The Ruusbroec Institute (Dutch : Ruusbroecgenootschap) is an institution for the study of the history of religious culture, spirituality and mysticism in the Low Countries. [1] It is named after the 14th-century Flemish mystical author John of Ruusbroec.
The Ruusbroecgenootschap was established in 1925 by three Jesuit scholars, Desideer Stracke, Jozef Van Mierlo and Leonce Reypens, all of whom had a background in the study of Dutch literature. They were soon joined by the Bollandist Jan-Baptist Poukens, who had trained as a classicist. [1]
In 1973, the institute became an independent research centre within the Jesuit university in Antwerp, the University Faculties of St Ignatius, and in 2003 this became a constituent part of the merged University of Antwerp. [2]
The original focus of research was on Flemish mysticism up to 1750, but this gradually widened to other aspects of religious culture, later periods, and other mystical traditions. [2] Pierre Delsaerdt was appointed director of the institute in 2020. [3]
The institute's library, which is part of the Flanders Heritage Library network, holds over 30,000 printed books from the hand press era, 500 manuscripts dating from the 14th to the 19th century, and 40,000 devotional prints, mostly produced in Antwerp between 1600 and 1850. The collection is owned by a non-profit organisation, Loyola vzw. [4]
The institute's flagship journal is Ons Geestelijk Erf ("Our Spiritual Heritage"), founded in 1927. [5]
There is also a series of studies and editions, Studiën en tekstuitgaven van Ons Geestelijk Erf, which includes the 10-volume modern critical edition of the works of Jan van Ruusbroec.
The University of Antwerp is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is UAntwerp. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 students, which makes it the third-largest university in Flanders. The University of Antwerp is characterised by its high standards in education, internationally competitive research and entrepreneurial approach. It was founded in 2003 after the merger of three smaller universities.
John of Ruusbroec or Jan van Ruusbroec, sometimes modernized Ruysbroeck, was an Augustinian canon and one of the most important of the medieval mystics of the Low Countries. Some of his main literary works include The Kingdom of the Divine Lovers, The Twelve Beguines, The Spiritual Espousals, A Mirror of Eternal Blessedness, The Little Book of Enlightenment, and The Sparkling Stone. Some of his letters also survive, as well as several short sayings. He wrote in the Dutch vernacular, the language of the common people of the Low Countries, rather than in Latin, the language of the Catholic Church liturgy and official texts, in order to reach a wider audience.
Philip Fruytiers (1610–1666) was a Flemish Baroque painter and engraver. Until the 1960s, he was especially known for his miniature portraits in watercolor and gouache. Since then, several large canvases signed with the monogram PHF have been ascribed to him. These new findings have led to a renewed appreciation for his contribution to the Antwerp Baroque.
Jean-Baptist David was a canon and professor of Dutch and history at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
Hadewijch, sometimes referred to as Hadewych or Hadewig, was a 13th-century poet and mystic, probably living in the Duchy of Brabant. Most of her extant writings are in a Brabantian form of Middle Dutch. Her writings include visions, prose letters and poetry. Hadewijch was one of the most important direct influences on John of Ruysbroeck.
Bonaventura Peeters (I) or Bonaventura Peeters the Elder (23 July 1614 – 25 July 1652) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and etcher. He became one of the leading marine artists in the Low Countries in the first half of the 17th century with his depictions of marine battles, storms at sea, shipwrecks and views of ships in rivers and harbours.
Jan Peeters the Elder or Johannes Peeters was a Flemish Baroque painter and draughtsman. He is known for his seascapes often depicting stormy seas and shipwrecks as well as for his topographical drawings, many of which were engraved by contemporary printmakers and published by the Antwerp printers.
Jan van den Hecke or Jan van den Hecke the Elder (1620–1684) was a Flemish Baroque painter, draughtsman, printmaker and engraver, mainly known for his still lifes, landscapes and battle scenes. After training in Antwerp, he spent time in Rome, where he had important patrons. After his return to Flanders, he worked for a while in Brussels, probably painting flower still lifes for Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, the Austrian governor of the Spanish Netherlands, before returning to work in Antwerp.
Jan Baptist Barbé or Jan-Baptist Barbé (1578–1649) was a Flemish engraver, publisher and art dealer active in Antwerp. He is known for his engravings after his own designs as well as for his reproductive engravings.
Peter Ykens, was a Flemish painter mainly known for his history paintings and portraits. He regularly collaborated with specialist still painters and landscape artists for whose works he provided the staffage.
The Master of Hoogstraeten is the Notname given to a Flemish painter or a collective of painters active in Antwerp in the early 16th century. The master created principally religious paintings and is considered a member of the Antwerp Mannerists.
Jan Baptist Martin Wans or Jan Baptist Wans was a Flemish Baroque painter known for his landscapes and religious scenes.
Lodewijk Makeblijde (1565–1630) was a Flemish Jesuit and a Renaissance poet and hymn writer.
Jan Van der Stock is a Belgian art historian and exhibition curator. He is a full professor at the University of Leuven, where he lectures on Medieval and Renaissance Arts, Graphic Arts, Iconography, Iconology, and Curatorship. He is the director of Illuminare – Centre for the Study of Medieval Art and holder of the Van der Weyden Chair – Paul & Dora Janssen, the Veronique Vandekerchove Chair of the City of Leuven and the Chair of Medieval Sculpture in the Low Countries. Jan Van der Stock was the husband of Christiane Timmerman and is a father of two.
Jacob Balthasar Peeters, also known as Jacob Peeters or Jacobus Peeters was a Flemish painter who specialized in architectural paintings depicting imaginary Renaissance and Baroque palaces populated with elegant figures wearing exotic clothes and headgear and shown in theatrical, stage-like postures. Peeters also painted realistic interiors of existing churches with staffage.
Paul J. Begheyn is a Dutch Jesuit historian.
Ons Geestelijk Erf is a quarterly peer-reviewed journal of research on the history of spirituality in the Low Countries, founded in 1927 by the Jesuit D. A. Stracke. It is currently published by Peeters on behalf of the Ruusbroec Institute of the University of Antwerp. It was originally established under the patronage of the Catholic primates of Belgium and the Netherlands, Jozef-Ernest van Roey, archbishop of Mechelen, and Henricus van de Wetering, archbishop of Utrecht. Titus Brandsma was a member of the founding editorial committee.
Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek or Flanders Heritage Library is a library consortium in the Flemish Region of Belgium bringing together six institutions with considerable holdings of manuscripts and old printed books. The network was founded in 2008, and was authorised as a heritage organisation for Flanders in 2012.
Michiel Cnobbaert or Michiel Knobbaert was a Flemish printer, publisher and bookseller who was active in Antwerp in the latter half of the 17th century. His publications included devotional works, religious and polemical works and legal publications on local laws and customs in Flanders.
Julius (Jules) Raes (1884–1961), known in religion as Hildebrand and also under the pen name H. Cappaert, was a Belgian Capuchin historian and archivist.