Mondaye Abbey
Encyclopedia
Saint-Martin de Mondaye is a French Premonstratensian
abbey in the Bessin
countryside at Juaye-Mondaye
, Calvados
, nine miles to the south of Bayeux
. Founded in 1200, it is the only canonial abbey still active in Normandy.
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. In 1210, under the protection of La Lucerne Abbey
, the order was incorporated into the order of Saint Norbert. Over the following years, the abbey continued to receive donation from the de Percy and de Vassy families, as well as from lesser nobility and well-to-do farmers. At the end of the 13th century, a church and monastic buildings were built to replace the hermitage. In 1343 the abbey's gifts were interrupted by the Hundred Years' War
and rivalries between pro-French and pro-English lords in the area. In 1347 the Black Death
killed a third of the population, the abbey's lands were uncultivated and the Bessin was ravaged by armed bands. The abbey itself was ravaged by Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel
, in 1389.
, with the abbey burned, its treasures dispersed and its abbot Julien Guichard killed by Huguenot
s on 5 September 1564. After the Council of Trent
, calm returned and the monastery church was restored thanks to support from Anne de Médavy.
In 1631, Claude Leclerc du Tremblay was appointed commendentory abbot by the king and headed the abbey for the next 75 years. The Lorraine reform revising the Saint Norbert rule and making it stricter and closer to its origins was adopted by Mondaye abbey in 1655. Choosing a prior by the chapter of the congregation partly avoided the disadvantages of a commendatory abbot.
style, to meet the then-prevailing need for grandeur in France. The church, monastic buildings, entrance pavilion and farm (where 30 people worked) were all rebuilt, though with the order's austerity maintained by small cells and by only having chimneys in the prior's lodging, the warming house and the infirmary. It was supervised by the architect Eustache Restout
(himself prior and sub-prior of Mondaye) from 1706 to 1743, with his last years devoted to decorating the church (including paintings by his nephew
Jean II Restout
). In 1763 the abbey again fell under a commendatory abbot
and building work stopped.
On the French Revolution
the Premonstratensian order was despoiled of its goods and the 17 monks at Mondaye were dispersed or imprisoned. One of them was father Paynel, curé de Juaye, who took the oath of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy
before abandoning the priesthood to become mayor. Paynel did, however, reconcile with the church, saving the abbey church from destruction and taking nine priests opposed to the civil constitution into his house. Once the revolutionary turmoil was over, Father Goujon ceased to be clandestine prior and gathered together the parishes of Juaye, Couvert and Bernières-le-bocage - the commune of Juaye-Mondaye
originated in this era. From 1806 to 1812 the monastic buildings housed a collège.
s of Valenton took over the buildings at Mondaye but left them in 1854 when their maintenance became too expensive for them to bear. The Premonstratensian order moved back into the buildings on 13 June 1859, when the bishop of Bayeux solemnly handed back the keys to it to canons coming from the Belgian
abbey at Grimbergen
. The community underwent a major phase of expansion and increased their number of parochial missions, preaching tours and retreats. It also re-started work on building north and south wings in the classical style.
A new crisis arose when the authorities of the French Third Republic
wished to reduce monks' influence in society. In 1880 abbot Joseph Willekens was expelled as a foreigner and the canons were dispersed. The canons then regrouped in the château de Cottun
, not far from the abbey, returned to the abbey in 1894, only to be re-expelled in 1902. On the second expulsion they headed into exile at the Bois-Seigneur-Isaac
in Walloon Brabant
in Belgium. In 1921 the monks were authorised to return to their abbey and new novices presented themselves.
.
The general chapter of Wilten, in 1968-1970, enforced obedience to the order's constitutions and the Vatican II directives. From this era onwards exchanges of information and participation with the lay world expanded, as did the workshop and farm. The canons of Mondaye, like all canon regulars, live communally but still deliver an external ministry, providing curés and vicars for many parishes as well as prison and hospital chaplains, many of whom pursue a profession in civil society. It also welcomes retreats and visitors - parts of the abbey can be viewed by the public for an entrance fee, with visitors guided by a canon. Its shop sells various items made at the abbey, including CDs of its music.
are large, as is Premonstratensian tradition. The dome above the altar is a copy of that of the now-vanished chapel of the château de Sceaux
, painted by Charles Le Brun
.
from Lorraine. Its case was carved by the Flemish artist Melchior Verly. Completed in 1741, the instrument was restored in 1965 and in 2004 by the organmakers Jean-Baptiste Boisseau and Jean-Marie Gaborit. With 27 pipes, it is regularly used for concerts.
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
abbey in the Bessin
Bessin
The Bessin is an area in Normandy, France, corresponding to the territory of the Bajocasse tribe of Gaul who also gave their name to the city of Bayeux, central town of the Bessin.-History:The territory was annexed by the Duchy of Normandy in 924....
countryside at Juaye-Mondaye
Juaye-Mondaye
-References:*...
, Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
, nine miles to the south of Bayeux
Bayeux
Bayeux is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France.Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England.-Administration:Bayeux is a sub-prefecture of Calvados...
. Founded in 1200, it is the only canonial abbey still active in Normandy.
Medieval
In the mid-12th century, a priest named Turstin withdrew to a wooded NormanNormandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
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. In 1210, under the protection of La Lucerne Abbey
La Lucerne Abbey
-History:La Lucerne Abbey is a Premonstratensian monastery situated in the forests of the Thar valley in the Manche department, near the commune of La Lucerne-d'Outremer, in France....
, the order was incorporated into the order of Saint Norbert. Over the following years, the abbey continued to receive donation from the de Percy and de Vassy families, as well as from lesser nobility and well-to-do farmers. At the end of the 13th century, a church and monastic buildings were built to replace the hermitage. In 1343 the abbey's gifts were interrupted by the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
and rivalries between pro-French and pro-English lords in the area. In 1347 the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
killed a third of the population, the abbey's lands were uncultivated and the Bessin was ravaged by armed bands. The abbey itself was ravaged by Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel
Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel
Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel and 9th Earl of Surrey KG was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.-Lineage:...
, in 1389.
1500-1700
Mondaye flourished again under the abbacy of Jean Feray (1512-1557). Its monks attended the university of Caen and included many doctors of theology among them. However, this high period was interrupted by the French Wars of ReligionFrench Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
, with the abbey burned, its treasures dispersed and its abbot Julien Guichard killed by Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s on 5 September 1564. After the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
, calm returned and the monastery church was restored thanks to support from Anne de Médavy.
In 1631, Claude Leclerc du Tremblay was appointed commendentory abbot by the king and headed the abbey for the next 75 years. The Lorraine reform revising the Saint Norbert rule and making it stricter and closer to its origins was adopted by Mondaye abbey in 1655. Choosing a prior by the chapter of the congregation partly avoided the disadvantages of a commendatory abbot.
1700-1815
Three regular abbots were appointed by Louis XIV and Louis XV, and ruled the abbey from 1704 to 1763. Under these three figures' aegis a total reconstruction was begun as part of the momentum of the new classicistClassicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
style, to meet the then-prevailing need for grandeur in France. The church, monastic buildings, entrance pavilion and farm (where 30 people worked) were all rebuilt, though with the order's austerity maintained by small cells and by only having chimneys in the prior's lodging, the warming house and the infirmary. It was supervised by the architect Eustache Restout
Eustache Restout
Eustache Restout was a French architect, engraver, painter and Premonstratensian canon regular, belonging to the artistic Restout dynasty. At his death he was sub-prior of abbaye Saint-Martin de Mondaye - he had produced the plans on which that monastery was rebuilt and painted several paintings...
(himself prior and sub-prior of Mondaye) from 1706 to 1743, with his last years devoted to decorating the church (including paintings by his nephew
Jean II Restout
Jean II Restout
Jean II Restout was a French painter, whose late baroque classicism rendered his altarpieces, such as the Death of Saint Scholastica an "isolated achievement" that ran counter to his rococo contemporaries.-Biography:...
). In 1763 the abbey again fell under a commendatory abbot
Commendatory abbot
A commendatory abbot is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey in commendam, drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline...
and building work stopped.
On the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
the Premonstratensian order was despoiled of its goods and the 17 monks at Mondaye were dispersed or imprisoned. One of them was father Paynel, curé de Juaye, who took the oath of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that subordinated the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government....
before abandoning the priesthood to become mayor. Paynel did, however, reconcile with the church, saving the abbey church from destruction and taking nine priests opposed to the civil constitution into his house. Once the revolutionary turmoil was over, Father Goujon ceased to be clandestine prior and gathered together the parishes of Juaye, Couvert and Bernières-le-bocage - the commune of Juaye-Mondaye
Juaye-Mondaye
-References:*...
originated in this era. From 1806 to 1812 the monastic buildings housed a collège.
1815-1940
In 1815 the TrappistTRAPPIST
TRAPPIST is Belgian robotic telescope in Chile which came online in 2010, and is an acronym for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope, so named in homage to Trappist beer produced in the Belgian region. Situated high in the Chilean mountains at La Silla Observatory, it is actually...
s of Valenton took over the buildings at Mondaye but left them in 1854 when their maintenance became too expensive for them to bear. The Premonstratensian order moved back into the buildings on 13 June 1859, when the bishop of Bayeux solemnly handed back the keys to it to canons coming from the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
abbey at Grimbergen
Grimbergen
Grimbergen is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Beigem, Grimbergen, Humbeek and Strombeek-Bever. On January 1, 2006 Grimbergen had a total population of 33,965. The total area is...
