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• 1. Origin and Meaning
Before the 13th – 14th century it was not common practice to use
family names. Before and also often after this date greater
importance was attached to the Christian name. Often people did
not even have a family name. No genealogical research is
required to find out where the name "De Brabandere" comes from:
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(~920)
Harelbeke The Abbey of Arnulf
I de Oude || (2003)
Sint-Salvatorkerk
(JM) |
Forefather Harelbeke Arent de Brabandere
(~1420) |
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It means coming from
Brabant (in the old days the entire area east of the Scheldt
and Lys River was called Brabant). Over the years, many
people must have moved from Brabant into Flanders and were
given the family name De Brabandere. The family name will
consequently have originated at several locations without
the namesakes being necessarily related.
- Spelling of the Name
In the 13th and 14th century the spellings li/le de
Brabantere/Brabandere are used indiscriminately. From the
15th century onwards a clear distinction is made between -tere
and -dere. In the Kortrijk area and in the whole of West
Flanders the -der/-dere spelling is generally used.
During the Ancien Régime, the de Brabandere/de Brabant
spelling was the most commonly used spelling. Later on the
capital 'D' became general practice. Some stocks however
still use 'd'. Within the Arent de Brabandere stock (~1420)
the following spellings are found:
de Brabandere; de Brabandère; De Brabandere;
De Brabandère; Debrabandere; De Brabandère; De Brabantere; De Brabander;
Debrabander; Vanbrabander; Debrabant.
• Conclusion (1985 Rudi De
Brabandere)
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The cradle of the “De brabandere” family at the end of the
13th century in Sint-Winoksbergen (?) (the figures in
brackets refer to the sources in previous pages of the book) |
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The end of the 13th century is really the earliest
period of time that we can get back to in so far as
the tracing of the family name is concerned. |
Rudi De Brabandere |
When verifying these old places in which the family name has
appeared, we come back relatively frequently to Northern
France, and to Sint-Winoksbergen (Bergues Saint-Winoc) in
particular. From what follows it would seem that we can
state with reasonable certainty that it is in fact here that
the real cradle of our family is to be found. It may be that
there are even a number of namesakes from the Veurne area
(15, 28), and possibly also from Ghent and Bruges who are
related to this family, given that the bailiffs Christiaan
and Thierry were active in Veurne, Ghent and Bruges, and
could have acquired property here and left family behind.
Nowé, in his work "Les baillis comtaux" (18) (Bailiffs of
the Count) makes mention of several members of the “de
Brabandere” family who held a number of offices under the
Count in around the year 1300: Thierry, Christiaan, Jan and
Pierre. In addition to the Count’s bailiffs (Thierry,
Christiaan, Jan, Pierre) (18), he also mentions (lesser)
officers (Thierry: captain (27), Jehan: sergeant (26)),
scout (Christiaan (II,14,18). The bailiffs were chosen
mainly from the lesser nobility, liege men of the Count of
Flanders, and again and again we also find knights amongst
them (Thierry, for example) (18).
In the meantime we can show quite clearly that two members
of this family lived, or had their origins in the
Sint-Winoksbergen area:
Table 1
- Christiaan de Brabandere, noble – fellow (squire) (13)
- Scout of Bruges 1287-1288 (14, 18)
- Bailiff of Bruges from 5/8 Jan. 1292 and on 23 April 1293
(1', 14, 18, 23)
In 1298 his property was seized and he was removed from his
post by Philip the Fair (11, 1') because he was ‘klauwaard’
(meaning a partisan of the Count of Flanders), firmly on the
side of the Count (13, 1'). We can see that some of
Christian’s property was in the Sint-Winoksbergen area: 57
arpents of land, estate and
mills in Quadypre (several km to the south of
Sint-Winoksbergen) (11).
Alderman Christiaan, who makes his appearance in 1295 (17)
and who must have then been resident in Sint-Winoksbergen,
is the father or son of Christiaan the bailiff (17).
Table 2
- Thierry de Brabandere, from 1304 chevalier/knight
- Captain in the Saaftingen castle 1302-1303 with his
servants (9, 27, 38)
• Note: the town bailiff of Bruges bore the name scout.
- bailiff of Ghent 1304-1306 (9, 17, 18, 26, 27)
representative of Sint-Winoksbergen March 1306
Thierry (Diederik) was also a loyal follower of the Count
(17). For a time Thierry and Christiaan together held the
two most important bailiff posts in Flanders (18): those of
the towns of Bruges and of Ghent. This is clear from their
salaries: 240 pounds for the bailiff of Bruges, (14, 18),
220 pounds for the bailiff of Ghent (18, 26), as opposed to
120 pounds for the bailiff of Ypres (end of the 14th
century). To some extent, this would be explained by their
position with regard to the Count. In fact in this period
many of the nobles and patricians were transferring their
allegiance to the French camp – that of the king. (e.g.: Jan
Simoen Lauwaert, likewise bailiffs from SWB (6, 11, 14, 17,
18).
