Monasteries in France
Redon Abbey
Redon Abbey (Abbaye Saint-Sauveur de Redon) is a former Benedictine abbey founded in 832 by Saint Conwoïon. Both Count Ricwin of Nantes and Raginarius (Rainer), Bishop of Vannes, refused at first to support the new foundation, and influenced the Emperor Louis the Pious against it. In 834 however the new monastery gained the patronage of Nominoe, princeps and later the first Duke of Brittany, as evidenced by his chart ...
Founded: 832 AD |
Location:
Redon, France
Abbey of Saint Bertin
The Abbey of St. Bertin was a Benedictine abbey, but today in ruins (the town's town-hall was built with stone from the abbey in 1834) and open to the public. It was dedicated to its second abbot, Saint Bertin. The monastery was founded on the banks of the Aa in the 7th century by the bishop of Thérouanne, who sent the monks Bertin, Momelin and Ebertram from Omer to proselytize among the pagans in the region. The Abbey ...
Founded: 7th century AD |
Location:
Saint-Omer, France
Ardenne Abbey
Ardenne is the third largest abbey in Caen region. It was founded in 1121 by a small Christian community. During the 1789 Revolution, the religious community was expelled from Ardenne Abbey, the building"s original purpose was modified and it was stripped of the furniture and works of art which had been collected. On 7 June 1944, the second day of Normandy Invasion, the Germans took Canadian soldiers prisoner and es ...
Founded: 1121 |
Location:
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe, France
Monastir del Camp
Monastir del Camp ("The Monastery Camp") was, according a legend, founded by the request of Charlemagne after his victory over the Saracens in 785. Historically, the Priory of Monastir del Camp was founded in 1116 by the Augustine canons to the premises of Artal II , bishop of Elne. Thereafter, the priory became a Benedictine monastery, which will remain in operation until 1786.
Founded: 1116 |
Location:
Passa, France
Mondaye Abbey
In the mid-12th century, a priest named Turstin withdrew to a wooded Norman hill to live as a hermit, where he was quickly joined by a circle of followers. When Turstin died in 1200, the bishop of Bayeux established the community under the Rule of St. Augustine. Turstin's brother-in-law Raoul de Percy donated land for the abbey. Over the following years, the abbey continued to receive donation from nobility and farmers. A ...
Founded: 1200 |
Location:
Juaye-Mondaye, France
Mont Saint-Eloi Abbey Ruins
On a hill overlooking Arras stand the remains of two towers which bear testament not only to the once-powerful Mont-Saint-Eloi Abbey. According to legend the abbey was established in the 7th century by Saint Vindicianus, a disciple of Saint Eligius, and by the Middle Ages it had become a powerful religious centre; however the turbulent times of the Revolution saw its walls pillaged for their stone. All that survived were ...
Founded: 600-700 AD |
Location:
Mont-Saint-Éloi, France
Marcevol Priory
Marcevol Priory is situated at an altitude of 500 metres on a plateau overlooking the Tet Valley. The Priory was built in the 12th century by the religious order of Saint Sepulchre. In 1129 the Bishop of Elne donated them the small church, as well as some surrounding out-buildings. These were monks following the rules of Saint Augustine. The Order of Saint Sepulchre was founded in 1099 after the crusades and the conquest ...
Founded: 1129 |
Location:
Arboussols, France
Saint-Gildas de Rhuys Abbey
The Abbey of Saint-Gildas is dedicated to St. Gildas (c. 500–570) who was a British historian and cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. According a legend Gildas established the abbey, but there are no written evidences. Buildings were destroyed by Norman raids in the 10th century. The first known record dates from 1008 when the abbey was r ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys, France
Graville Abbey
The first mention of Graville Abbey was in the 9th century. Considered to be a masterpiece of the Romanesque art in Normandy, the abbey underwent several periods of construction since the 11th century. The church"s nave and transept date from the Romanesque period. Guillaume Malet de Graville, who was victorious during the Hastings battle alongside William the Conqueror, as well as his descendants, invested their for ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Le Havre, France
Saint-Sever Abbey
Saint-Sever Abbey (abbaye de Saint-Sever) is a Benedictine monastery. It was founded at the end of the 10th century by William II Sánchez of Gascony. According to the monastic chronicles, this was as the result of a vow he made after the battle of Taller, in Gascony, in which he defeated the Vikings (982). In 1060, after a fire, the abbey was reconstructed on the model of Cluny under the direction of the abbot Gregor ...
