History

Origin

If  what Wendelinus wrote in his dissertation on the ‘Maalberg Glosses’ is true, then Malle is of  Frankish origin and thus very old. Indications that point in that direction: the name itself, the presence of the bailiffs/sheriffs before 1100, the Old-Frankish law (marital tax and  the tripartite tithesystem.)

The name 'Malle'

Linguists are in two minds about the origin of the word ‘Malle’. Some assume that it means ‘vast plain’, ‘border’ or ‘stop’. The most plausible explanation is that it is derived from the Latin word ‘Mallum’, which means ‘maalberg’, the site where the Franks  administered justice and held meetings.

Development of Malle

In the 11^th century the eastern and western part of Malle got separated, because when the county of Strijen was divided, one part was allotted to the seigniory of Breda while the western part, including Zoersel, still belonged to the Dukes of  Brabant.

In the 12^th century, when the first municipalities came into being, small residential areas arose. Their inhabitants, released serfs, could settle thanks to the agricultural exploitation started by the dukes and  probably developing  equally in both parts, east and west.

Such exploitation required the presence of bailiffs, a sort of  business managers for the duke or his vassals. Local seigneurs were first mentioned from the 13^th century onwards. In this way the abbot of the abbey of Villers became the Seigneur of Westmalle in 1233. Around 1300 a local seigneur probably started ruling Malle.

Both areas were even subjected to a double seigniory. In 1505 the sheriff of Westmalle was a vassal to Philip the Fair. In that way Malle served two seigneurs, who got along fairly well, namely the abbot of Saint Bernard (as a landowner) and the bailiff himself (as  the overlord).

After the deaths of Henry and Peter van der Moelen the seigniory of Westmalle was allotted to the de Cotereau-Dammartin family.

Around 1300 also Oostmalle was divided between two seigneurs: Jan van Hesselbeke and Jacob van Dworp. In 1602 both seigniories came into the possession of Fredrik van Renesse and remained in that family until 1830.

Parishes

Although Oost- and Westmalle are now one municipality with 3 different parishes, Malle was only one parish with different administrations in the early days. The parish of Malle existed already before 1194, the year in which the bishop of Kamerijk donated the ‘altar’ to the canons of Antwerp in order for them to appoint a priest there. Oostmalle most likely became an independent parish in the 14^th century. In 1329 the bishop of  Kamerijk permitted the abbey of Averbode to appoint a priest.

The place of worship dedicated to Saint Martin is said to have originally been where now the Saint-Martin chapel is situated (at the crossroads of the roads to Antwerp and Zoersel). Later the former chapel of the castle of Westmalle was enlarged and used as a parish church. Also in Oostmalle the Saint Laurence church was a former castle chapel, dedicated to Saint-Nicholas. The name Saint Laurence originates from a chapel in the vicinity of the Saint-Laureys churchyard, 500 m north of the present church.

Tornado

On 25 June 1967 Oostmalle suffered a severe blow. The centre was hit by a devastating tornado, that reduced a major part of the village into ruins. The village centre and 135 houses were totally demolished. The tower of the Saint-Laurence church was ripped off and the nave collapsed.

Miraculously noone got killed. The scars of this natural disaster are still noticeable in many places in the village. In 1980 the destroyed Saint Laurence tower, in the mean time known as ‘tornadotower’, was restored and inaugurated as a monument.

Merger Oost- and Westmalle

1 January 1977 was a historical date: on that day Oostmalle was reunited with Westmalle and the new village was called ‘Westmalle’. Two years later, on 30 July 1979, this name was officially altered into ‘Malle’.