'Ende want van onzer stadt van Nivele vergheten was daer inne'. Nivelles, le Brabant wallon et la charte de Cortenberg: une présence ténue dans la mémoire et dans les faits?
Éric Bousmar
The 1312 charter of Cortenberg is not part the collective memory in modern and contemporary Walloon Brabant. town Nivelles was most likely to develop such a memory, being only from area delegate member late medieval Council as well –until 1995- historical chief city Nevertheless, it did not. During Brabantine Revolution (late 18th C.), alluded polical argument later, 19th-21st C., played no role local culture. Two explanations may be found this situation. southern, French-speaking, Duchy Brabant weighed little terms politics, economy demography compared Dutch-speaking part. political culture predominantly Dutch-speaking. Not single acted representative towns established by so-called Charter Cortenberg, albeit four cities or boroughs had been present at scealing. Only 20 years allowed sent Council. From then on, he urban As we see, facts offer any glorious place for narrative. city, although real, remained minor one. A second explanation lies existence an alternative that cultivated elites revealed far more powerful. In C. landscape dominated its Collegiate Church, remnent Chapter suppressed during French Period (1798) abbey founded S. Gertrud. It founding abbess (whose father direct ancestor Carolingians), old successive abbesses ruling City population commemorated, subversive communal autonomy realm. This appears very clearly on several interconnected occassions : 1930 pageant celebrating Hundred Years Belgian Independance, annual procession Gertrud, processional Giants featured reality heroes dialectal litterature, various administrative, commercial touristic uses past vulgarisation. way, seen second-rank but indeed fancied itself cradle Carolingian dynasty. Consequently, emphasize municipal intra-urban solidarity against authority, built around feudal power abbess. Even today, secularised world, configuration remains. Nivelles, Ancien Regime oriented towards intra muros which « simplified » still today support strong identity.