Baltinglass Abbey () is a ruined medieval

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

Baltinglass Baltinglass, historically known as Baltinglas (), is a town in south-west County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Carlow and County Kildare, on the N81 road (Ireland), N81 road ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Founded by

Diarmait Mac Murchada Diarmait Mac Murchada (Modern Irish: ''Diarmaid Mac Murchadha''; anglicised as Dermot MacMurrough or Dermot MacMurphy; – c. 1 May 1171), was King of Leinster in Ireland from 1127 to 1171. In 1167, he was deposed by the High King of Ireland ...

1148 Year 1148 ( MCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Second Crusade * January 1 – The French crusaders under King Louis VII defeat a Turkish ambush next to the Meander River. Three ...

, the abbey was suppressed in 1536. It is today a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

History

Founded in 1148 by

, the King of Leinster, Baltinglass Abbey sits beside the

River Slaney The River Slaney (; ) is a large river in the southeast of Ireland. It rises on Lugnaquilla Mountain in the western Wicklow Mountains and flows west and then south through counties Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford for 117.5 km (73 mi), ...

in a valley of the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...

. The original name ''Belach Conglais'' means "pass of Cú Glas," referring to a mythological hero that was killed by

wild boars The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

. The abbey is roughly contemporary with

Ferns Abbey Ferns Abbey () is a ruined Augustinians, Augustinian abbey in Ferns, County Wexford, Ferns, County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Likely built on the site of an early Christian monastic site founded by Máedóc of Ferns, the standing re ...

, St Saviour's Priory, and possibly also

Killeshin Church Killeshin Church is a 12th-century Romanesque church and National Monument located in County Laois, Ireland. Location Killeshin Church is located near Killeshin village, on the south bank of the Fushoge River (a tributary of the Barrow), abo ...

. Baltinglass Abbey was established as a

daughter house A dependency, among monastic orders, denotes the relation of a monastic community with a newer community that it has founded elsewhere. The relationship is that of the founding abbey or conventual priory, termed the motherhouse, with a monastery ...

Mellifont Abbey Mellifont Abbey (, literally 'the Big Monastery'), was a Cistercians, Cistercian abbey located close to Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland. It was the first abbey of the order to be built in Ireland. In 1152, it hosted the Synod of Kells-Mellifo ...

, a

abbey near

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

. Diarmait gave it the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name ''Vallis Salutis'', meaning "Valley of

Salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

", and granted it eight parcels of land in the region as an endowment.

Grangecon Grangecon () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It has a population of about 200 people, and is located between Baltinglass and Dunlavin. History While the name Grange Con is said to be of Celtic origin the earliest recorded his ...

, a nearby village, was originally an out-farm of the monks. They operated a corn-mill in the area that the village now occupies. The first stage of the building was completed by 1170, it had become the mother house of

Jerpoint Abbey Jerpoint Abbey () is a ruined Cistercian abbey, founded in the second half of the 12th century in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located 2.5 km south west of Thomastown on the R448 regional road. There is a visitor centre with an exhibi ...

in about 1160, and in 1228 it is recorded that there were 36

monks A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

and 50

lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choi ...

s living at Baltinglass. The Abbey was occupied for nearly 400 years until it was shut down by the 1536 Dissolution of the Monasteries and granted to

Edmond Butler, 3rd/13th Baron Dunboyne Edmond Butler, 3rd/13th Baron Dunboyne (1595–1640) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman of the early seventeenth century. His short life was full of violence and disputes over the Dunboyne inheritance. His father was murdered when Edmond was a small chil ...

. A

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

church was built within the abbey itself in 1815, but it closed in 1883.

Architecture

The stonework at the abbey shows carved humans and animals and is a particular Cistercian form of

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

. The decoration on the

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

is similar to that at its daughter house Jerpoint. The surviving church (56 m in length) and some of the

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

date from the 12th century, consisting of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, square presbytery with three-light window and a pair of

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s from which small chapels project. The south aisle of the church is joined to the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

by a twelfth-century doorway. Part of the original

, to the south of the church, has been rebuilt. The church also has 13th and 15th-century additions. The east windows and tower were built in the nineteenth century. A glazed tile potentially depicting

Saint George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianity—defeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a huma ...

was unearthed at the abbey in 1941. At that point, it was the only tile ever found in Ireland with a human figure painted on it.

References

Sources

* * * {{refend Cistercian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Archaeological sites in County Wicklow National monuments in County Wicklow 1148 establishments in Ireland

History

Architecture

See also

References

Sources