Special book monastery included in UNESCO register

The monastery's library in Saint Agatha remained the only one in the Netherlands in the same place it was in the Middle Ages. The book collection of the Kruisheren monastery founded in 1371 contains 80 medieval manuscripts. The most precious treasure is a beautifully illuminated Graduale (see sidebar), which was made around 1500 by crusader Johannes van Deventer and has now been kept in the monastery for 500 years.

Because of the unique quality of the manuscript, the Graduale has been included in the UNESCO Dutch Memory of the World Register. This registers exceptional documentary heritage of great importance to the Netherlands. The UNESCO committee led by Kathleen Ferrier presented the UNESCO flag on December 15 at the monastery in Sint Agatha.
Johannes van Deventer's Graduale contains the Gregorian chants for the celebration of Holy Mass. It is a huge book - almost 40 by 60 cm - weighing as much as 22 kilograms. A group of choristers can sing from it collectively. The initial letters of the chants for church high festivals are provided with colorful, creative miniatures. Other initial letters are executed with fine pen decorations. These are often flower and leaf motifs, but John also drew animals, faces and Biblical scenes in the capitals.
In addition to this Graduale, other "legacies" of Johannes van Deventer have been preserved at Klooster Sint Agatha. Such as a second, smaller and less richly decorated, Graduale, as well as a tombstone in the monastery church and an entry in the list of deceased kept in the monastery archives.