The misericords and history of Leuven St Gertrude.
St Gertrude’s has 52, mid-15th century misericords.
Click to launch a description of the misericords of St Gertrude’s, Leuven
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Leuven St Gertrude |
History of St Gertrude’s, Leuven, Belgium.
Leuven is one of those places, which although having an ideal and strategic location., was not settled until 9th century and did not become an important trading centre until the end of the 11th century. It was shortly after this that the first town walls, churches, monasteries and abbeys were built. Although there may have been an abbey or church on the site of St Gertrude,s at this time it obviously could not have been dedicated to St Gertrude as she didn’t die until 17th November 1301 (or 2) and although she was never formerly canonized, was only recognised by the Roman church in 1677. It is unknown what the previous dedication would have been.
The current church and abbey buildings of St Gertrude were started sometime in the 13th century and finished in the late 15th. The spire, dating from 1454 is worth noting as it does not use any securing pins! The incredible, gothic choir stalls, with their misericords, which date from 1470, which being so late in the construction, indicate that either the stalls and misericords had to be replace at a later date, or that there were no misericords up to that point - something that sounds a little unlikely.
St Gertrude’s, Leuven does not, as of February 2010, appear to have its own website.
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