Founded: 10th century AD |
Location:
Saint-Sever, France
St-Florent-le-Vieil Abbey
The abbey of St-Florent-le-Vieil was originally established already in the 6th century. It was a strong and wealthy abbey until attacked by Normans several times between 850-853. The abbey was left to decay over centuries until 1637 when monks restored it. It was damaged again during the French Revolution 1790-1793.
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, France
Mortemer Abbey Ruins
Mortemer Abbey was originally built in 1134 on land gifted to the Cistercians by Henry I of England. The stagnant water of the drainage lake, dug out by the monks to dry up the marshy land around the quick running Fouillebroc stream, was called 'dead mere', 'dead pond' - in modern French 'morte mare' - and gave the monastery its name. The monks constructed what was then one of the largest Ci ...
Founded: 1134 |
Location:
Lisors, France
Couvent des Jacobins
The Couvent des Jacobins was a monastery in Saint-Sever - Jacobin was the French term for the Dominican Order. Founded in 1280 thanks to the support of Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I of England, it was partly destroyed in 1569 by Huguenot troops under Gabriel, comte de Montgomery during the Wars of Religion. It was partly rebuilt thanks to the support of père Antonin Cloche, a native of the town who became ...
Founded: 1280 |
Location:
Saint-Sever, France
Jouarre Abbey
Jouarre Abbey was traditionally founded around 630 AD by the Abbess Theodochilde or Telchilde. She was inspired by the visit of St. Columban, the travelling Irish monk who inspired monastic institution-building in the early seventh century. As part of its Celtic heritage, Jouarre was established as a double community of monks as well as nuns, both under the rule of the abbess, who in 1225 was granted immunity from interfe ...
Founded: 630 AD |
Location:
Jouarre, France
Escaladieu Abbey
Escaladieu Abbey was a Cistercian abbey located in the French commune of Bonnemazon. Its name derives from the Latin Scala Dei ('ladder of God'). The abbey was founded in 1142 and became an important pilgrimage stop on the Way of St. James en route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The abbey is situated at the confluence of the Luz and the Arros rivers near the Château de Mauvezin ...
Founded: 1142 |
Location:
Bonnemazon, France
Lessay Abbey
It is not exactly known when the Abbaye de Sainte-Trinité in Lessay was established; other historians date it to 1056, Cologne University to 1105. The vaults of the church, built around 1100 are however probably the oldest in Normandy. The abbey flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries, but during the Hundred Years' War in 1356 it was burned and looted. The nave and tower were badly damaged and restored in 1385. Lessay ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Lessay, France
Bon-Repos Abbey
The Bon-Repos Abbey was founded by Viscount Alain III de Rohan in c. 1184. According to legend, he was asked to build it by the Virgin Mary; she appeared to him in a dream when he fell asleep on this spot after a hard day’s hunting in the Quénécan Forest. After a tumultuous history, which included being burnt down by the Chouans (Royalists) in 1795, the abbey fell into ruin until it was rescued in 1986 ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Saint-Gelven, France
Abbaye Blanche
The Abbaye Blanche ('White Abbey'), was a nunnery founded in 1112 in Mortain. Shortly after establishing an abbey for men called Holy Trinity of Savigny, Saint Vitalis, founder of the monastic order of Savigny, set up the Abbaye Blanche for women. The church is built on a Latin cross floorplan of a central nave and a wide transept. The style is Early Gothic, though unfortunately only the chapter house, cellar an ...
Founded: 1112 |
Location:
Mortain, France
Abbey of Saint-Savin-en-Lavedan
The Abbey of Saint-Savin-en-Lavedan was a Benedictine abbey in the commune of Saint-Savin and one of the most important religious centres in the County of Bigorre. The abbey dates at least from the 10th century, and it was built by order of Charlemagne on the site of an ancient Gallo-Roman fortress. In 841, the abbey was looted and burnt by the Normans, and previously by the Saracens. In 945, Count Raymond I ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Saint-Savin, France
Saint-Michel de Grandmont Priory
Saint-Michel de Grandmont Priory was built in the 12th century and is one of the best-preserved of the 160 Grandmontine monasteries. It is a religious order, founded by Étienne of Thiers, son of Viscount of Thiers from the Auvergne. It was known to be one of the strictest, and austere orders of the Middle Ages. There was no hierarchy, with no archives, and no heating. The monks walked with bare feet, in perpetual silenc ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Saint-Privat, France