Fontevraud Abbey
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The Royal Abbey of Our Lady of Fontevraud or Fontevrault (in French: ''abbaye de Fontevraud'') was a
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near
Chinon Chinon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. The traditional province around Chinon, Touraine, became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginn ...
, in the former French
Duchy of Anjou The Duchy of Anjou (; , ; ) was a French province straddling the lower Loire. Its capital was Angers, and its area was roughly co-extensive with the diocese of Angers. Anjou was bordered by Brittany to the west, Maine to the north, Touraine ...
. It was founded in 1101 by the itinerant preacher Robert of Arbrissel. The foundation flourished and became the centre of a new monastic Order, the Order of Fontevraud. This order was composed of
double monasteries A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East ...
, in which the community consisted of both men and women — in separate quarters of the abbey — all of whom were subject to the authority of the
Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...
of Fontevraud. The Abbey of Fontevraud itself consisted of four separate communities, all managed by the same abbess. The first permanent structures were built between 1110 and 1119.Melot (1971) The area where the Abbey is located was then part of what is sometimes referred to as the
Angevin Empire The Angevin Empire (; ) was the collection of territories held by the House of Plantagenet during the 12th and 13th centuries, when they ruled over an area covering roughly all of present-day England, half of France, and parts of Ireland and Wal ...
. The king of England,
Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
, his wife,
Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...
, and their son, King
Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, were all buried here at the end of the 12th century. It was seized and disestablished as a monastery during the French Revolution. The Abbey is situated in the Loire Valley, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, between Chalonnes-sur-Loire and Sully-sur-Loire within the Loire-Anjou-Touraine French regional natural park (''Parc naturel régional Loire-Anjou-Touraine''). The complex of monastic buildings served as a prison from 1804 to 1963. Since 1975, it has hosted a cultural centre, the Centre Culturel de l'Ouest.


History


Founder

Robert of Arbrissel had served as the
Archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogo ...
of the Diocese of Rennes, carrying out the reformist agenda of its bishop. When the bishop died in 1095, Robert was driven out of the diocese due to the hostility of the local clergy. He then became a hermit in the forest of Craon, where he practiced a life of severe penance, together with a number of other men who went on to found major monastic institutions. His eloquence and asceticism attracted many followers, for whom in 1096 he founded a monastery of
canons regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...
at La Roë, of which he was the first
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
. In that same year
Pope Urban II Pope Urban II (; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermon ...
summoned him to
Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...
and appointed him an apostolic missionary, authorizing him to preach anywhere. His preaching drew large crowds of devoted followers, both men and women, even lepers. As a result, many men wished to embrace the religious life, and he sent these to his abbey. When the canons of that house objected to the influx of candidates of lower social states, he resigned his office and left the community.
Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...
''Robert of Arbissel''


Fontevraud

Around 1100 Robert and his followers settled in a valley called ''Fons Ebraldi'' where he established a monastic community. Initially the men and women lived together in the same house, in an ancient ascetic practice called Syneisaktism. This practice had been widely condemned by Church authorities, however, and under pressure the community soon segregated according to gender, with the monks living in small priories where they lived in community in service to the nuns and under their rule. Sometime before 1106,
Fulk IV, Count of Anjou Fulk IV (; 1043 – 14 April 1109), better known as Fulk le Réchin (), was the count of Anjou, count of County of Anjou, Anjou from around 1068 until his death. He was noted to be "a man with many reprehensible, even scandalous, habits" by Orderi ...
gave a significant property gift to the abbey. They were recognized as a religious community in 1106, both by the Bishop of Angers and by
Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050  1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...
. Robert, who soon resumed his life of itinerant preaching, appointed Hersende of Champagne to lead the community. Later her assistant, Petronilla of Chemillé, was elected as the first abbess in 1115. Robert wrote a brief Rule of Life for the community, based upon the Rule of St. Benedict. Unlike the other monastic orders characterized by
double monasteries A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East ...
, the monks and nuns of the Order of Fontevrault followed the same Rule. In his Rule, Robert dealt with four principal points: silence, good works, food and clothing, encouraging the utmost in simplicity of life and dress. He directed that the
abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...
should never be chosen from among those who had been brought up at Fontevrault, but that she should be someone who had had experience of the world (''de conversis sororibus''). This latter injunction was observed only in the case of the first two abbesses and was canceled by
Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
in 1201. At the time of Robert's death in 1117, there were about 3,000 nuns in the community. In the early years the
Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet ( /plænˈtædʒənət/ ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angev ...
s were great benefactors of the abbey and while Isabella d'Anjou was the
abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...
, King
Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
's widow,
Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...
, made the abbey her place of residence. Abbess Louise de Bourbon left her crest on many of the alterations to the abbey building which she made during her term of office.


