In our recent edition of the two oldest texts of the Ninove necrologium (Analecta Praemonstratensia, LXXXIV, 2008, pp. 5-249, we published a list of abbots, but without any supporting argument. That lacuna is dealt with here. We have a first-rate source for the list of Ninove abbots: the Recapitulatio omnium abbatum ecclesie Ninivensis, which has the advantage of being complete and more or less contemporary. A disadvantage, however, is that it contains internal contradictions: in particular, the stated duration of abbacies does not always coincide with the dates of their beginning and ending. Between the seventeenth century and the present day, many new lists of abbots have been drawn up that sometimes differ fundamentally in respect of the dating of the beginning and ending of abbacies. The most important present-day and scholarly list of abbots appeared in the Monasticon belge (1980), although its authors have wrongly given precedence to the dates of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century lists of abbots and have thereby compounded the confusion. It is for that reason that we have subjected the dates of the listing to 1578 - there is no dispute about dates after then - to fresh study. Our point of departure was the text of the Recapitulatio, each date in which was checked against the details in the other narrative sources, in the oldest Ninove necrologium and in the charters. In our opinion, the dates from the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century lists of abbots have little use, because they are the result of uncritical compilation work. We also indicate the important distinction between the retirement from office and the death of an abbot, a distinction that was not made in many of the older lists of abbots. In respect of interregnum duration, we have in all instances assumed a short period of one month, our basis for this being the few cases where the duration is known. Application of this method of working has enabled us to date the periods of office to within a month. A major problem in dealing with mediaeval dating is that of the calendar style; too little or inadequate account has been taken of this in the list of abbots in both the Monasticon belge and the recent Inventaris van het archief van de Sint-Cornelius- en Sint-Cyprianusabdij te Ninove (2008). We have concluded that, in the Ninove charters and texts, the Easter Style was used from probably the Easter of 1202 to 1576, the Christmas Style prior to then and the present New Style since then. We were able to find only one exception. For a charter of 1195 of the abbot of the Atrecht Abbey of Saint Vaast for the Ninove abbey, we have to assume the Annunciation Style. For the dates originating from the papal chancellery in connection with the approval of appointments and payments of the contributions demanded, we have assumed the use of the Christmas Style.

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   |texte=   De datering van de regeerperiodes van de Ninoofse abten tot 1578
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