Abbess Margaretha of Austria. Not really a saintly character.

As was often the case in women's monasteries at the beginning of the 16th century, discipline weakened, also in the monastery of Oriënten.

The abbey experienced significant material growth in the first decades of the sixteenth century under Abbess Maria Bollen, but on a spiritual level it came into conflict with its visitor, the abbot of Villers. From then on, the abbot of Aulne became the visitor, and in 1557, after the death of the abbess, he urged the monastic community to choose a sister from the abbey of Soleilmont near Charleroi. This was probably not coincidental, as the abbot of Aulne also had patronage rights in Soleilmont. That new abbess was Margaretha of Austria.

Anyone who thinks this famous educator is the one of Emperor Charles V is mistaken. In this case, it concerns a natural daughter of the Prince-Bishop of Liège, Joris of Austria. He was, in turn, a bastard child of Emperor Maximilian of Austria. One might wonder why he was a prince-bishop, but the reason is simple. When the bastard son had legitimate children, they could potentially cause issues in the succession. This was not possible with a prince-bishop.

Our Margriet must not have been happy here. Just a few years later, she requested, through Regent Margareta of Parma, that King Philip II grant her the administration of another, richer monastery. According to her, she had found the monastery in a miserable condition, both on worldly and spiritual levels, and had succeeded in turning the tide. Whether this is true remains uncertain, but her repeated requests for a better position were constantly denied. The fact is that she was not very motivated to do her best, for as early as 1572, the monastery would have incurred quite a bit of debt. During an investigation by the ecclesiastical authority in 1580, the sisters of Oriënten complained about Margareta's unusual strictness. They were given dry bread and hard cheese to eat. Clothing items disappeared. Her brother Joris was said to have lodged at the abbey for a year with his entire retinue, during which abnormally high expenses were incurred for luxury, splendor, and pageantry.

Moreover, Margareta did not adhere strictly to good morals. She often traveled to Aulne where she met Abbot Guillaume Noël. More than once, the abbot was seen sneaking into Margareta's room around 11:30 PM. By the way, Noë's management was disastrous for Aulne.

Apparently, Margareta was not satisfied with the advances of the abbot. She was found to be having an affair with the well-known master builder Cornelis Floris de Vriendt. Yes, the one from the Town Hall of Antwerp and the Sacrament Tower of Zoutleeuw! One night, both rivals encountered each other, and a brawl nearly broke out. However, Cornelis was outmatched. His revenge was unworthy of a gentleman: he published Margareta's love letters to the abbot.

Prelate Joris of Liège (1557-1563) wanted to dismiss both, but whether by coincidence or not, he went insane and the matter did not proceed at all.

During the incursions of William of Orange, Margaretha fled to Liège and to Sint-Truiden. Even there, she displayed questionable behavior. She replaced her personal chaplain and confessor with a non-Catholic priest.

Meanwhile, things were not going well at the abbey of Oriënten. Due to the upheavals of war, the number of sisters had dropped to just four. Ultimately, they also left. Margareta fled to Liège and later to Namur.

In the end, the whole investigation into her behavior came to a disappointing conclusion, and she would remain abbess of Oriënten until her death in 1604.

Jan Rymenams