Bernard of Clairvaux founded the abbey at Buzay in 1135, at the request of Ermengarde of Anjou, widow of Alan IV, Duke of Brittany, and mother of Conan III, Duke of Brittany.[1] The next year, in 1136, the first community of a dozen monks settled on the site of the new abbey with Nivard, a younger brother of Bernard de Clairvaux, as their prior.[2][3] Bernard himself came for the dedication of the new foundation, accompanied by Geoffroy de Lèves, Bishop of Chartres, as they were travelling together on a visit to Parthenay to meet William X, Duke of Aquitaine.[4] Around 1143, Bernard of Clairvaux came from Champagne to visit Buzay, but found its abbey in a state of great poverty and neglect. Conan III had not honoured his promises of support, and Bernard asked the monks to return to Clairvaux, but first he met Conan III, who admitted his fault and gave the monks everything he had denied them. They then decided to stay.[3]
With effect from 1474, commendatory abbots were appointed by the duke or king, replacing the regular abbots elected locally.[1]
During the War in the Vendée (March – December 1793), following the French Revolution, Buzay Abbey was destroyed by fire. What now remains of the buildings is a tower which had been rebuilt in the 18th century, and some vaulted cellars. Other survivals are the bells, which were transferred to Chartres cathedral, an Italian marble altar, which was moved to the church of Saint-Louis in Paimbœuf, a pulpit, now in the church of St Peter in Bouguenais, and some other objects, including the oldest crucifix in the Pays de Retz, dating from the fourteenth century, in the chapel of St Anne of Tharon at Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef.[3]
Daughter houses
Villeneuve Abbey, in an engraving of 1695
From Buzay, three new Cistercian abbeys were instituted as daughter houses.[3]
On 1 July 1172, Buzay sent a few monks to the small Île du Pilier, north of Noirmoutier. However, the small windswept island posed so many problems for the new community that in 1205 the monks fell back on the island of Noirmoutier and founded the abbey of Our Lady the White.[2]
On 25 March 1200, at the request of Constance, Duchess of Brittany, monks were sent for the founding of her new Villeneuve Abbey,[6] on land belonging to Buzay, located on the Ognon, a river flowing into the lake of Grand-Lieu, near the Châtellenie of Touffou and the village of Bignon. The monks would help to drain the surrounding marshes, with advice from engineers of the Poitevin marshes, and would also help to dig a canal between Messan and the Loire.[2]
Charles de Lorraine, abbot 1552–1564Henri de Gondi, abbot 1598–1622François Lefebvre de Caumartin, abbot 1675–1733Louis de Bourbon-Condé, abbot 1733–1737
1 2 3 4 5 Arlette Lebigre, “Les débuts de l’abbaye cistercienne de Buzay en pays de Rais, 1144-1250”, in Revue historique de droit français et étranger, Issue 3, July–September 1967, pp. 451-482 JSTOR43848255 (in French)
↑ Ulysse Chevalier, Notice chronologico-historique sur les archevêques de Vienne (1879), p. 18: “Jean VII Georges Le Franc de Pompignan, évêque du Puy, lui succéda... il se démit alors de son siége et reçut l'abbaye de Buzay; il mourut le 29 décembre 1790”
Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist., venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercian Order.
Clairvaux Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Bar-sur-Aube. The original building, founded in 1115 by Bernard of Clairvaux, is now in ruins; the bulk of the present structure dates from 1708. Clairvaux Abbey was a good example of the general layout of a Cistercian monastery. The abbey has been listed since 1926 as a historical monument by the French Ministry of Culture.
Constance was Duchess of Brittany from 1166 to her death in 1201 and Countess of Richmond from 1171 to 1201. Constance was the daughter of Duke Conan IV by his wife, Margaret of Huntingdon, a sister of the Scottish kings Malcolm IV and William I.
Guy of Thouars was the third husband of Constance, Duchess of Brittany, whom he married in Angers, County of Anjou between August and October 1199 after her son Arthur of Brittany entered Angers to be recognized as count of the three countships of Anjou, Maine and Touraine. He was an Occitan noble, a member of the House of Thouars. He is counted as a duke of Brittany, jure uxoris, from 1199 to 1201.
Villers Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey located in the town of Villers-la-Ville, Walloon Brabant, Belgium. Founded in 1146, the abbey was abandoned in 1796. Most of the site has since fallen into ruins. These ruins now belong to the Walloon Region and are classified as part of Wallonia's Major Heritage.
La Ferté Abbey was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1113 in La Ferté-sur-Grosne in the present commune of Saint-Ambreuil, Saône-et-Loire, France, the first of the four great daughter-houses of Cîteaux Abbey. It was dissolved in 1791.
The Diocese of Nantes is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire-Atlantique. It has existed since the 4th century. It is now suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo, having previously been suffragan to the Archdiocese of Tours. Its see is Nantes Cathedral in the city of Nantes.
Grandselve Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in south-west France, at Bouillac, Tarn-et-Garonne. It was one of the most important Cistercian abbeys in the south of France.
Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in northern France (Île-de-France), situated in Cernay-la-Ville, in the Diocese of Versailles, Yvelines. The abbey was abandoned during the French Revolution and fell into partial ruin. Most of the buildings, except for the church, were restored in the late 19th century by Charlotte de Rothschild, and the property is now a hotel.
Jean-François de Gondi was the first archbishop of Paris, from 1622 to 1654.
Charroux Abbey is a ruined monastery in Charroux, in the Vienne department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, western France.
Cambron Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Cambron-Casteau, in the municipality of Brugelette, Hainaut, Belgium. It was located on the river Blanche, a tributary of the Dender, about 9 km (5.6 mi) to the south-east of Ath. Dissolved in 1782, parts of the abbey still survive as ruins within Pairi Daiza zoo and botanical garden.
Igny Abbey or Val d'Igny Abbey is a Cistercian abbey located in Arcis-le-Ponsart, Marne, France. It was founded in 1128 for Cistercian monks, dissolved in 1791 during the French Revolution, re-established in 1876 for Trappist monks, destroyed in 1918, reopened in 1929 for Trappist nuns and modernised in 2008–12 to accommodate three or four pre-existing communities.
Prières Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in the commune of Billiers in the department of Morbihan, Brittany, France, about 28 kilometres southeast of Vannes near the coast and the mouth of the River Vilaine.
Ardorel Abbey, formally the Abbey of Our Lady of Ardorel, was a Benedictine then Cistercian monastery located in the modern-day commune of Payrin-Augmontel, Tarn, southwestern France. It was destroyed during the Wars of Religion.
Villeneuve Abbey, dedicated to Our Lady, was a Cistercian monastery at the present-day Les Sorinières, near Nantes in Pays de la Loire, France, founded in 1201 and dissolved in 1790, during the French Revolution.
Les Écharlis Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Villefranche, Yonne, France. It was founded in the 12th century by a secular priest with two companions who wanted to live a monastic life. Soon afterward, the monastery joined the Cistercian order as a dependency of Fontenay Abbey.
Olivier I de Clisson was a Breton frontier lord. He is mainly remembered for his conflict with his half-brothers and the Duke of Brittany.
Langonnet Abbey, formally the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Langonnet, which became the Langonnet stud farm between 1807 and 1857, is a former Cistercian abbey belonging to the diocese of Quimper. It is located in the Gourin deanery, east of the village of Langonnet, on the road to Plouray. It now belongs to the Congrégation du Saint-Esprit. It was listed as a monument historique by decree on September 25, 1928. Its ogival-style chapter house dates back to the 13th century.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
