Home > The History > Since the foundation of the abbey

On his return from Cologne where he had gone to receive relics for his foundation of Prémontré, Norbert stopped for some time at Namur. To comply with the wishes of Count Godfrey and his wife Ermesinde who supported Gregorian reform, he agreed to establish a community in the region. The choice finally fell on Floreffe, a secondary residence of the family of the Counts of Namur. However, at the time when Norbert was founding this monastery, the community of Prémontré had not yet opted for a Rule of life and it was not until Christmas of that year that the first professions were forthcoming.

From the first years which followed its foundation in November, 1121, the community of Floreffe prospered greatly. Numerous foundations of monasteries and nunneries took place very rapidly, not only in the territory of present-day Belgium (Leffe, Postel, Beaurepart, Heylissem, Mont-Cornillon...) and of neighbouring countries, but also, under the impact of the crusades, as far as the Holy Land. It should also be remembered that at that period, close relations existed with central Europe, especially with Hungary, where king Andrew II had married Yolanda of Namur. This promoted the founding and prosperity of Premonstratensian religious.

At several junctures in its history, Floreffe played a decisive part in the affairs of the Order. From the very beginning, Floreffe occupied an important place; its abbot was one of three prelatic advisers to the Order and, as such, was one of the inspectors responsible for the maintenance of the Rule in the Abbey of Prémontré itself.

From the XVIth century onwards, many abbeys were placed in commendam, receiving a nominal abbot, ecclesiastical or lay, who appropriated a large part of the abbey’s revenues, but fulfilled none of the religious obligations normally corresponding to his title. Since, in contrast to the three “mother-houses” (Prémontré, St. Martin of Laon and Cuissy), the Abbey of Floreffe was always spared this practice, its abbot was sometimes the only regular abbot among the abbatial “fathers of the Order”.

Seriously weakened by the revolutionary upheavel, the radiating Premonstratensian beacon was finally extinguished in about 1830.

[updated on the 25.10.05]

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