| Month: | January 2025 |
|---|---|
| Type: | Ledgerstone |
| Era: | 16th Century |
Lambertuskerk, Vught
Helvoirtseweg 5, 5261 CA Vught, Netherlands
The tomb of a priest commander of the Teutonic Order who may have lived to be over 100
In recent Dutch history the municipality of Vught is particularly known as the site of a WW II concentration camp (1942-1945), to which the impressive Kamp Vught monument still bears witness (fig. 1). However, there is another memorial in Vught that dates from a much earlier period, viz. the broken tomb slab of Jacob(us) van Zittaert (Sittard), who died in 1555 at an incredibly high age. Yet we first need some historical context.
During the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648) between Roman Catholic Spain and what would become the Protestant Dutch Republic, Vught played an important role in the conquest of the southern areas that were still favourably disposed to Spanish rule and the Catholic faith. From Maurick Castle just outside Vught four fruitless attempts were made by Dutch troops under Prince Maurits, son of William ‘the Silent’ of Orange, to besiege the city of ’s-Hertogenbosch. The last one of these severely damaged Vught’s parish church, the Lambertuskerk or St Lambert’s church (fig. 1). It took as long as the Twelve-Year Truce (1609-1621) before restoration could be undertaken although the nave of the church was never restored to its old form.
It was not until 1629 that Frederick Henry, youngest son of William the Silent, managed to capture ’s-Hertogenbosch, nicknamed ‘Klein Rome’ (Little Rome). Through this victory the city and surrounding area fell into Dutch hands. Consequently in 1629 the Lambertuskerk was taken over by the Calvinists and it has remained a Protestant church to this day (fig. 2).
The Lambertuskerk is the oldest surviving monument in Vught: it was probably founded as a chapel shortly after the christianisation of the area around the year 700. Like many other churches in the province of North Brabant, it was dedicated to St Lambert (635-705), bishop of Maastricht. A mid 20th-century restoration revealed beneath the church floor traces of a small church of tufa stone, dating back to the year 1000 or even earlier. It was also during these restorations that the broken slab of Jacobus van Zittaert was placed back in the crossing, along with some ten other slabs (fig. 3).
Between 1270 and 1334 the church came into the possession of the German or Teutonic Order (based on the Latin name Ordo fratrum hospitalis sanctae Mariae Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum), a religious military order founded in the Holy Land around 1190. The original aim of the German Order was to combat Islam in the Middle East, assist pilgrims and provide medical care to sick and wounded pilgrims and crusaders. It was the third largest religious military order, after the Knights Templar and the Order of St John. In all three orders monastic ideals were combined with knightly ideals, which were both stimulated by the Church.
The holdings of the German Order were divided into knightly and priestly commanderies; Vught was one of the latter. Its knights were expected to belong to the nobility and to the Holy Roman Empire. This was true also of Jacobus van Zittaert, who came from a patrician family in Cologne: this is evident from the double snake-headed cross on his escutcheon depicted on his monument. Jacobus was priest and commander of the German Order in Vught from 1509 until his death: although in 1549 he had been transferred to Maastricht, probably because of his high age, a new rector in Vught was not appointed until after his death in 1555. He is believed to have been born around 1454 so he may thus have been over 100 years old at the time of his death.
Jacobus’s large slab in the Lambertuskerk is made of Belgian hardstone and measures 234 x 116 cm (fig. 4). It is carved in low relief and clearly high-quality work, but it is broken and has suffered some wear. Within a richly decorated, architectural framework the slab shows the recumbent figure of Jacobus, his head resting on a cushion (fig. 5). He is dressed in the garments of the German Order: a long wide coat, traditionally white and decorated with the emblem of the German Order, viz. a black cross. His hands are crossed and placed on his abdomen. Above them is the indent of an inlaid brass chalice, the traditional symbol of a priest, unfortunately long since gone.
The renaissance arch surrounding Jacobus’s figure may symbolise the gate to Heaven: an idea that is supported by the inclusion of two flanking angels or putti, each supporting a shield that represent Jacobus’s status and lineage (fig. 5-6). On the left (but heraldically to the right, and thus the place of honour) we see the straight (black) cross of the German Order and heraldically to the left the family arms: a double snake-headed cross, in an escutcheon a clover leaf. Each shield is suspended from a ribbon.
The Latin inscription around the four sides of the slab reads:
Sub hoc lapide requiescit venerabilis dominus Jacobus de Zittaert, investitus istius ecclesie, qui diem sue vite clausit extremum anno XVc […]
(Trans.: Under this stone lies the venerable lord Jacobus van Zittaert, parish priest of this church, who ended the last day of his life in the year 15[…].)
The fact that the date of death has not been completed indicates that the slab was commissioned during Jacobus’s lifetime, probably by the deceased himself.
Until his transfer to Maastricht, some 120 km away, he lived in the commandery opposite the church in which his monument lies. He left one further memento to the people of Vught as he obtained permission from the Grand Commander at Alden Biesen in a charter dated 10 December 1520 to found a school next to the church: a school that exists to this day.
Three other slabs remind us of the German Order’s presence in Vught. The first two commemorate parish priest Jacob van Gheel (d. 1488) and his assistant Matthias van Papendonck (d. 1487). Since the 2008 restoration the latter has been situated in the Vughts Museum where it will probably remain. The third slab commemorates Servaas Groessels (d. 1671), who was the parish priest at a time when the Lambertuskerk had become a Protestant church. The first Protestant service took place on 4 November 1629 in the presence of Stadholder Frederick Henry and his wife Amalia van Solms. Although the commandery was closed in 1642, until 1662 the German Order remained in possession of the tithe rights and the right to propose a parish priest.
Jacobus van Zittaert’s slab remains to be admired in the church in which he served for over 40 years. The small country estate where his commandery used to be is still called Sionsburg in commemoration of the crusaders’ holy city. By the end of the Middle Ages the German Order had largely lost its military character. The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the German Order exists to this day; it became a Protestant organisation at the Reformation and is now engaged in charitable work.
Jacobus van Zittaert’s slab is also described as ID 1862 in the Medieval Memoria Online (MeMO) database at https://memodatabase.hum.uu.nl/memo-is/.
Bettie de Leeuw
Literature
1. Earlier view of Vught with the Lambertus tower and Dutch Reformed church, from the south, showing the damage to the nave from the attack in 1603. Engraving by K.F. Bensdorp (1790) after a drawing by Jan Bulthuis. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vughtsetoren1790.jpg. 
2. View today of the Lambertuskerk (St Lambert’s church), Vught (Netherlands). Photo: Jelmer Wijma (2024).
3. View of the slab of Jacob(us) van Zittaert (d. 1555) in situ, Lambertuskerk, Vught (Netherlands). Photo: G. Barbiers (2003), Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE).
4. View of the slab of Jacob(us) van Zittaert (d. 1555), Lambertuskerk, Vught (Netherlands). Photo: Wim Slingerland (1979).
5. Detail of the two shields on the slab of Jacob(us) van Zittaert: heredically to the right the cross of the German Order and to the left the family arms. Photo: Bettie de Leeuw (2024).
6. Detail of the family arms on the slab of Jacob(us) van Zittaert: a double sneak-headed cross, in an escutcheon a clover leaf. Photo: Bettie de Leeuw (2024).