The St. Bernulphusgilde or Guild of St. Bernulphus was a Dutch secret society / trade union Catholic association established on December 1, 1869. Its intention initially was to protect national traditions of old craftmanship in religious art and church architecture. Information about the association's meetings, as well as trade information, was published in their magazine The Guild Book. The association was considered a guild and named after the 11th-century bishop of Utrecht, a passionate church builder named Bernold.[1]
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The association was established in Utrecht, founded by Father Gerald van Heukelum, from the idea of the Flemish St. Thomas Guild and St. Lucas Guild. Membership was originally open only to clergy, but the guild flourished when membership was extended to certain religious artists and architects. Although guild members worked mainly in the Netherlands in the Utrecht province, and to a lesser extent in other parts of the archdiocese, it played an important role in the construction and furnishing of churches throughout the Netherlands. Many well-known artists from Heukelum and the Rhineland were welcomed. The association was strict about conforming to particular requirements of style and obtained important jobs because of this. [1]
The prescribed style for church construction was a conservative variant of the Gothic Revival architecture that focused on indigenous varieties of the late Gothic period, particularly the Gothic Lower Rhine, and was done almost exclusively in brick. The so-called "Utrecht School" of the association was mainly a vehicle for the views of Pierre Cuypers, who also was an honorary member for whom Gothic Revival was just a starting point for innovation.[1] The design of the Willibrord church in Utrecht followed the concepts of the St. Bernulphus guild association.[2]
Founder Heukelom's collection of art from medieval times served as examples to form a museum in 1872. It was available to the public. This museum in 1882 was elevated to the Archbishop's Museum, the predecessor of the current Museum Catharijneconvent.[1]
The most important member of the St. Bernulphus guild association was considered Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg.[3] The most important architect was Alfred Tepe.[1] The silversmith Gerald Brom and builder Michael Maarschalkerweerd were other well known members. The guild stayed active until the 1930s.[1]
St. Bernulphus guild association was run more like a fraternity than a scholarly society. This characterization was typified by discussions being postponed due to copious dinners that overran their allotted time. Their meetings usually ended up in fraternal jovial feasting. The guild association even had its own song that was sung by the members. The song lyrics were written by Herman Schaepman (1844-1903), a priest.[4]