Last modified: 2007-12-22 by ivan sache
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![[Flag of Gistel]](../images/b/be-vwvgi.gif)
Municipal flag of Gistel - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 21 July 2005
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The municipality of Gistel (11,170 inhabitants on 1 July 2007; 4,225 ha) is located 10 km south-east of Ostend and 20 km south-west of Bruges, in the middle of the polders of West
Flanders. The municipality of Gistel is made since 1976 of the former municipalities of Gistel, Moere, Snaaskerke and Zevecote.
Gistel is mostly known for its patron saint, St. Godelive, its mill and
its most famous citizen, the cyclist Johan Museeuw, aka the Flemish
Lion or the Gistel Lion.
Gistel is the cradle of the veneration for St. Godelieve, one of the
most revered saints in Flanders and the north of France. Godelieve was
born in the second halfth of the XIth century in a noble family from
the County of Boulogne. She married Bertolt (aka Bertulf), lord of
Gistel in a marriage of convenience. Godelieve was refined and
well-educated, whereas Bertolt was a rough guy, and the marriage
turned wrong. The husband remained absent during the three days of the
marriage celebration. Godelieve lived in loneliness and humiliation
since Bertold did not care at all for her. He lived in his own castle
and exiled her wife to his mother's domain, where she was sheltered in
a farm by the villagers. Her condition there was worst than a
maid-servant. Godelieve escaped and came back to her parents, who
complained at the Bishop of Tournai and the Count of Flanders. Bertolt was ordered to take her back and to behave correctly with her.
Bertolt put on an "accident" during a short trip to Bruges: on 6 July
1070, Godelieve was strangled by Bertolt's henchmen and her body was
thrown down into a well. Godelieve was eventually buried in the chapel
of Bertolt's castle. Bertolt remarried and his second wife got a blind
daughter named Edith. Thirteen years later, the second wife died and
was buried in the chapel near Godelieve's tomb. Edith entered secretely
the chapel, kneeled down on one of the two tombs and implored to recover
her sight. After the miracle, she could see that she had kneeled down
on Godelieve's tombstone. When told the miracle, Bertold put on a
penitence habit, repented and did several pilgrimages, after which he
retired in a monastery until his death.
Drogo, monk at the former St. Winnok abbey in Bergues, wrote her
biography, Vita Godeliph. Drogo's work was the base of the
canonization of Godelieve, proclaimed by Radout II, Bishop of
Tournai-Noyon, on 30 July 1084.
The tradition says that Edith founded the women's monastery of Putte (in Dutch, put means well) on the place of Godelieve's martyrdom. The abbey was sacked by the Protestants (Geuzen) in 1578 and a new monastery was built inside the city of Bruges. A priory was reconstituted in Gistel in 1891 and conferred the rank of abbey (Abdij ten Putte) on 8 November 1934. The St. Godelieve's Museum was opened in the abbey in June 1987.
The procession celebrating St. Godelieve (Godelieveprocessie) takes
place every year in July since (at least) 1459. The modern procession,
managed by Frans Vroman, requires dozens of actors and floats playing
the life, martyrdom and miracles of the saint. The scenography of the
procession was completely revamped in 2000-2001 by the artist Mon
Camelbeke, from Ieper.
There are several Flemish sayings associated with Godelieve's day (30
July):
Als het op St. Godelieve regent, zal het zes weken lang duren(Rain on Godelieve's day shall last for six weeks).
Regen op St. Godelievens feest, water binnen zes weken het meest (Rain on Godelieve's fest, water mostly for six weeks).
Als het op St. Godelieve regent, vult zij haar putje voor 40 dagen (Rain on Godelieve's fest fills her well for 40 days).
Als het op St. Godelieve regent, de Heer de groentetuinen zegent (Rain on Godelieve's Day, the Lord is blessing the vegetable gardens).
Godelieve is also invoked against fever and neck pain (because of her
martyrdom).
The Oostmolen (Eastern mill) is one of the oldest mills in West Flanders, already mentioned in 1302. It is pictured on the map made by Jacob Van Deventer (ca. 1659-1573) as well as on Sanderus' encarved plate (1641). The modern mill dates from the XVIIIth century and is shown on Ferraris' map (1770-1778). It is a typical Flemish stick-mill (staakmolen), used in the past both for flour and oil production. The mill was stopped in 1934 and purchased in 1971 from the Ronse family by the municipality of Gistel. After a blaze in 1979, the mill was revamped and inaugurated on 19 May 1984.
