The Abbaye de la Déserte or Abbaye Notre-Dame de la Déserte ("Our Lady of the Wasteland") was a nunnery in Lyon, France. Founded in 1303 by

Louis de Villars Louis de Villars (1268 – 12 or 13 July 1308) was a French prelate of the early 14th century. He was Archbishop of Lyon and Primate of Gaul and was the son of Humbert IV, sire of Thoire and Villars, and an unknown mother, possibly Beatrice o ...

, Archbishop of Lyon, and Blanche de Chalon (Lady of Belleville), who was also the first abbess, it housed the Poor Clares from 1304 till 1503, and then Benedictine nuns from 1503 to the French Revolution, when it was dissolved. It was demolished in 1814.

History

The abbey was founded in the parish of La Platière in an area that was then a wasteland on the southern slopes of the Croix-Rousse. Originally a house of the Poor Clares, it adopted the

Rule of St. Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

in 1503. The abbess was appointed by the King but proofs of nobility were not mandatory for the appointment of the nuns. In the early 17th century adherence to the Benedictine rule grew lax and Abbess Marguerite de Guibly (the first of the name) applied severe reform in 1620 before instituting the Benedictine rule in the Priory of Our Lady of Bourbon in

Auzon Auzon (; oc, Auson) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Loire department *Franks Casket The Franks Casket (or the Auzon Casket) is a small Anglo-Saxon whale's bone ...

with five nuns from La Déserte.

Abbesses

* Blanche de Chalon, founder * Dame Jeanne Dupuy, 1304 * Mathive de Durchia, 1310 * Aignette de Dreux... * Jeanne de Durchia... * Jacquette de Latra... * Jeanne Humili, 1315 * Jacquette de Lacre, 1331 * Catherine de Vassalieu, 1351 * Tichette de Varey, 1359 * Isabeau d'Huys, 1371 * Isabelle de Joffrey, 1382 * Étiennette de Chalentin, 1406 * Amphélise Burle, 1406 * Bernarde Barrai, 1413 * Beatrice Thimote, 1425 * Catherine Carronnier, 1436 * Antoinette de Turnaire, 1480 * Antoinette de Lupercieu, 1481 * Marguerite de Varey, 1484 * Catherine Garin, 1493 * Catherine de Vaillieu, 1501 * Pernette de la Poype, 1507 * Jeanne de Grammont, 1513 * Catherine de Grammont, 1514 * Antoinette de Saint Amour, 1521 * Claudine de Clérat, 1545 * Louise Dumas, 1566 * Laurence Bernard, 1585 * Guyonne de Chaponay, 1589 * Marguerite de Guibly I, 1618 * Marguerite de Guibly II, 1675 * Antoinette de Châtillon, 1732 * Marie de Foudras, 1715 * Claudine Constance de Moyria de Châtillon, 1732 * Jeanne-Marie-Alexandrine de Montjouvent, 1758''Le livre d'or du Lyonnais, du Forez et du Beaujolais'', Jean-Baptiste Monfalcon, p. 340

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deserte, Abbaye De La 1303 establishments in Europe 1300s establishments in France Benedictine nunneries in France Buildings and structures demolished in 1814 Demolished buildings and structures in France Poor Clare monasteries in France