The Count’s bailiffs were completely dependent on the Count
as far as their functions were concerned (representatives of
the Count and the main authorities in the towns and domains,
keepers of order and the peace, responsible for drawing up
the accounts, safeguarding the Lord’s (Count’s) rights as
owner and sovereign lord.) (see 18 and entries for
Christiaan and Thierry):
- they were moved constantly from one town to another (see
Thierry and Christiaan)
- they were paid by, and sworn on oath to the Count and
adjudged by the Count’s court.
- they were closely controlled and watched by the Count in
the carrying out of their duties.
- the central authorities maintained constant contact with
them and subjected them to a never-ending list of tasks.
In addition to these two bailiffs we also find several
namesakes who are representatives, aldermen or proprietors
in Sint-Winoksbergen or the surrounding area in the 14th
century:
Table 3
- Jehan, alderman SWB, 1308 (the same as mentioned as
bailiff in 1310 (Veurne) (18) ? (+ seal) (2;4) (41)
- Chrestien, alderman SWB, 1295 (17)
- Boudewijn, pollster in the domain
of SWB, Ghivelde and Uxhem, 1330 (15)
- Thierry, pollster in the domain of
SWB, Coudekerke, 1330 (15).
These pollsters were appointed in their own areas and were
mostly victims of the Battle of Kassel.
Table 4
- Jan, rebel leader - Jan, liege man in SWB, 1389 (+ seal)
(4)
- Pasquier, alderman SWB, 1454 (34) - Charles, in Spijker
near to SWB, 1460 (20)
From the 15th century onwards the entries for namesakes in
the orphanage registers and burgher records of SWB are
extremely scarce, which would indicate that the family
(name) now appears here only rarely. Possibly the majority
of family members fled SWB and the surroundings during the
turbulent 14th century when the French king invaded and
destroyed the area in 1383. Where did the descendants of
this family go?
Three facts show clearly that the South West Flanders "De
Brabandere" family are descendants of this Northern French
family. Nowhere in Flanders does the name appear so
frequently from the 15th century on as in the Kortrijk area.
- First argument: the name "De Brabandere" appears in the
Kortrijk area around about the period when it begins to
disappear in SWB (or at least appears less frequently), this
is the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th
century. (see (33), introduction to part 1, list of external
burghers and orphanages from
the Kortrijk domain.
- Second argument: From the beginning of the 15th century
(1st generation) up until the beginning of the 17th century
(6th generation) the family did not spread out across the
Harelbeke area. It was only from the 7th generation onwards
that the descendants began to spread out across the West
Flanders region. It is also from this period that the
source material that we draw on from the various archives
begins to be much richer. Here it quickly becomes clear that
the family members, wherever they took up residence, would,
just as their forebears in SWB before them, take up
political positions in village or community life such as
list checker, alderman, mayor or bailiff. (Harelbeke ...).
The first case where we find proof of this is that of Jan De
Brabandere (6th generation) (checker/alderman of Harelbeke)
Prior to him there had certainly been several family members
who had married into families where people held similar
functions (Van den Gheinste; Scaec; Vandenberghe, Bottens,
De Coster, Van Lerberghe).
- Third argument: In 1788 one branch of the South West
Flanders family (see VIII.A.III) adopted a coat of arms. The
blazon shows a lion, which, contrary to what we might
expect, is not a Brabant lion! It is perhaps not a
coincidence that this blazon is the same as that of the
“Heren van Sint-Winoksbergen” (the Lords of
Sint-Winoksbergen), of Berghes, with an additional three
stars (which the abbess of Spermalie also had (VII.B.I.)).
Mr. De Raadt mentions in his General Armorial that it was
relatively common for people to adopt an arms that bore
relation to that of the local lords:
- Gaillard (16ème siècle): "le chastelain et
seigneur de Berghes St Wynnocx porte: d'or au lyon de
gueulle, lampassé et armé d'asur et crye "Berghes, Berges de
madame de Chasteau-Bruin"
- Th. de Raadt: famille de Brabandere: "d'or au lion de
guelles armé et lampassé d'asur au chef d'asur chargé de
trois étoiles d'or".
In 1292 the seal of Christiaan de Brabandere also showed one
single lion rampant accompanied by (two) stars (23)!
"La noblesse Belge" states next to the ratification of the
title and the shield:... "Belle famille flamande, qui
s'honore d'avoir rempli de longue date des charges élévées
dans la magistrature communale." (A good Flemish family who
has the honour of having fulfilled long-standing prominent
duties in the municipal magistracy.”
We can state with reasonable certainty that the cradle of
our family at the very beginning of the 14th century must
lie in the SWB region. It is however impossible for us to
follow the family there generation by generation, in fact
there is no evidence of family links (break in sources, the
majority of documents from SWB went missing in 1383). We
have to be satisfied with a list of several names. From the
beginning of the 15th century onwards our task meets far
more success in the Kortrijk area, and so our first part can
also begin here in around 1420.
• STAD HARELBEKE Begrippen van locale
Geschiedenis van H. Callewaert Harelbeke, Februari 1956
België Belgique
Belgien Belgium
*/JM
KORTRIJK\* Jean-Marie De
Brabandere
EUROPA EU |