. The community underwent a major phase of expansion and increased their number of parochial missions, preaching tours and retreats. It also re-started work on building north and south wings in the classical style.
A new crisis arose when the authorities of the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
wished to reduce monks' influence in society. In 1880 abbot Joseph Willekens was expelled as a foreigner and the canons were dispersed. The canons then regrouped in the château de Cottun
Cottun
Cottun is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:...
, not far from the abbey, returned to the abbey in 1894, only to be re-expelled in 1902. On the second expulsion they headed into exile at the Bois-Seigneur-Isaac
Bois-Seigneur-Isaac Abbey
Bois-Seigneur-Isaac Abbey, in Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, Belgium , is a former Augustinian abbey, now a Premonstratensian priory, dependent on Averbode Abbey.-Origins - legend or history?:...
in Walloon Brabant
Province of Brabant
Brabant was a province of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1815 until 1830 and a province of Belgium from 1830 until 1995, when it was split into the Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant, the French-speaking Walloon Brabant and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.-United Kingdom of the...
in Belgium. In 1921 the monks were authorised to return to their abbey and new novices presented themselves.
1940 to present
In June 1944 the Allied landings subjected the abbey to many days of bombing and, despite being completely restored, the abbey walls are still marked by the fighting in its surroundings. Rebuilding works on the most badly-damaged part of the church began in 2007. The church, monastic building, pressoir, pavilion, enclosure, grange, grange aux dîmes, cloister and interior decor are now listed together as a monument historiqueMonument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
.
The general chapter of Wilten, in 1968-1970, enforced obedience to the order's constitutions and the Vatican II directives. From this era onwards exchanges of information and participation with the lay world expanded, as did the workshop and farm. The canons of Mondaye, like all canon regulars, live communally but still deliver an external ministry, providing curés and vicars for many parishes as well as prison and hospital chaplains, many of whom pursue a profession in civil society. It also welcomes retreats and visitors - parts of the abbey can be viewed by the public for an entrance fee, with visitors guided by a canon. Its shop sells various items made at the abbey, including CDs of its music.
Architecture
Church
The church is wholly as conceived by Eustache Restout, who also painted the paintings and designed the woodwork for the choir. 60m long, the building presents a blind portal, leaving space for the organ. The nave has 5 spans, with wide pillars supporting arches and with the south side illuminated by two two openings on the north side. The altar is in the centre and the arms of the transeptTransept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
are large, as is Premonstratensian tradition. The dome above the altar is a copy of that of the now-vanished chapel of the château de Sceaux
Château de Sceaux
The Château de Sceaux is a grand country house in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, not far from Paris, France. Located in a park laid out by André Le Nôtre, it houses the Musée de l’Île-de-France, a museum of local history. The former château was built for Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV's minister of...
, painted by Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun , a French painter and art theorist, became the all-powerful, peerless master of 17th-century French art.-Biography:-Early life and training:...
.
Organ
A fine example of Louis XV-era art, the organ was made by Claude ParisotClaude Parisot
Claude Parisot was a French organ builder. He came from a family of organ builders: his nephew Henri in turn built and repaired many instruments in Basse Normandie and Maine...
from Lorraine. Its case was carved by the Flemish artist Melchior Verly. Completed in 1741, the instrument was restored in 1965 and in 2004 by the organmakers Jean-Baptiste Boisseau and Jean-Marie Gaborit. With 27 pipes, it is regularly used for concerts.
Monastic buildings
The cloister was begun in the 18th century with the east wing and part of the south wing, then continued, glazed but unfinished in the 19th century. It thus does not form the closed garden usual for cloisters. The staircase leading to the library and to the cells has wrought iron railings. The salle des pas-perdus has a self-portrait of Eustache Restout.Priories dependent on Mondaye
- Priory of Sainte-Anne de Bonlieu, Bonlieu-sur-RoubionBonlieu-sur-RoubionBonlieu-sur-Roubion is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.-Population:-References:*...
- Diocese of Valence - Priory of Sainte-Foy de ConquesConquesConques is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France.-Geography:The village is located at the confluence of the Dourdou and Ouche rivers. It is built on a hillside and has classic narrow Medieval streets. As a result, large vehicles cannot enter the historic town centre but must...
- Diocese of Rodez - Priory of Notre-Dame des Neiges, LaloubèreLaloubèreLaloubère is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.-References:*...
- Diocese of Tarbes and Lourdes - Priory of San-Norberto, MiasinoMiasinoMiasino is a comune in the Province of Novara in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about 100 km northeast of Turin and about 40 km northwest of Novara...
- Diocese of NovaraNovaraNovara is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With c. 105,000 inhabitants, it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin...
(Piedmont, Italy)