Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady

The Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady (Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap) was a religious confraternity founded in 1318 in 's-Hertogenbosch to promote the veneration of the Mother of God. The brotherhood was organized around a carved wooden image of the Virgin Mary in St John’s Cathedral in 's-Hertogenbosch.G.C.M. van Dijck, De Bossche Optimaten. Geschiedenis van de Illustre Lieve Vrouwenbroederschap te ’s-Hertogenbosch (Tilburg: Stichting Zuidelijk Historisch Contact, 1973) The Brotherhood had two types of members: ordinary members and sworn members, also called 'swan-brethren' because they used to donate a swan for the yearly banquet. Sworn members were clerics in principle; in fact they were often chosen among the nobility, the magistrates, etc. As a result, the Brotherhood also functioned as an important social network.

Well-known members Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450 – 1516), painter.P. Gerlach, ‘Jheronimus van Aken alias Bosch en de Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Broederschap’, in: Jheronimus Bosch: Bijdragen bij gelegenheid van de herdenkingstentoonstelling in 's-Hertogenbosch 1967 ('s-Hertogenbosch 1967), pp. 48–60; G.C.M. van Dijck, Op zoek naar Jheronimus van Aken alias Bosch (Zaltbommel: Europese Bibliotheek, 2001). Nycasius de Clibano (? – 1497), singer and composer Jheronimus de Clibano (c. 1459 – 1503), singer and composer Jan Heyns (? – 1516), architect Frans Crabbe van Espleghem (c. 1480 – 1553), Flemish artist Jan van Wintelroy (? – 1576), composer and choirmaster Matthaeus Pipelare (c. 1450 – c. 1515), composer and choirmaster Frederik van Egmond (c. 1470 – 1539), Count of Buren and lord of IJsselstein William the Silent (1533 – 1584), leader of the Dutch Revolt

References

Further reading Correspondence of Descartes: 1643; Appendix 2, pp. 193–94.