Decline

With the passing of the Plantagenet dynasty, Fontevrault and her dependencies began to fall upon hard times. At the end of the 12th century, the Abbess of Fontevrault, Matilda of Flanders (1189–1194), complained about the extreme poverty which the abbey was suffering. As a result, in 1247 the nuns were permitted to receive inheritances to provide income for their needs, contrary to monastic custom. The fragile economic basis of the Order was exacerbated by the devastation of the Hundred Years War, which lasted throughout the 14th century. A canonical visitation of fifty of the priories of the Order in 1460 showed most of them to be barely occupied, if not abandoned.


Later history and suppression

Due to financial pressures the youngest four of the six daughters of
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
were sent to the abbey to be raised. Each was brought up at the abbey until the age of 15. The Order was dispersed during the French Revolution. In November 1789, all property of the
Catholic Church in France The Catholic Church in France, Gallican Church, or French Catholic Church, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome. Established in the 2nd century in unbroken communion with the bishop of Rome, it was sometim ...
was declared to be the property of the nation. On 17 August 1792, a Revolutionary decree ordered evacuation of all monasteries, to be completed by 1 October 1792. At that time, there were still some 200 nuns and a small community of monks in residence at Fontevraud. The last abbess, Julie Sophie Charlotte de Pardaillan d'Antin, is said to have died in poverty in Paris in 1797. The abbey became a prison in 1804. The prison was planned to hold 1,000 prisoners and the former abbey required major changes, including new barracks in addition to the transformation of monastic buildings into dormitories, workshops, and common areas. Prisoners—men, women and children—began arriving in 1814. Eventually it held some 2,000 prisoners, earning the prison the reputation of being the "toughest in France after Clairvaux" (also a former abbey). Political prisoners were subjected to the harshest conditions. Under the
Vichy Government Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...
, some
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
prisoners were shot there. In 1963 it was given to the
French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
, and a major restoration was undertaken. In 1975 the Centre culturel de l'Ouest was formed to preserve the abbey and promote it as a cultural venue. The complex was opened to the public in 1985. Restoration of the abbey church according to the earlier restoration under the architect Lucien Magne was completed in 2006. The order was revived by Mme Rose in 1806 as one for women only and following a modified rule.Cross, F. L., ed. (1957) ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. London: Oxford University Press; p. 512


List of abbesses

* Petronille de Chemillé (1115–1149) * Matilda of Anjou (1149–1154) * Audeburge of Hautes-Bruyères (1155–1180) She founded Amesbury Abbey, near
Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...
in England, in 1177 * Gilles or Gillette (1180–1189) * Adélaide (1189) * Matilda of Flanders (1189–1194) * Matilda of Bohemia (1194–1207) * Marie of Burgundy (1207–1208) widow of Odo II, Duke of Burgundy * Alice of Bourbon (1208–1209) daughter of the previous abbess * Adele (or Alice) of Brittany (1209–1218) daughter of Bertha, Duchess of Brittany, and her second husband
Odo II, Viscount of Porhoët Odo II, Count of Porhoet (died after 1180) was the son of Geoffroy, Viscount de Porhoët, and his wife Hawise (possibly Fergant). He became Duke of Brittany in 1148, jure uxoris, upon his marriage to Bertha, Duchess of Brittany. On Bertha's death ...
* Bertha (1218–1228) * Alice of Blois (1228–1244) daughter of Theobald V, Count of Blois, and his second wife Alix of France. * Mabile of La Ferté (1244–1265) * Jeanne de Dreux (1265–1276) * Isabeau Davoir (1276–1284) * Marguerite de Pocey (1284–1304) * Eleanor of Brittany (1304–1342) * Isabel of Valois (1342-?) * Marie of Brittany (1457–1477) * Anne of Orléans (1477–1491) * Renée de Bourbon (1491–1534) * Louise de Bourbon (1534–1575) * Éléonore de Bourbon (1575–1611) * Louise de Bourbon de Lavedan (1611–1637) * Jeanne-Baptiste de Bourbon (1637–1670) * Gabrielle de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1670–1704) * Louise-Françoise de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1704–1742), niece of the previous abbess * Marie-Louise de Timbrone (1753–1765) * Julie-Gillette de Pardaillan d'Antin (1765–1792)


