- Barbeau Abbey
Barbeau Abbey (French: "Abbaye de Barbeau" or "Abbaye Notre-Dame de Barbeau";
Latin : "Barbelum", "Sequanae portus" or "Sacer portus") is a formerCistercian monastery inFontaine-le-Port in theSeine-et-Marne department,France . It was located about 10 kilometres north-east ofFontainebleau and 8 kilometres south-east ofMelun .History
Barbeau Abbey was founded in 1147 by King
Louis VII of France on the banks of theSeine , whence the original name "Seine-Port", or "Sequanae Portus" in Latin. It was transferred to its present site in 1156. The present name is supposed to derive from the French word for the barbel, the fish, which is also depicted in the abbey's arms. According to the foundation legend, the reason for this is that a barbel was fished out of the Seine and found to contain a ring mounted with a precious stone, lost by Saint Loup as he crossed the river, the sale of which raised the funds to build the monastery.In 1180 Louis VII, the founder, was buried in the abbey; his bones were transferred to
St. Denis' Abbey in 1817.The abbey prospered until the
Hundred Years' War . In about 1420 the monks were driven out of the abbey and spent the next 40 years in Melun. After their return in 1460 the monastery was restored and enlarged. The abbey suffered further damage in the Wars of Religion. Under thecommendatory abbot CardinalWilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg the church was again restored.The abbey was suppressed in 1791 during the
French Revolution and set on fire in 1793 by theSansculottes . The state bought the remaining buildings back in 1810 for use as an orphanage, but sold them in 1837 to a private owner, who demolished them and built a country house on the site. A riding school now occupies the remainder of the site.Buildings
There are few remains of the abbey apart from an ice-cellar. the church of
Fontaine-le-Port has preserved some 16th century wooden sculptures from the abbey church. A chapel in this village is also said once to have been the abbey's.The church ofHéricy owns an 18th century altar from the monastery.References
* Peugniez, Bernard, nd: "Routier cistercien" (p. 168). Moisenay: Editions Gaud. ISBN 2-84080-044-6
External links
* [http://pagesperso-orange.fr/foyer-rural-de-fontaine-le-port/histoire.htm History of Barbeau Abbey] fr icon
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