The Belgian cyclist Jan Museeuw (b. 1965) is known as the Lion of Gistel, the place where he lives and ended his career on 2 April 2004 during the Gistel Rally. During his career (1988-2004), Museeuw was Champion of the World (Lugano, 1996), won twice the UCI World Cup (1995-1996), was twice Champion of Belgium (1992, 1996), won three times the Tour of Flanders (1993, 1995, 1998), three times Paris-Roubaix (1996, 2000, 2002), Paris-Tours (1993), the Amstel Gold Race (1994), the Het Volk (2000), two stages of the Tour de France (1990), and many other races.
Source: Municipal website
Ivan Sache, 21 July 2005
The municipal flag of Gistel is red with a white chevron of ermine.
According to Gemeentewapens in België - Vlaanderen en Brussel, the
flag was adopted by the Municipal Council on 30 August 1984, confirmed
by the Executive of Flanders on 3 December 1984 and published in the
Belgian official gazette on 8 July 1986.
The flag is a banner of the municipal arms.
According to Servais, Gistel used the same arms before the municipal fusion, whereas the former municipality of Moere used nearly identical arms, "Gules a chevron argent".
The banner of arms of Gistel reuses the old arms of the lords of
Gistel, then written Ghistelles. This was a powerful family with
several possessions all over Flanders and Artois, allied to the other
most famous families of the time.
The EarlyBlazon website shows the arms of Gautier de Ghistelles, who
took part to the battle of Bouvines (1214) and to the Fifth Crusade, as
"Gules a chevron argent", with the following comment:
"Chamberlain of the Count of Flanders. The Ghistelles' coat of arms is
known to be "Gules a chevron ermine" (Walford's Roll). But on a seal
dated 1237 the chevron is plain."
The Gelre Armorial has six entries for "Ghistelles":
- "Gules a chevron ermine" for Jean VI, lord of Ghistelles (Die Hne v.
Gistele, #930, folio 80r);
- "Gules a chevron ermine (Ghistelles) three cross moline shadowed" for
Jean de Ghistelles, lord of Nevele (Die v. Nevel, #939, folio 80v);
- "Gules a chevron or" for Sohier de Ghistelles, lord of Herzele (Die
He. v. Haerzele, #965, folio 81v) - today the arms and banner of arms
of the municipality of Herzele.
- "Gules a chevron ermines (Ghistelle) three mullets argent" for Gérard
de Ghistelles, lord of Hekelsbecke (Heckelsbeec, #1009, folio 82v) -
in 1299, Beatrix d'Esquelbecq married Gauthier de Ghistelles; the
today's municipality of Esquelbecq, located near Dunkirk in the north
of France, uses "or a chevron azure three mullets gules" as its municipal arms;
- "Quarterly, I and IV gules a chevron ermine (Ghistelles), II and III
barruly argent and azure eight pieces a lion gules crowned or
(Luxembourg)" for Jean de Ghistelles (H. Jan v. Ghistelles, #1074,
folio 85r) - Jean III de Ghistelles (d. c. 1315) married Marguerite de
Luxembourg in 1289; their son Jean de Ghistelles was killed in 1346 during
the battle of Crécy
- "Quarterly, I and IV gules a chevron ermine (Ghistelles), II and III
barruly argent and azure eight pieces..." [unfinished] for Jean de
Ghistelles (H. Jan v. Gistele, #1537, folio 106v).
The Heraldus website shows the arms of the branch of Le Rœulx of the
Ghistelles family, founded by the marriage of Louise de Ghistelles with Eustache
de Croÿ, as "gules a chevron ermine three mullets
argent".
In the XIVth century, Marie de Ghistelles married Louis, the
illegitimate son of Count of Flanders Louis de Mâle. The British Museum
has a mazer (drinking bowl made of wood) with cover, showing the shields
of Flanders and Ghistelles combined, a probable reference to the
marriage.
Philippe-Alexandre-Emmanuel-François-Jospeh de Ghistelles (d. 1808) was
made Prince of Ghistelles by Empress Maria-Theresia on 6 August 1760.
Arnaud Leroy, Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 7 July 2007
