Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady explained

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.^{[1] [2]} 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.^{[3] [4]}
• 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

Further reading

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady . 2008-10-28 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110221000030/http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/ph/2005-0309-013011/app2.pdf . 2011-02-21 . dead .
2. G.C.M. van Dijck, De Bossche Optimaten. Geschiedenis van de Illustre Lieve Vrouwenbroederschap te ’s-Hertogenbosch (Tilburg: Stichting Zuidelijk Historisch Contact, 1973)
3. News: Blood & Roses . https://web.archive.org/web/20110203090032/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,793831,00.html . dead . February 3, 2011 . . September 15, 1947 . 2008-10-28 .
4. 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).