Saint-Mihiel Abbey is an ancient Benedictine abbey situated in the town of

Saint-Mihiel Saint-Mihiel () is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. Geography Saint-Mihiel lies on the banks of the river Meuse. History A Benedictine abbey was established here in 708 or 709 by Count Wulfoalde ...

, near

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

in the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

department in

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

in north-eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The benedictine abbey was built in 708 or 709 by a Count Wulfoalde and his wife Adalsinde, probably to house the relics that Wulfoalde had brought back from Italy. It was dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, a popular saint at the time, as can be testified by the establishment of the abbeys of Mont St Michel in Normandy and the Abbey of Honau in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

in the same period. In 1734 the tombs of both Wulfoalde and Adalsinde were discovered in the abbey. The abbey was placed under the authority of

Fulrad Saint Fulrad (; ; 710 – 16 July 784) was a French religious leader who was the Abbot of Saint-Denis.Bunson and Bunson 2003, pp.345. He was the counselor of both Pepin the Short and Charlemagne. Historians see Fulrad as important due to his s ...

of St Denis, chaplain to

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

. In 755 a mayor Wulfoald, probably a relative of the founder of the abbey, was accused of high treason and plotting against

Pepin the Short the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king. Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of H ...

, was condemned to death. When

intervened to save his life, Wulfoald expressed his gratitude by giving King Childéric II his possessions, including the Abbey. The Abbey is best known for its abbot Smaragdus, who moved there around the year 814 with his monks from the monastery on Mt. Castellion. Some time between 816 and 826 Smaragdus obtained royal protection for the abbey from

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

, ensuring that wagons, pack-horses and ships would be exempt from customs taxes on goods transported between the monastery and its lands. Smaragdus achieved fame as a writer of homilies, and for his writings on the

Rule of St Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...

. Smaragdus, who died around 840, was succeeded as Abbott by Hadegaudus, who was probably elected by the monks themselves. Abbots in the tenth century included Odon I, followed by Sarovard, followed by Odon II, who died in 995. Over the years, the abbey proved very popular with royalty, emperors and kings and dukes. In the 11th century, for example, it came under the protection of Gérard, Duke of Lorraine. During the Middle Ages, the Abbey was famous for its relics, not least of which concerned Saint Anatole,

Bishop of Cahors The Diocese of Cahors (Latin: ''Dioecesis Cadurcensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Cahors'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the whole of the department of Lot. In the beginning it was a suffragan o ...

, whose body was reputed to have been transferred to Mihiel in 779. The Abbey was dissolved during the French revolution.

The Church of Saint Michel

The Abbey Church is known as the Church of Saint Michel. Part of the 11th century porch still remains. The nave was rebuilt in the 16th century and modified in the 17th century. The Church contains a walnut sculpture of the swooning of Mary by

Ligier Richier Ligier Richier (1567) was a French sculptor active in Saint-Mihiel in Northeastern France. Richier primarily worked in the churches of his native Saint-Mihiel. Starting in 1530, he enjoyed the patronage of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine, who commiss ...

dated 1531 (or 1537). image:Eglise Saint-Michel Saint-Mihiel 271108 03.jpg, Altar of the Abbey church of Saint Michel, Saint-Mihiel. image:Saint-Mihiel_-_église_abbatiale_(44).JPG, Church of Saint Michel with organ loft. image:Saint-Mihiel - église abbatiale (26).JPG, Detail of the organ. image:Saint-Mihiel_-_église_abbatiale_(12).JPG, Apse. image:Pâmoison_de_la_Vierge_Ligier_Richier_301008_1.jpg, Swoon of the virgin by Richier

The library

Today the Abbey is best known for its library. The library is still on the original site, which it now shares with a school and, since 1978, with the town hall. The collections include 8780 books including 86 incunabula, 74 manuscripts from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries. It is housed in a purpose-built building, constructed in 1775. It is managed as a special collection by the municipal library. A number of the more valuable works are available online in digital form. The most famous of these is a 9th-century manuscript on the Holy Trinity by Pseudo-Athanasius, which was stolen during World War one, but discovered in a Hamburg bookshop in 2007 and reintegrated into the collection.

Cartulary of Saint-Mihiel

cartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the fo ...

of Saint-Mihiel was composed towards the end of the 11th century and is preserved in the Meuse Departmental Archives at

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...

External links

Short list of manuscripts in the Benedictine library

References

{{Authority control Christian monasteries established in the 8th century

Buildings and structures in Meuse (department) History of Catholic monasticism 8th-century establishments in Francia 710 establishments Churches completed in the 710s 8th-century churches