Dutch term – Abdij

An abdij is an abbey.

Especially during medieval times, abbeys were important land owners. Many of them owned large estates, farmed by tenants or serfs. In addition, they were often entitled to tithes of several properties, usually a percentage of the proceeds. The archives of these abbeys can sometimes give information about the earliest known history of the towns where they owned property, or about the tenants and serfs who worked for them.

Famous abbeys in the Netherlands were located in Rijnsburg and Egmond. Count Dirk II of Holland donated a famous gospel, created in France in the late 700s, to the Egmond Abbey in 960 AD. The gospel includes a drawing of him donating the gospels.

Some of the land in what is now the Netherlands was owned by abbeys that were far away. Examples are the abbey of Prüm in what is now Germany, and the abbey of Tongeren in what is now Belgium.

Count Dirk II of Holland donates gospels to the abbey of Egmond. Credits: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Count Dirk II of Holland donates gospels to the abbey of Egmond. Credits: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

 

About Yvette Hoitink

Yvette Hoitink, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist in the Netherlands. She holds the Certified Genealogist credential from the Board for Certification of Genealogists and has a post-graduate diploma in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee. She has been doing genealogy for over 30 years and helps people from across the world find their ancestors in the Netherlands. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.

Comments

  1. Bart Lenselink says

    The abbey of St. Salvator in Prüm owned many farms in Gelderland especially in Voorst and Arnhem. The list of farms dated 893 is the oldest source of information about these farms in the village of Voorst.

Leave comment

*