Architecture


Church

Abbaye Fontevraud - Eglise Abbatiale, facade ouest.jpg, West facade Abbaye de Fontevraud - 006.JPG, Chevet Abbaye_Fontevraud_-_Interieur_Eglise_Abbatiale.jpg, Nave interior Abbaye de Fontevraud - 064.JPG, View of choir, ambulatory, and choir chapel


Cloister

Cloitre grand moutier.jpg, Abbaye de Fontevraud - 120.JPG, Abbaye de Fontevraud - 127.JPG, Abbaye_Fontevraud_-_Cloître_du_Grand-Moûtier.jpg,


Chapter house

Salle capitulaire de Fontevraud.jpg Abbaye_de_Fontevraud_-_Entree_salle_capitulaire.jpg, Loire Maine Fontevraud2 tango7174.jpg, Abbaye de Fontevraud - 111.JPG, Abbaye de Fontevraud - 109.JPG,


Features

The abbey was originally the site of the graves of King Henry II of England, his wife
Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...
, their son King
Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...
, their daughter Joan, their grandson Raymond VII of Toulouse, and Isabella of Angoulême, wife of Henry and Eleanor's son King John. However, there is no remaining corporal presence of Henry, Eleanor, Richard, or the others on the site. Their remains were possibly destroyed during the French Revolution. The bodies of the French monarchs were likewise removed from the
Basilica of St Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and archite ...
in 1793 by order of the French government. Henriette Louise de Bourbon, granddaughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, grew up here. Princess Thérèse of France, daughter of Louis XV, is also buried here.


Cultural references

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...
described the experiences of a thirty-year-old prisoner at Fontevraud in his semi-autobiographical novel, '' Miracle de la rose'', although there is no evidence that Genet was ever imprisoned there himself. '' La Cage aux Rossignols'' (''A Cage of Nightingales''), a French film released in 1945, was filmed at the abbey.


See also

* History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes * Nuneaton Priory – Daughter house in England


References


Bibliography

* Alvira, Martín (2020). “''Dilecta consanguinea mea''. A Donation of Fernando III to a Nun of Fontevraud”. In Holt, Edward L.; Witcombe, Teresa (eds.). ''The Sword and the Cross. Castile-León in the Era of Fernando III''. Leiden: Brill, p. 105-139. * * * *Melot, Michel (1971) ''L'abbaye de Fontevrault''. Paris: Jacques Lanore *Müller, Annalena (2014), Forming and Re-Forming Fontevraud. Monasticism, Geopolitics, and the Querelle des Frères (c. 1100–1643), doctoral dissertation, Yale University 2014. *Pohu, J. (1961) ''L'abbaye royale de Fontevrault''. Fontevraud: l'abbé Pohu *Pohu, J. (1979) ''The royal abbey of Fontevraud''. Fontevraud: l'abbé Pohu


Further reading

* icquet, H.(1586) ''Histoire de l'ordre de Fontevrault''. Angers, 1586; and Paris, 1643 *Édouard (pseud. of A. Biron) (1873–74) ''Fontevrault et ses monuments; ou histoire de cette royale abbaye depuis sa fondation jusqu'à sa suppression, 1100–1793''. 2 vols. *''Histoire de l'ordre de Fontevrault, 1100–1908''; by the Religious of Sainte-Marie-de-Fontevrault-de-Boulaur (afterwards at Vera in Navarre). 3 vols. Auch, 1911–15


External links


Official site in French

Official site in English

Fontevraud Royal Abbey on Google Cultural Institute




* ttp://www.montjoye.net/abbaye-de-fontevraud Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud, lot picture about gisants, in French {{Authority control 1101 establishments in Europe 1100s establishments in France Christian monasteries established in the 1100s Order of Fontevraud Eleanor of Aquitaine 1792 disestablishments in France Monasteries used as prisons