1381: a major date for us

A chart stresses the first and foremost role of the GROTE GUILD above the other smaller ones. This
chart is granted by Jeanne and Wenceslas, Duke and Duchess of Brabant. The crossbow men’s guild
has become so powerful that they have their own church built: the church of the Sablon. A stained
window with crossbows as well as a mysterious rowboat remind the visitor of this fact.
One can wonder about the presence of this rowboat in a church.
This refers to the legend of Béatrice Soetkens. Once upon a time she was washing her linen in the
river Senne when she heard a voice. At first, she thought of a joke, but no, it wasn’t. She soon realised
it was a real call urging her to steal the statue of the holy Virgin in Antwerp. She sailed there in her
little rowboat and took hold of the statue thanks to a miraculous sleep of the guards. She went back to
Brussels where she set foot on a meadow where some people were training. Guess who that was?
The crossbow men, of course. They immediately chose to accompany her and they decided to build a
church to shelter the statue.
Let’s now deal with the kings of the Serment. Every year there used to be a shooting competition
where the best shooter was awarded the title of king. Being a king was such an honour that princes
and dukes coveted this honour. But as they were very poor shooters, they were clever enough to
make themselves represented by skilful shooters. They were required to shoot down a papegaie
(metal bird), perched 36 meters above the ground (the height of the little steeple (clocheton) of Notre
Dame du Sablon.
Here comes another prominent personality of the Serment: the Archduchess Isabelle. In 1615, she
shot down the little bird 36 m above the ground, which demonstrates that women can also be excellent
shooters. She came to be regarded as a patron of the crossbow men. She had their ground cut in 2
and a house built for them. The number of shooters was limited to 60 so that the guild could be kept
under control.

Shooting

Crossbow shooting is not as easy as it may seem as it requires some concentration and strength
as some crossbow may be as heavy as 14 kilos.
There are 4 existing disciplines:
- 36 meters (vertical shooting) (weapon developing a force of 300kg)
- 20 meters (the arrow reaching a speed of 180kmph)
- 10 meters (with a speed of 120kmph)
- 6 meters (100kmph)
Every distance requires the use of a different weapon because every distance requires a different
power.

Our museum

You can come and visit us every Thursday at 8 pm (on appointment info@arbaletriers-
saintgeorges.be )
You can visit our museum and organise there lectures, visits and parties with or without shooting
initiations.
 

The Museum is open every Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., no reservation required. Entry is through the courtyard of the Bel-Vue Museum.

Admission is €2 per adult. Free for children and students.

The Guild House is open every second Tuesday of the month at 8 p.m. Shooting ranges for a free introductory session are available to visitors after prior registration at info@arbaletriers-saintgeorges.be. Ring the bell for "arbalétrier" (crossbowman) to the right of the entrance gate