The Abbey of St Vaast () was a

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 ...

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 ...

situated in

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

, ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

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 ...

History

The abbey was founded in 667. Saint

Vedast Vedast or Vedastus, also known as Saint Vaast (in Flemish, Norman and Picard) or Saint Waast (also in Picard and Walloon), Saint Gaston in French, and Foster in English (died ) was an early bishop in the Frankish realm. After the victory of ...

, or Vaast (c. 453–540) was the first

Bishop of Arras The Diocese of Arras (–Boulogne–Saint-Omer) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Atrebatensis (–Bononiena–Audomarensis)''; French: ''Diocèse d'Arras (–Boulogne–Saint-Omer)'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The episcopal s ...

and was buried in the old cathedral at Arras. In 667, Saint Aubert, seventh Bishop of Arras, began to build an abbey for

monks on the site of a little chapel which Saint Vedast had erected in honour of

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

. Vedast's relics were transferred to the new abbey, which was completed by Auburt's successor and generously endowed by King

Theuderic III Theuderic III (also spelled Theuderich, Theoderic or Theodoric; , 651–691) was King of the Franks in the 7th century. He ruled Neustria and Burgundy on two occasions (in 673 and again from 675 to 691), as well as Austrasia from 679 until his ...

, who together with his wife was afterwards buried there.Alston, George Cyprian. "Abbey of Saint Vaast." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 3 September 2022 The Abbey burned down in 783, but was subsequently rebuilt.Arras Museum of Fine Arts
/ref> By 867, a ''vicus monasterii'' had grown up around the monastery, inhabited by people employed in various crafts such as bakers, brewers, and smiths who provided services to the abbey. Under a charter of

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

, seven manors were required to supply the abbey with flax and wool. In 1008,

Richard of Verdun Richard of Verdun (970–1046) was the abbot of the influential northeastern French Monastery of St. Vanne from 1004 to 1046.Geary, Patrick. '' Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in The Central Middle Ages''. Princeton University Press,1990, p. 65 Life ...

. abbot of Saint-Vanne, became abbot of Saint-Vaast, as well, which he governed through the prior.Vanderputten, Steven. ''Imagining Religious Leadership in the Middle Ages: Richard of Saint-Vanne and the Politics of Reform'', Cornell University Press, 2015, p. 7
/ref> He was notorious for acquiring relics, some of dubious provenance. The abbey purportedly held the head of Saint James, which attracted pilgrims. It was at this time that the Saint-Vaast Bible was produced by the abbey scriptorium. It is illuminated with narrative scenes before various books. The Abbey of St Vaast was of great importance amongst the monasteries of the Low Countries. Between 1433 and 1435, Abbot Jean de Clercq commissioned

Jacques Daret Jacques Daret (c. 1404 – c. 1470) was an Early Netherlandish painting, Early Netherlandish painter born in Tournai (Doornik; now in Belgium), where he would spend much of his life. Daret spent 15 years as a pupil in the studio of Robert Campin ...

to paint an

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

for the abbey church. The four panels depict the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, and the Presentation in the Temple, all now dispersed among various museums. The Abbey was exempt from episcopal jurisdiction and maintained its independence until 1778, when it was aggregated to the

Congregation of Cluny Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with t ...

. At the French Revolution it was suppressed and the monastic buildings were used first as a hospital and then as barracks. In 1838 the premises were purchased by the town; part was used as a museum and archive, and the rest as the residence of the bishop. The abbey church, which had been desecrated and partially destroyed, was rebuilt and consecrated in 1833 and now serves as the cathedral of Arras, substituting for the former Gothic cathedral destroyed during the Revolution. The abbey buildings now house the Musée des beaux-arts d'Arras.

Burials

*Clotilda of Herstal (650–699), his wife * Ida of Lorraine (d. 1113)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Vaast, Abbey Benedictine monasteries in France Churches in Pas-de-Calais Buildings and structures in Arras Merovingian architecture Christian monasteries established in the 7th century 1790s disestablishments in France 7th-century establishments in Francia Former Christian monasteries in France 667 establishments Churches completed in the 660s 7th-century churches in France

History

Burials

See also

References