The royal abbey of Fontevro ( fr. Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud ) is one of the most famous medieval monasteries of France , the burial place of Henry II Plantagenet and Richard the Lionheart . Located on the border between Anjou and Poitou , near the cities of Saumur and Chinon (Department of Maine and Loire ).
History
It was founded in 1101 by the hermit Robert d'Arbrisselem under the auspices of Bishop Poitier on the lands of the gentlemen of Monsorelo and Montreuil Bellay (de Montsoreau et de Montreuil Bellay). According to the official history of the abbey , the reason for the foundation was a letter from Bishop Rennes Marboda [1] , in which the prelate reproached Robert d'Arbrissel for the fact that his followers and students live together - without distinction between sexes and position. "Landless peasants, lepers, sick and healthy, men and women, of noble birth and commoners, clergy and laity, widows, virgins and harlots - all live together to universal shame."
The abbey was founded "double" - both male and female, with areas separated by a fence for canons and canoness. The following monasteries were established on the plots: Grand Monastery for virgins ( Grand-Moûtier ), Monastery of Saint Benedict for nurses (hospital) ( Saint-Benoît ), Monastery of repentant sinners for all other women ( la Madeleine ), Monastery of Saint Lazarus for lepers ( Saint -Lazare ) and the male monastery of St. John ( Saint-Jean-de-l'Habit , now non-existent).
In 1115 , having founded 20 more monasteries legally dependent on Fontevro in France, Robert d'Arbrissel transferred control of Petronillé de Chemillé (Pétronille de Chemillé), which laid down the principle of subordination of monks to the nuns in the Order.
The 12th century was a period of rapid exaltation for Fontevro: numerous privileges and privileges granted to abbess, direct submission to the Pope , extensive land donations from various secular feudal lords turned the Order into one of the richest and most powerful in Western Europe . The ascension to the English throne of the Plantagenets , which united England , Normandy , Aquitaine , Poitou, Maine , Touraine and Anjou under their rule, further strengthened the position of the Order: Fontevro became both the real treasury of this dynasty and the tribal tomb of its representatives: Henry was buried here II, Richard the Lionheart, Alienora of Aquitaine , Isabella Angouleme - the widow of John of the Landless . By 1189, there were already 123 Priorat under the jurisdiction of the Order - in France, England, Spain - not counting the "maternal" monastery.
The plague that devastated Western Europe in the second half of the 14th century and the Hundred Years War between France and England undermined Fontevro’s position. Against the background of a general decline, the level of piety of the nuns and monks has decreased, and the abbess of the abbess to the pope began to be actively challenged by the bishops of Poitiers. Constant interference from their side in the affairs of the Order led to a decline in the authority of the abbess and the prestige of the Order as a whole. Only from the seventies of the XV century began a gradual revival.
The beginning of the revival of the official history of the Order associates with the name of Mary of Breton - the aunt of King Louis XII of France, who reformed the Order of the Order and won approval of this reform from Pope Sixtus IV . The entire 16th century passed "under the banner" of the reign of three representatives of the House of Bourbons , successively replacing each other at the post of abbess: Rene (Renée) de Bourbon ( 1491 - 1534 ), Louise de Bourbon (1534 - 1575 ) and Eleonora de Bourbon (1575 - 1611 ). Their energetic activities Fontevro owes, including a number of magnificent buildings that have survived to this day.
Almost the entire first half of the seventeenth century was for Fontevro a time of unrest, disturbances and attempts at the "male part" of the abbey to break free from the power of the "female part". Despite the enormous spiritual authority of the thirty-first abbess ( 1637–1670 ), Jeanne-Batista de Bourbon, the matter went so far that this daughter of Henry IV was forced to provide the situation for the State Council. And even despite the fact that the State Council supported the abbess, she was never able to achieve the main goal of her life - the canonization of the founder of the Order, Robert d'Arbrissel, since this would mean the unconditional right of the priors and the unconditional duty of the Order monks to obey women. And yet, despite all the problems of this time, the period of the rule of Jeanne-Battista de Bourbon is called the second Golden Age , since it is the peak of the re-elevation of the Order after the decline of the XIV-XV centuries.
