2006. Contacts have also been established with several scholarly societies, such as
Analecta Cartusiana (a series on Carthusian history in Austria),
Cartusiana (a knowledge centre on Carthusian history in Belgium),
Signum (a contact group for the institutional-economic and politico-legal history of ecclesiastical institutions in the late-medieval Netherlands), and several museums and institutions. Some of the scholars mentioned above will contribute to the exhibition catalogue. Finally, an international conference on the Dutch Carthusians will be organized in collaboration with the
Radboud University Nijmegen to accompany the 2008 exhibition.
Infos : http://www.kartuizers.nl/
artuizers.nl/ Marion
