Abbey of Our Lady in Postel

ABBEY OF OUR LADY IN POSTEL (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwabdij van Postel)

Town/city : Mol, Belgium
Denomination : Roman Catholic
Order : Norbertines

Established : 1190 as priory, from 1618 abbey
Abolished : 1798
Re-established : 1847 (first Abbot 1872)

Origin/meaning

The arms appear on the seals of the Abbots immediately after the elevation to Abbey in 1618.

The origin of the three mill-irons is not known. they are a common symbol in family arms in the County of Brabant, but no clear relation between any of these families and the arms is known. It has been stated that they are derived from the arms of the Stakenborg family, who granted grounds to the priory in the 14th century and one member also became prior in the mid 1350s. However, the arms were adopted nearly 300 years after his death, so the choice of these family arms is rather unlikely. Other explanations (f.e. the milling rights of the Abbey and a crusader-based legend) are even less likely.

The motto was never used on the seals, but widely used in the abbey and on publications.

• 

  The arms in the abbey

The previous priory also used arms. These arms showed a tree trunk (post) and the letter L (post-L), and were thus canting. The colours are not known, but some coloured images show the items in green held by a red ribbon.

These arms were based on the arms of the Floreffe Abbey, to which the priory belonged. That abbey showed a flower (flor) and letter F (flor-ef).

Arms of Abbots

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  Rumoldus Colibrant (1621-1626)

• 

  Joannes du Chesne (1628-1636)

• 

  Cornelius van Boesdoncq (1636-1650)

• 

  Egidius Janssen (1650-1679)

• 

  Franciscus Gaillard (1679-1685)

• 

  Nicolaus Gregorius Sichmans (1685-1704)

• 

  Hieronimus Raveschoot de Capelle (1704-1726)

• 

  Isfridus van den Broeck (1726-1744)

• 

  Hermanus Josephus Calis (1745-1757)

• 

  Adrianus van Breugel (1757-1760)

• 

  Joannes Peeters (1760-1787)

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  Joannes Staessens (1786-1793)

• 

  Jacobus de Kort (1854/1872-1890)

• 

  Herman Jozef Herstraets (1890-1926)

• 

  Hugo Petrus Bennebroek (1926-1951)

• 

  Gregorius Waterschoot (1951-1985)

• 

  Petrus M. Broeckx (1985-1997)

• 

  Marcel Lasters (1997-2008)

• 

  Frédéric Testaert (2008-present)

Literature: Cruys, M. et al : Heraldiek van Abdijen en Kloosters 28:Postel

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