The Abbey of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre is a former Benedictine monastery in central France, [1] [2] dedicated to its founder Saint Germain of Auxerre, the bishop of Auxerre, who died in 448. It was founded on the site of an oratory built by Germanus in honor of Saint Maurice.
Bishop Germain was buried in the Oratory of Saint Maurice, which he had built. About the year 500, it was rebuilt as a basilica, by Queen Clotilda, wife of Clovis, in honor of the bishop. [3] The tomb was below the church, under the apse.
A monastery was established that followed the Benedictine rule. [4] In 850 Abbot Conrad, brother-in-law of Louis the Pious, had a crypt built. Attached to the crypt was a circular oratory. Conrad's nephew, Emperor Charles the Bald, was present at the translation of the relics of Germanus. [5] The abbey reached the apex of its cultural importance during the Carolingian era; the source for its early history is an account of the Miracula Sancti Germani Episcopi Autissiodorensis ("Miracles of Saint Germain, Bishop of Auxerre") written before ca. 880. The earliest surviving architectural remains are also of the ninth century. [6] The abbey had a noted school. From 876 to 883 Remigius of Auxerre was master of the school. Later, Thomas Becket studied there after completing his law courses in Bologna. [7] Monk and chronicler, Rodulfus Glaber, spent time at St Germain, where, he said, foreign monks were always accepted with respect.
The abbey was twice reformed, first by Majolus of Cluny and his disciple Heldric, at the request of Henry I, Duke of Burgundy, and in 1029 by the Congregation of Saint Maur. [8] A fire consumed much of the abbey in 1064; the Merovingian nave was rebuilt. In 1069, monks from St. Germain founded Selby Abbey in North Yorkshire. Napoleon turned the establishment into a hospital. [9]
In 1927, beneath the 17th-century frescoed plaster walls of the crypt, were discovered ninth-century wall frescoes, the only surviving large-scale paintings of their date in France to compare to the illuminated manuscripts. [10]
During the Revolution, several bays of the nave were demolished and the secularized abbey was used as a hospital. The former nave extended beneath the present forecourt.
In the late twentieth century the abbey's residential and service buildings were remodeled as a museum, presenting prehistoric, Gallo-Roman and medieval finds from Auxerre. An exhibition in 1990 brought the abbey's cultural impact into focus. The former abbey church remains in use for worship at stated times.
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Germanus of Auxerre was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Autissiodorum in Late Antique Gaul. He abandoned a career as a high-ranking government official to devote his formidable energy towards the promotion of the church and the protection of his "flock" in dangerous times, personally confronting, for instance, the barbarian king "Goar". In Britain he is best remembered for his journey to combat Pelagianism in or around 429 AD, and the records of this visit provide valuable information on the state of post-Roman British society. He also played an important part in the establishment and promotion of the Cult of Saint Alban. The saint was said to have revealed the story of his martyrdom to Germanus in a dream or holy vision, and Germanus ordered this to be written down for public display. Germanus is venerated as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, which commemorate him on 31 July.
Auxerre is the capital (prefecture) of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Paris. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are referred to as Auxerrois.
Auxerre Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church, dedicated to Saint Stephen, located in Auxerre, Burgundy, France. It was constructed between the 13th and 16th centuries, on the site of a Romanesque cathedral from the 11th century, whose crypt is found underneath the cathedral. It is known for 11th century Carolingian frescoes found in the crypt, and for its large stained glass windows. Since 1823 it has been the seat of a diocese united with that of Sens Cathedral.
Saint Germanus or Saint Germanicus may refer to:
The Archdiocese of Paris is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on October 20, 1622. Before that date the bishops were suffragan to the archbishops of Sens.
The Church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois is a medieval Roman Catholic church in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, directly across from the Louvre Palace. It was named for Saint Germanus of Auxerre, a medieval bishop of Auxerre, who became a papal envoy and met Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, on his journeys. Genevieve is reputed to have converted queen Clotilde and her husband, French king Clovis I to Christianity at the tomb of Saint Germain in Auxerre.
Amator(in French)Amadour or Amatre was bishop of Auxerre from 388 until his death on 1 May 418 and venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Amator's feast day is celebrated on 1 May.
The diocese of Auxerre is a former French Roman Catholic diocese. Its historical episcopal see was in the city of Auxerre in Burgundy, now part of eastern France. Currently the non-metropolitan Archbishop of Sens, ordinary of the diocese of Sens and Auxerre, resides in Auxerre.
Saint Aunarius (Aunacharius) (French: Aunaire, Aunachaire, Anachaire) (c.540–c.603) was bishop of Auxerre during the 6th century.
César d'Estrées was a French diplomat and cardinal.
Heiric of Auxerre (841–876) was a French Benedictine theologian and writer. An oblate of the abbey of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre, he studied with Lupus Servatus and Haimo of Auxerre. His own students included Remigius of Auxerre and Hucbald. His Miracula sancti Germani was a verse life of St. Germanus. Other works include his Collectaeum, a homiliary, and glosses on the Categoriae decem.
The Abbey of Saint Genevieve was a monastery in Paris. Reportedly built by Clovis, King of the Franks in 502, it became a centre of religious scholarship in the Middle Ages. It was suppressed at the time of the French Revolution.
Hugh of Chalon was a member of the House of Chalon. He was Count of Chalon and Bishop of Auxerre.
Henri-Auguste de Loménie, Count of Brienne, Seigneur de La Ville-aux-Clercs was a French politician. He was secretary of state for the navy from 1615 to February 1643, and then secretary of state for foreign affairs from 1643 to 1663 under Mazarin during the minority of Louis XIV. From the Loménie family, he was the son of Antoine de Loménie, secretary of state to Henry IV and a Huguenot convert.
The Vita Germani is a hagiographic text written by Constantius of Lyon in the 5th century AD. It is one of the first hagiographic texts written in Western Europe, and is an important resource for historians studying the origins of saintly veneration and the "cult of saints." It recounts the life and acts of bishop Germanus of Auxerre, who travelled to Britain c. 429 AD, and is the principal source of details about his life. It is one of the few surviving texts from the 5th century with information about Britain and the Pelagian controversy, and is also one of the first texts to identify and promote the cult of Saint Alban.
The Abbey of St. Marianus was a Benedictine, later Premonstratensian, monastery in Auxerre in the French department of Yonne in Burgundy. Established in the fifth century, it was the first monastery established in the diocese.
Vaast Barthélemy Henry, called Abbé Henry, was a French Catholic priest, parish priest of Quarré-les-Tombes from 1823 to 1884. He is known as a regional historian.
Annibal Gantez was a French composer and singer from the Baroque era. He is undoubtedly one of the most striking examples of a "vicarious" chapel master, that is, moving from post to post to earn a living, as many of his 17th century colleagues did. His route can be traced from two types of sources: letters from L'Entretien des musiciens, which he published in 1643, and various archival documents.
Philippe de Lenoncourt was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church.
The Church of Saint-Eusèbe is a Roman Catholic church in Auxerre, France. It belongs to the monastery of Saint-Eusèbe founded by Saint Palladius, the Bishop of Auxerre from 622 to 657. The church was listed as a Class Historic Monument in 1862.
