Schildwolde

Title

Schildwolde

Also Known As

Gratia Sanctae Maria prope Slochteren, Scalduwolde, Scelduwolde, Scelwalda, Schelwold, Schewôl, Schilderwolden, Schildwole, Schilvoldia, Schilwold, Skelwalda

Dates

Founded 1204; dissolved ca. 1590

Dedication

Mary

Affiliation

Mariëngaarde

Medieval Diocese

Münster

Circary

Frisia

History

Schildwolde was initially a double house, but by the later Middle Ages was a community solely of Premonstratensian women. It was suppressed in 1589/94. The monastic complex was demolished in the early modern period.

Some excavations were undertaken on the site in the 19th century. The area where the monastery once stood is still called 'Het Klooster', and there is now a farm on the site.

Heads of Community

Priors

Herdricus, ca. 1204-ca. 1250

Prioresses

Marryke Arens, fl. 1563

Status

Women's community

Archival Sources

Groningen, Groninger Archieven

Best. 172, no. 201-206 (15th-16th c.)

Bibliography

Backmund, Norbert. “Die letzte Priorin von Schildwolde.” Sacris erudiri 7 (1955): 386–96.

Heidema, Koen. “Woldjers en het Wold : Claustrum Gratia Sancte Marie in Skelwalda.” Het Wold : een tijdschrift over de geschiedenis van de dorpen Slochteren, Schildwolde, Overschild, Luddeweer, Woudbloem, Froombosch en Kolham, 2006.

Rijkens, J.G. “Geschiedkundige verhandeling van het klooster te Wittewierum en dat van Schildwolde.” Almanak ter bevordering van kennis en goeden smaak 5 (1832). https://books.google.com/books?id=DolumUzWFJQC&pg=PT2.

Image Credit

View of the later farmhouse on the site, which is said to incorporate some masonry from the medieval monastery, 1969. Wikimedia.

Files

Collection

Frisia

Citation

“Schildwolde,” A Premonstratensian Atlas, accessed October 16, 2026, https://yvonneseale.org/atlas/items/show/277.

Geolocation

Item Relations

This Item DependentOn Item: Mariëngaarde
Item: Ter Apel DependentOn This Item