The Bowsing Ken

1033: Orval Trappist Ale

  As it goes with many old historic legends, there are slightly differing versions of the basic story, and this is true with the origin of the name Orval. Common amongst all versions is an event whereupon a fish returned a golden ring to a grieving widow, an event that is venerated today on every bottle of Orval beer.
  The grieving widow was Matilde di Canossa, also know as the Countess of Tuscany. Matilde - or alternately Matilda - was born in 1046, the daughter of the Marquess Boniface of Tuscany and his wife Beatrice of Bar, herself the daughter of Frederick of Lorraine. Whether or not Matilde ever fancied that she would live a simple life is not known, the facts being that at a young age she was thrust into the convoluted intrigues that had long characterized the European politics of the era. In 1053, her father was murdered, supposedly by Emperor Henry III, after which her mother married Duke Godfrey - Godfrey the Bearded - of Lorraine. (The name Godfrey can also be Gottfried or Goffredo, depending on which language one is using.) In 1055, at less than ten years of age, Matilde, along with her mother Beatrice, were kidnapped by Emperor Henry III, and imprisoned in Germany. Released a year later, Matilde would eventually be married (date?) to Godfrey of Lower Lorraine, actually her stepbrother. Due to a physical abnormality, he was also known as Godfrey the Hunchback.

  In the meantime, around the year 1070, a group of beleaguered Benedictine monks from Calabria, in Southern Italy, fled their war torn home in search of a more peaceful local in which to practice their faith. Arriving in the town of Trier - now in Germany - the local archbishop sent the group in to the Ardennes forest. Here, Count Arnold II (Arnould II) of Chiny welcomed them with open arms and granted them lands from within his own holdings on which to build a church and an abbey.
  So, back to Matilde - The next chapter of Matilde's life, one that is key to the history of Orval beer, has a couple of differing versions. One version has it that her marriage to Godfrey the Hunchback was not exactly blissful, with the couple separating in 1071, and their marriage never resulting in any children. Some historians believe that their marriage was never even consummated. Other versions, while acknowledging that their relationship was not the best, state the marriage did result in the birth of one child. Whether it was a boy or a girl is also subject to debate, although some references say it was a daughter named Beatrice. Confusingly, for the story, the same references say that the young daughter only lived one year. In any case, tragedy visited Matilde when, in 1076, Godfrey was himself murdered, supposedly followed by their young child - one version of the legend states it was an 8-year old boy - drowning after falling into the River Semois.

  Evidently Count Arnold II, in an attempt to ease the emotions of the distraught Matilde, took her to see the new church then being built on his lands by the Italian monks. One does have to wonder exactly how distraught she really was, since apparently she did not even like her husband, and there may or may not have even been a child from the marriage. Anyway, while on the grounds of the nascent abbey, Matilde took a moment to wash her hands in the well that supplied the abbey - some versions say that she was washing her hands in a nearby stream - whereupon in either case, her wedding ring slipped off her finger and disappeared in to the deep water. Although her marriage to Godfrey was not exactly the best, Matilde became quite distressed when she lost the ring. Being a highly devout person, Matilde immediately began to prey, beseeching the Virgin Mary to return the ring to her, when a fish - a trout - appeared in the water with the ring in its mouth. Upon the return of the ring, Matilde is said to have exclaimed, "This place is truly a valley of gold," which in French would be "val d'Or." Over the ensuing years this morphed into "Orval." In thanks for returning her ring Matilde bestowed additional funding for the completion of the abbey and church, which at some obscure date began to be called Orval.

 Unlike the monks, Matilde's life was rarely one of quite contemplation. In 1089, at the urging of Pope Urban II, she married Duke Welf V of Bavaria, thus forming a powerful alliance against the current Emperor Henry IV. Almost constant battles ensued, lands were lost and regained, people were excommunicated and lots of people were murdered, during which time Matilde steadfastly supported the Pope and the church against all enemies. Matilde's marriage to Welf V - he was just fifteen at the time - was also not a good one, produced no heirs, and ended only a few years after it began. Matilde died in 1115, long suffering from gout. She willed all her lands to the Pope, but none of it actually made it into the Pope's possession.

  As often happens, a small community developed around the abbey, which became known as Viller-devant-Orval, which is loosely translated as "village in front of Orval." The exact date of the official founding of this village is rather obscure, however there is evidence of habitation dating back to Roman times, even before the establishment of the abbey. What this habitation was called has not been recorded.

  Rather mysteriously, around 1108, before construction was complete, most of the original Calabrian monks disappeared from their new home, Although not verified, it was believed that most of them moved as a group to the Holy Land. Construction was continued by a group of monks from Trier, who under the support of Bruno (or Othon), son of Count Arnold, completed the project around 1124. That same year the church was consecrated by Henri de Winton, Bishop of Verdun, and in 1132, the monks were granted an affiliation with the Order of the Cistercians. For the next several hundred years, although there were always various conflicts raging during this era of European history, the abbey grew and prospered, actually being highly regarded for having a quality iron foundry. According to one reference, the monks were also quite adept at making locks. Then, of course, came the French revolution. In June 1793, after confiscating all the abbey's property, French troops destroyed much of the abbey itself, while the monks fled to neighboring Luxembourg. The abbey was officially closed on 7 November 1795, and the land was sold off the following year.

  For years, the grounds of the abbey at Orval lay in virtual ruin, being used by many of the locals as a source of cut stone. Then, in 1887, the property was bought by a member of the de Harenne family, who, in 1926, with the desire to see the abbey rebuilt, gave the lands and ruins back to the Cistercian Order. Work soon got underway, with the abbey at Orval declared an autonomous abbey in 1936, and the new church consecrated in 1948. More properly called the Abbey of Our Lady of Orval - Abbaye de Notre Dame d'Orval - the Orval monastery, now associated with the Trappist order, has been there ever since.

Now, for the beer.  Records indicate that brewing existed at Abbaye d'Orval way back in 1628, although it probably existed even further back than that. A Franciscan monk visiting the abbey over three centuries ago records having toured the abbey's "hopsfield." The modern brewery was built in 1931. Since the old iron foundry was long gone a viable way to earn extra money was needed, and a brewery, along with making bread, cheese, honey and jams, was seen as way to not only support the monks work helping the surrounding community, but also as a way fund the continued reconstruction of the abbey. When the brewery started in 1931, the operation was entrusted to skilled laymen vice the monks, although over the years several Orval monks spent time at other breweries and have learned the required trade. The first brewmaster was a Bavarian gentleman named Martin Pappenheimer, and his first batch of beer was deemed ready for consumption on 7 May 1932. Breaking with another Trappist norm, Orval was the first of the Trappist beers to be marketed outside of the local area, thus earning more money for charity and for construction of the abbey. In the early days the beer was shipped in large oak casks, and was then bottled at the destination. (I wonder what that beer tasted like, being oak aged, and all - wonderful, I imagine). Interestingly, an architect from Antwerp by the name of Henry Vaes not only designed most of the buildings for the new abbey, but also the shapely Orval beer bottle, a shape that has remained virtually unchanged since it was first used in 1932. The water used in the brewing process reportedly comes from the same source as the pool where Matilde lost her precious ring. "Matilde's Fountain" can still be seen today.

The monks are understandably quite proud of their beer, although they themselves only get to drink it twice a year, consuming instead a low-alcohol table beer known as La Petit-Orval, which is not readily available to the public. As a Belgian beer lover, I can only be grateful that I can drink an Orval on any day of the year.