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Saint-Amand Abbey (''Abbaye de Saint-Amand''), once known as Elno, Elnon or Elnone Abbey, is a former
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
abbey in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, Nord, France.


History

The abbey was founded around 633-639 in what was once a great tract of uninhabited land in the Vicoigne Forest between the Scarpe and the brook called the , from which the monastery took its first name, Elnon or Elnone Abbey. The founder was Saint Amand of Maastricht, under the patronage of Dagobert I. The name of the saint eventually became applied both to the abbey and the village that grew up round it. The abbot from about 652 was Jonatus., s.v. "Jonatus". Apart from its considerable effect on the landscape, the abbey became a major centre of study during the
Carolingian Renaissance The Carolingian Renaissance was the first of three medieval renaissances, a period of cultural activity in the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne's reign led to an intellectual revival beginning in the 8th century and continuing throughout the 9th ...
. Notable members of the community included the 9th-century writer Milo of Saint-Amand, author of a metrical dictionary of Latin long and short syllables as well as a ''Life of Saint Amand'', and his nephew, Hucbald of Saint-Amand, a noted music theorist and composer. The abbey was totally destroyed by the
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
at the end of the 9th century. It was devastated by fire in 1066 and, thanks to generous benefactors, was rebuilt and became the richest abbey in the region. The abbey not completely restored until the 17th century, to an ambitious and much-admired plan implemented by Abbot Nicolas du Bois. In 1616-1617 Peter Paul Rubens painted a new high altarpiece for the monastery church, the '' Saint Stephen Triptych''. In 1672, Dom Mabillon discovered that, at the end of a manuscript of works of Gregory Nazianzen, there is a praise poem of the late 9th century in Old German, the '' Ludwigslied'', which commemorates the victory of the Frankish army of Louis III over the Vikings on 3 August 881 at the Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu. The same manuscript, now held at the municipal library of Valenciennes, was found to contain one of the earliest literary texts in vernacular French, the poem called '' Sequence of Saint Eulalia''. The '' Annales sancti Amandi'', a set of annals of the Frankish kingdom, also originate from Saint-Amand. The abbey was declared national property in 1789, and mostly demolished between 1797 and 1820. The former courthouse (''échevinage'') and the exuberantly decorated church tower, which now accommodates a
faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...
museum, survive and can still be visited. PM 140198 F Saint Amand les Eaux.jpg PM 140200 F Saint Amand les Eaux.jpg PM 140202 F Saint Amand les Eaux.jpg PM 140204 F Saint Amand les Eaux.jpg


References


Sources

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External links


Nordmag.fr: Saint-Amand



Saint-Amand-les-Eaux municipal website: Tour abbatiale
(with pictures) {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Nord (French department) Benedictine monasteries in France 630s establishments 7th-century establishments in Francia 1789 disestablishments in France Monasteries dissolved during the French Revolution Tourist attractions in Nord (French department) Museums in Nord (French department) Ceramics museums in France Burial sites of the House of Egmond