Saint-Germer-de-Fly Abbey
Encyclopedia
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
located in the village of Saint-Germer-de-Fly
Saint-Germer-de-Fly
Saint-Germer-de-Fly is a village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.-References:*...
, in Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
in the Oise
Oise
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
département of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Only the late Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
-early Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church remains, now the village parish church. It is regarded as one of the earliest manifestations of the Gothic style in France. A Late Gothic chapel added in the 14th century is noted as a smaller-scale reinterpretation of the Sainte-Chapelle
Sainte-Chapelle
La Sainte-Chapelle is the only surviving building of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including the Crown of Thorns - one of the most important relics in medieval...
of Paris.
History
The abbey was originally built in the 7th century by Saint Germer, its founder and first abbot, as a Benedictine abbey. It was destroyed twice during the invasions of the Normans in the 9th and early 10th centuries, and re-founded as a Cistercian abbey in the 12th century by the Bishop of Beauvais. The relics of Saint Germer were moved from Beauvais Cathedral to the abbey in 1132. In the decade of 1230 the abbey built a basilica church in an advanced Romasque style that permitted an unusual amount of light into the interior of the church. The visual lightness of the construction at Saint-Germer-de-Fly was unprecedented and presaged the later Gothic style, with its emphasis on light and lightness.About 1260, Pierre de Wessencourt, the 25th abbot, built the Marian Chapel at the chevet of the abbey church, which closely resembled the Sainte-Chapelle
Sainte-Chapelle
La Sainte-Chapelle is the only surviving building of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including the Crown of Thorns - one of the most important relics in medieval...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, built a few years earlier. It is connected to the main church by a narrow passage, and is composed of three vaults with stained glass window-walls. While less lofty than the Sainte-Chapelle, and without its original painted interior, the stonework is more decorated and detailed than the Sainte-Chapelle. It was used as a funerary chapel.
The abbey suffered greatly during 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...
, losing its western front and six vaults. In 1414 the troops of the Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
destroyed the towers and one bay of the nave. The present west front was rebuilt in the 16th century.
In 1644 the abbey was transferred to the reformed Benedictine Congregation of St. Maur, who continued the rebuilding.
Like all other monasteries of France, Saint-Germer-de-Fly was confiscated as State property during 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...
and the abbey buildings were destroyed. After the Revolution, the surviving church became the town's parish church. The northern transept, weakened by the removal of tributary structures, was rebuilt in 1808.
Description
Rayonnant
Rayonnant is a term used to describe a period in the development of French Gothic architecture, ca. 1240–1350. Developing out of the High Gothic style, Rayonnant is characterised by a shift in focus away from the great scale and spatial rationalism of buildings like Chartres Cathedral or the...
Gothic architecture.