Willem van Saeftinghe [SEP] religious order
Willem van Saeftinghe
Willem van Saeftinghe ("William of Saeftinghe"; d. 1309?) was a lay brother in the Cistercian abbey of Ter Doest in Lissewege, West Flanders, Belgium. He fought at the Battle of the Golden Spurs, and became a Flemish folk hero.
Life.
Willem was a lay brother in the Cistercian abbey of Ter Doest in Lissewege. During the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302 he unhorsed the French leader, Count Robert of Artois, who was then killed by other Flemish
an experienced guide.
History.
Saeftinghe was drained in the 13th century under the management of the abbey of Ter Doest. Willem van Saeftinghe was one of the best known occupants of the abbey and gave his name to the stretch of land claimed from the sea. Up to 1570, the land was very fertile polder. Agriculture, peat burning and trade turned Saeftinghe into one of the most prosperous places in the region. There were several additional settlements nearby: Namen, Sint-Laureins, Stampaert, Weele (Sint