Leffe

Title

Leffe

Also Known As

L'Effe, Leffes, Leffia, Leffla, Lefflia, Lefle

Dates

Founded 1152; dissolved 1796

Dedication

Mary; John the Evangelist

Affiliation

Floreffe

Medieval Diocese

Liège

Circary

Floreffe

History

Originally a priory dependent on Floreffe, Leffe was elevated to an abbey in its own right from 1160. The community was generously endowed by the local aristocracy, and it flourished for much of the High Middle Ages.

However, in the early 15th century the community was devastated by plague, while in 1460 the monastic complex was badly damaged by flooding. In 1466, the abbey was damaged during the Sack of Dinant. It was rebuilt in the early modern period.

The abbey of Leffe was suppressed in 1796. During the 19th century the monastic complex was used by various businesses. In 1902, the site was repurchased by the Premonstratensian Order and a community was reestablished there.

Heads of Community

Abbots

Werricus I, 1200-1202
Hellinus, 1202-1211
Jean de Huy, 1211-1220
Jean II, 1220-1224
Bartholomaeus, 1224-1228
Julianus, 1228-1234
Balduinus I, 1236-1255
Jean III?, fl. 1257?
Godefridus Renard, fl. 1259?
Frisinoldus Marlet, 1260-1263
Jean IV de Farciennes, ca. 1257-ca. 1269
Gerardus I, 1270
Werricus II de Waha, ?-1272
Ponchardus (or Richardus) de Beauraing, 1274-1278
Gerardus II de Nivelles, 1278-1283
Valeranus, 1284-1308
Balduinus II, 1308-1316
Jean V d’Evrehailles, 1317-1326
Jean VI Bachelet, 1326-1345
Gautier de Beaumont, 1345-1362
Balduinus III de Aische-en-Refail, 1363-1376
Jean VII de Flun, 1376-1382
Nicolaus I Moréal, 1382-1395
Fabricius de Pécheroux, 1395-1400
Werricus III de Beaumont, 1400-1408
Jacobus Bayart, 1409-1425
Nicolaus II Damanon, 1425-1435
Jean VIII de Gorin, 1435-1460
Walterus de Wespin, 1460-1469
Jean IX Delvaux, 1469-1481
Nicolaus III de Mierdorp, 1481-1483
Jean X de Falay, 1483
Arnoldus Maillet, 1483-1504
Gilles d’Awagne, 1504-1528
Hubert de Baillure, 1528-1537
Louis Giget, 1537-1545
Gerard Titeux, 1545-1557

Status

Priory, then abbey

Archival Sources

The abbey of Leffe retains some of its own archives.

Louvain, Archives de l'Université catholique de Louvain 

FE 085, dossier 7 (19th/20th c., notes)

Namur, Archives de l'État

MS 3348-3355 (13th-18th c.)

Bibliography

Berlière, Ursmer. “Abbaye de Leffe.” In Monasticon Belge, 1:124–30. Maredsous: Abbaye de Maredsous, 1890. https://books.google.com/books?id=xGwZAAAAYAAJ.

Borgnet, Jules. “Sceau de l’abbaye de Leffe.” Annales de la Société archéologique de Namur 5 (1857): 209–10. https://neptun.unamur.be/ark:/83449/00cc28b5f7/94651.

De Abdij Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Leffe, Dinant. Monuments et histoires. Moisenay-le-Petit: Editions Gaud, 2002. https://archive.org/details/leffeabbeydinant0000abba.

Jacques, François. L’Abbaye de Leffe et ses cures avant la Révolution. Dinant: Abbaye de Leffe, 1957.

———. “L’archidiaconé d’exception de l’abbaye de Leffe et les cures à la collation de son abbé.” Analecta Praemonstratensia 32 (1956): 228–76.

———. “L’archidiaconé d’exception de l’abbaye de Leffe et les cures à la collation de son abbé.” Analecta Praemonstratensia 33 (1957): 40–60.

———. “L’arrivée à Leffe de la colonie de Floreffe.” Namurcum : chronique de la Société archéologique de Namur 24 (1949): 11–13. https://www.lasan.be/images/Namurcum/1949-24e_annee.pdf.

Lamy, Hugues. “A propos d’un Catalogue, Glanes historiques sur l’abbaye de Leffe.” Analecta Praemonstratensia 24 (1948): 115–31.

———. “A propos d’un Catalogue, Glanes historiques sur l’abbaye de Leffe.” Analecta Praemonstratensia 25 (1949): 5–21, 171–91.

Maggi, Christophe. “Le cloître de l’abbaye de Leffe (Dinant).” In Pré-actes des Journées d’Archéologie en Wallonie, Namur 2017, edited by Pierre Paquet, 19–21. Rapports archéologie 7. Namur: Service public de Wallonie, 2017. https://bibliotheques.wallonie.be/doc_num.php?explnum_id=1604.

Nicolaï, Alexis. Notre-Dame de Leffe. Une abbaye prémontrée en Pays Mosan. Dinant: s.n., 1987.

Quinaux, C. J. Notice historique sur L’Abbaye de Leffe: avec de nombreuses piéces justificatives et un appendice sur la Paroisse de Leffe. Bruxelles: Godenne, 1884.

Remy, Albert. “L’abbaye mosane de Leffe.” Parcs nationaux. Association Ardenne et Gaume 8, no. 2 (1953): 51–52. https://ardenne-et-gaume.be/pdfviewer/parcs-nationaux-volume-8-fascicule-2-1953/.

Zachee. “N. D. de Leffe, abbaye norbertine 1152/1789.” Bibliothèque norbertine 5 (1903): 170–89.

Image Credit

The abbey of Notre-Dame de Leffe, 2009. Wikimedia.

Files

Collection

Floreffe

Citation

“Leffe,” A Premonstratensian Atlas, accessed October 16, 2026, https://yvonneseale.org/atlas/items/show/404.

Geolocation

Item Relations

Item: Sart-en-Fagne DependentOn This Item
Item: Waha DependentOn This Item