In the second half of the 17th century and in the 18th century, the abbey gradually declined again: the statute undergoes regular changes, wealth is squandered — one after another, Fontevro’s subordinate priors are closed, the number of nuns and monks is reduced. In 1789, Fontevro was declared a national treasure and put up for sale in favor of the state. The last abbess, Madame d'Antin, is forced to retire to Angers and then to Paris , where he dies in 1797 . However, buyers on Fontevro is not. His property is subject to systematic looting. Buildings are destroyed.
In 1804, Napoleon, by special decree, turned Fontevro into a correctional prison for convicted five departments . The former abbey has become one of the most stringent correctional institutions in France. 1,700 prisoners — men, women, and children — were engaged in mass production of a wide variety of products: from mother-of-pearl cufflinks to ship sails, from hats to tables and chairs.
In 1962, the prison was closed, and Fontevro was transferred to the society of historical monuments of France, which began his capital restoration.
Timeline
- 1045 - Robert d'Arbrissel was born.
- 1101 - Foundation of Fontevro Abbey.
- 1115–1149 - the reign of Petronilla de Shemile, the first abbess of Fontevro.
- 1116 - Robert d'Arbrissel died. Pope Calixtus II consecrated the first monastic church.
- 1153 - the first Priorat in England.
- 1155 - already 60 Priorats are subordinate to Fontevro.
- 1189 - Henry II died [2] . Buried in Fontevro.
- 1194 - Alienora of Aquitaine , widow of Henry II, retired to Fontevro.
- 1199 - Richard the Lionheart died. Buried in Fontevro.
- 1204 - Alienora Aquitaine died. Buried in Fontevro.
- 1457-1477 - Board of Mary of Breton, the initiator of radical reforms in Fontevro.
- 1670-1704 - the reign of Marie-Madeleine de Rochechouart, "queen abbess", sisters Madame de Montespan .
- 1765-1792 - Board of Julie de Pardayan d'Anten, the last abbess of Fontevro.
- 1789 - Fontevro declaration of national treasure.
- 1792 - the decree according to which all religious institutions were to be abandoned by their inhabitants.
- 1804 - Napoleon's decree, which turned Fontevro into prison.
- 1962 - the closure of the prison in Fontevro.
- 1963 —... - restoration work.
Notes
- ↑ Marbaud Rennes, 1035, Angers - September 11, 1123, the monastery of Saint-Aubin, one of the early European medieval poets, the author of the didactic poem Lapidarium (Liber Lapidum), which describes the authentic and mystical properties of stones. Translated into Russian: Moscow, Science, 2000. Letter to Robert d'Arbrissel dated 1099 year.
- ↑ There are curious stories and studies about the funeral of this king. It is known that the son of Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, was in constant hostility with him and his death was a joyful event for Richard. What allegedly happened during the funeral and how the body of the deceased king was “dressed up”, see, for example, Augustin Thierry: “Selon les chroniqueurs de l'epoque, abandonance de corte de comux” de Lion) resta dans l'eglise ”(according to the chroniclers of that time, blood flowed from the nostrils of a corpse without stopping until the Earl [Richard the Lionheart] remained in the church). Or: “Le lendemain de ce jour eut lieu la ceremonie de la sepulture. On voulut decorer le cadavre de quelques-uns des insignes de la royaute; mais les gardiens du tresor les denrent, et apres beaucoup de supplication, ils envoyerent seulement un vieux sceptre et un anneau de peu de valeur; faute de couronne, on coiffa le roi d'une espece de diademe fait avec la frange d'or d'un vetement de femme, et ce fut dans cet attirail bizarre que Henri, fils de Geoffroy Plante-genest, roi d'Angleterre, comte d'Anjou et du Maine, seigneur de Tours et d'Amboise, descendit a sa derniere demeure ”(The burial ceremony was to be held the next day. They wanted to dress the body in royal insignias, but even after many requests, the treasurers issued only an old scepter and a cheap ring. In the absence of a crown, the hair of the king was brushed like a diadem with a gold fringe from women's clothing. And in such a fancy dress he went to his last refuge Henry, son Jo Frua Plantagenet, King of England, Count of Anjou and Maine, senor Tours and Amboise).