Last modified: 2022-02-27 by ivan sache
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![[Flag]](../images/b/be-whtme.gif)
Flag of Mont-de-l'Enclus - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 2 September 2007
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The municipality of Mont-de-l'Enclus (3,417 inhabitants - Enclusiens -
on 1 January 2007; 6,080 ha, including 600 ha of woods; municipal website) is located 20
km north-east of Tournai. The Mont de l'Enclus / Kluisbergen, mightily towering at an elevation of 141 m, marks the border between Hainaut and East Flanders, Flanders and Wallonia, and the municipalities of
Mont-de-l'Enclus and Kluisbergen. A "three land point" where the borders of
The municipality of Mont-de-l'Enclus was established in 1976 as the merger of the former municipalities of Amougies (Amengijs; 1,030 inh.), Anserœul (1,027 inh.), Orroir (810 inh.) and Russeignies (Rozenaken; 555 inh.). Amougies, Russeignies and Orroir, which depended in the past of the Country of Aalst, belonged until 1963 to the province of East Flanders.
Mont de l'Enclus is the place of the legend of Liedericq /
Liederieck. Around 620, a caravan led by Prince Salvaert, from Dijon, was attacked in the woods by Count Phinaert. Everybody was killed
except Salvaert's wife, Ermengarde de Roussillon, who gave birth to a
child. She could hide the child under a bush before being captured by
Phinaert. An hermit found the child, called him Liedericq and raised
him. There are several versions of the Liedericq's legend, who is
reported to have moved to England and then came back to Flanders, where he
founded the towns of Lille (the local giant is called Liedericq) and Bruges and was the root of the Counts of Flanders. One of his descenders, Liedericq II, settled in Harelbeke, where his statue still watches the main square.
The legend, popularized by writers such as Alexandre Dumas, Hendrik
Conscience and Cécile Ameye, has, however, some historical roots
since Mont de l'Enclus means the Hermitage's Mount (from enclos or
kluis, "an enclosure") and several places listed in the legend are
still existing, such as the Beste Beek (sacred fountain) located in
Russignies. It was reported in 1148 that the place was settled by
counterfelters led by an hermit; two Flemish lords coming back from the
Crusade and spending the night in the hermitage watched the old hermit,
who turned into a young man and disappeared through a trap door. They
followed him and found the counterfelters; the lords warned the Count
of Flanders and arrested the rascals, who were hung in the castle of
Ghent. On 11 June 1724, the procession with St Hermes' shrine was attacked by the rascal known as "The Egyptian". Around 1748, the priest
of Amougies complained to the dean of Ronse that the hermits lured his flock and went overboard. Until the beginning of the 19th century, several groups of rascals were reported to scour the place. One of their famous leaders was Jean-Baptiste Lefèbvre, known as "Sans-Doigts"
(Fingerless).
Amougies, the seat of the municipality, has an industrial activity. The
St. Bavo church keeps the tombs of nine dukes of Montmorency in a vault located under the altar, including the recumbent statutes of lord Antoine de
Montmorency (d. 21 March 1529) and his second wife, Jeanne de Beaufort
(d. 11 June 1532).
On 24-28 October 1969, the music festival Actuel moved to Amougies
from Saint-Cloud, where it had been forbidden by the French authorities (the May 1968 event was still in the memories!). For one week, the
festival welcomed some of the most famous pop musicians (Frank Zappa - jamming
with Pink Floyd, Ten Years After, East of Eden, Yes, Captain Beefheart,
Keith Emerson, Soft Machine - a non-stop 1 h 03' 23" performance -
and the unforgettable French groups Martin Circus, Gong and Zoo) and
free jazz musicians (Steve Lacy and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Archie
Shepp, Don Cherry, Joachim Kuhn, Jean-François Jenny-Clark) of the
time.
[Festival
d'Amougies, by Paul Alessandrini (Rock & Folk, #35, December 1969)]
Anserœul is a rural village, the only in the municipality to be located on the left bank of river Rhosnes. The Great Cross Farm (Ferme de la Grand Croix) was built on the site of the feudal castle of Anserœul, suppressed in 1633-1635. The castle is documented in the 14th century as belonging to Gérard de la Croix.
Orroir might have been named after an oratory (Latin, oratorium). A Gallo-Roman treasure made of 80 coins from the 2nd century and tombs were found in 1980. The mill of Orroir belonged to Charles Béghin, who was expelled from France together with his father during the Revolution. The mill was located in a windy place, near a café called Le drapeau français (The French Flag) and should have been very successful; unfortunately, access to the mill was made difficult by a bad path not usable by animals. Accordingly, the mill was ruined and suppressed in the beginning of the 20th century. The tower of Orroir was built on the probable site of a former chapel, itself built on the site of a former hermitage. It was used by the Gueux as a stand during the Religious Wars and as an observation and semaphore post during the Napoleonic wars. In the beginning of the 20th century, the tower was famous for providing the widest panorama in Belgium, up to Lille, Tournai and Ghent. Since then, trees have grown up!
Russeignies is the birth place of Right Reverend Théophile Meerschaert (1847-1924), who moved to the USA in 1872. He was appointed Bishop of Sidyma on 11 July 1891. On 17 August 1905, the Diocese of Oklahoma (formerly a Vicariate Apostolic) was erected by Pope Pius X. Bishop Meerschaert was appointed as first incumbent of the new Episcopal See of Oklahoma on 23 August 1905.
Ivan Sache, 2 September 2007
The flag of Mont-de-l'Enclus is green with a white horizontal
diamond and a white saltire overall. Armoiries communales en Belgique. Communes wallonnes, bruxelloises et germanophones [w2v03a] describes the flag as "green with a white fret".
In 1983, the municipality decided to adopt a green and white flag in a design recalling the green mounts and valleys of the region.
Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 2 September 2007
Other reported flag
![[Flag]](../images/b/be-whtm1.gif)
Other flag of Mont-de-l'Enclus - Image by PAntónio Martins, 2 September 2007
The municipal website once showed a photo of the Town Hall flying another green and white flag, most probably the local tourism flag.
Pascal Vagnat, Lewis Nowitz & Ivan Sache, 21 December 2017