This one was a while back in my road warrior tours of the valley of the kings of my belle France I, again, found me older paper pictures that should be in my blog, glad to have found them, Not the best condition but all I have for now. I have been all over France, but sometimes just touch base ,go on the run and lucky to be able to come back to many, but still work to do. Let me tell you about the Abbaye de Fleury-of Saint Benoît sur Loire !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The town of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire is located in the Loiret dept 45 in the Centre-Val de Loire region of my belle France. The town is famous for its Romane Bénédictine abbey ,and for having been the scene of the triple donation of 1429 by Jeanne d’Arc at the Dauphin Charles in 1429. The town is 41 km from Orleans ,42 km from Montargis, 160 km from Paris, 177 km from Le Mans, and 467 km from my house,
The Abbey of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, more exactly Abbey of Fleury, is a Benedictine Abbey The first monastery founded in the High Middle Ages in 651 is one of the first in Gaul to live according to the rule of Saint Benoît . At the beginning of the 11C, the abbey was one of the cultural centers of the West and radiated then thanks to its important library and its scriptorium. The relics of Saint Benoît at the Fleury Abbey was done in June 655. The abbey then took the name of Saint-Benoît de Fleury or Saint-Benoît-Fleury. The abbey then radiates thanks to its important library and scriptorium, which produced works such as the Fleury game book by Father Abbon an Orleans who fights to preserve the property of the abbey , We owed him works affecting grammar, dialectics, cosmography, comput, mathematics, liturgy, canon law and ecclesiastical history.
The apse, the crypt and the choir are completed and consecrated in 1108, allowing burial in the sanctuary, the same year, of the King of France Philippe I. In 1108, Philippe I, the father of Louis VI Le Gros died in Melun, and according to his last will, was buried in the abbey church of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire In the crypt are preserved the relics of Saint Benoît de Nursie who died at the Mont Cassin monastery in 547. The relics were reported on the edge of the Loire at the end of the 7C. The nave is continued to join the Tour-Porche (see pic) with Gothic arches. Most of the building was completed around 1218. The Notre-Dame Abbey Church see west of the nave, the porch tower has two levels. It communicates on the ground floor with the nave through a door The Tour Porche is built on an almost square plan with sides of about 16 meters for an area of 260 m2 on two floors. The ground floor has a height of 6.60 meters and the floor of 10.35 meters. Two spiral staircases in the wall serve the floor, and another continuing to the attic with a carpeting in a pavilion surmounted by a lantern The Tour-Porche contains the four bells of the abbey. The twelve non-closed doors of the porch tower can evoke celestial Jerusalem.
In 1130, the abbey experienced one of the most beautiful days in its history when Bernard de Clairvaux blessed the alliance of the Roman church and the Capetian monarchy between Pope Innocent II and King Louis VI le Gros. In 1429, Jeanne d’Arc and Charles VII passed through Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire on the road which links the castle of Sully-sur-Loire and that of Châteauneuf-sur-Loire which remained in French hands. The Cardinal Richelieu, abbot of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire from 1621 to 1642, introduced the reform of Saint-Maur in the abbey. On May 26, 1627, the chapter decided that the old and new them will form two communities each with its prior. Jansenism is introduced into the teaching of the schools of the abbey where we study philosophy, theology, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, physics, mathematics and history. The religious refuse to renounce this doctrine despite the injunctions of the Bishop of Orleans.
In 1712, the construction of a vast building containing the regular places began: cells, refectory and common room, two new wings, one of which joined the transept of the church and the other headed for the apse. They house the chapter room, sacristy, infirmary, hotels, library and other operating annexes. The facades are bordered by terraces overlooking the gardens with a panorama towards the Valley and the Loire. The decree of April 6, 1792 on religious communities forced them to leave the abbey Later,the bishop of Orleans wishes to restore monastic orders and in particular that of Saint Benoît. On January 6, 1865, he announced to the authorities the arrival of two Benedictines to administer the parish, However, the real refoundation took place during WWII, in 1944, with the arrival of a dozen monks of the ‘Abbey of Pierre-Qui-Vire in Saint-Léger-Vauban (Yonne), The abbey is attached to an International Union of Abbeys and Benedictine houses known as the Congregation of Subiaco , The Brothers live by sales of the boutique monastic crafts, manufacture of candies in the form of monks, reception and donations. The Abbey of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire grants, from the reforms of Pope Paul VI, a large place in the French during the Divine Office while retaining Gregorian song at Mass and for the main festivals.
Other things to see with more time is the Maison Max Jacob with a permanent exhibition devoted to the artist, The poet’s body was transferred, in accordance with his will, from Drancy to Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire in 1949. The poet Max Jacob lived there from 1921 to 1928. He returned there in 1936 and was arrested there in February 1944 before been deported to the Drancy camp where he died a few days later in 1950, the sculptor René Iché accepted that the portrait of Max Jacob done in 1935 be use to decorate the grave of his friend; He was born in 1876 at Quimper, Finistére 29 Brittany,He is buried at the cemetery of Saint Benoît sur Loire
The town of Saint Benoît sur Loire on the abbey : https://saint-benoit-sur-loire.fr/labbaye
The official abbaye de Fleury or Saint Benoît sur Loire : https://www.abbaye-fleury.com/
The Loiret dept 45 tourist office on Saint Benoît sur Loire : https://www.tourismeloiret.com/fr/voir/villes-villages/saint-benoit-sur-loire-0
The local Val de Sully tourist office on Saint Benoît sur Loire : https://www.tourisme-valdesully.fr/decouvrir/19-villes-villages-a-apprecier/saint-benoit-loire/
There you go folks, another wonder to be seen, worth the detour , me think. This is wonderful architecture and history to know and visit ,and even with more time. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Abbaye de Fleury-of Saint Benoît sur Loire !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health ,and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 