Maubeuge Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maubeuge) was a women's monastery in
Maubeuge, in the
County of Hainaut, now northern France, close to the modern border with Belgium. It is best known today as the abbey founded by St.
Aldegonde
Aldegund ( 639–684), also Aldegundis or Aldegonde, was a Frankish Benedictine abbess who is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in France and Orthodox Church.
Aldegund was closely related to the Merovingian royal family. Her pare ...
, still a popular figure of devotion in the region. It is thought to have possibly been where the young Jan Gossaert, a
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
-era painter known as
Jan Mabuse
Jan Gossaert (c. 1478 – 1 October 1532) was a French-speaking painter from the Low Countries also known as Jan Mabuse (the name he adopted from his birthplace, Maubeuge) or Jennyn van Hennegouwe ( Hainaut), as he called himself when he matri ...
, was educated, claimed by some to have been a native of the town of
Maubeuge, which grew up around the abbey.
History
Initially founded as a
double monastery
A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East ...
, that is, a community of both men and women, this abbey was founded in 661 for the care of the sick by the young Aldegonde, who was abbess there until her death in 684, and was also buried there. She was succeeded as abbess by her two nieces, first
Aldetrudis and then
Madelberte. The abbey soon became a
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monastery solely of
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
s. St.
Amalberga of Maubeuge
Saint Amalberga of Maubeuge (also Amalia, or Amelia of Lobbes or Binche) was a Merovingian nun and saint who lived in the 7th century.
Narrative
Amalberga's father was Saint Geremarus.
She was born in Brabant. She is said to have been the n ...
became a member of the community later in the eighth century.
Maubeuge was designated a royal abbey in 864, under the
Treaty of Meersen
The Treaty of Mersen or Meerssen, concluded on 8 August 870, was a treaty to partition the realm of Lothair II, known as Lotharingia, by his uncles Louis the German of East Francia and Charles the Bald of West Francia, the two surviving sons of ...
, which divided
Lotharingia
Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...
. In the eleventh century the abbess was a powerful local figure.
[Gerda Lerner, ''The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-seventy'' (1994), p. 25.]
At a later date the community changed their observance to the less severe
Rule of St. Augustine and their status went from nuns to that of
canonesses regular. A distinctive part of their
religious habit was a gold medal, bearing an image of St. Aldegonde in enamel, suspended on a blue cord tied with a gold tassel.
The abbey was dissolved in 1791 during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
.
Abbesses
*
Aldegonde
Aldegund ( 639–684), also Aldegundis or Aldegonde, was a Frankish Benedictine abbess who is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in France and Orthodox Church.
Aldegund was closely related to the Merovingian royal family. Her pare ...
(661 - 684 †)
*
Aldetrude
Aldetrude (died 696, or 526) was a Christian saint and from 684 was abbess of Maubeuge Abbey in the County of Hainault, now in northern France. She is also known as Aldetrude de Maubeuge, Aldetrude of Maubod, Aldetrudis and Adeltrude.
She was on ...
(684 - nk)
*
Madelberte (nk - 705 † )
* Théotrade (nk - 935 †)
* Ansoalde (1012)
* Guiscende (1106)
* Fredescente (1106)
* Chrestienne (1138)
* Frehesecende (1149)
* Liduide (1171, during a vacancy)
* Chrestienne or Christine (1173)
* Ermengarde (1175)
* Emme (1177–1202)
* Eusile (1213)
* Eusile (1235–1245)
* Marguerite de Fontaine (1247–1278)
* Elizabeth (1278–1292)
* Béatrix de Faukemont (1292–1339)
* Marie de Faukemont (1351–1371)
* Gertrude de Trazegnies (1381–1429)
* Marguerite de Gavre, called d'Hérimez (1429 - 1443 †)
* Péronne de Landas (1444–1467)
* Iolende de Gavre (1468–1482)
*
Antoinette de Hénin-Liénard, called de Fontaine (1483)
* Michelle de Gavre (1507–1547)
* Françoise de Nouvelle (1548 - 1557 †)
* Marguerite de Hinckart (1558 - 1578 †)
* Antoinette de Sainzelle (1581–1596)
* Christine de Bernaige (1599–1624)
* Bonne de Haynin (1625–1643)
* Marie de Noyelles (1644 - 1654 †)
* Marguerite d’Oignies (1655)
* Ferdinande de Bernaige (1660–1669)
* Anne-Chrétienne de Beaufort (1672–1698)
* Claire-Hyacinthe de Noyelles (1699–1719)
*
Izabelle-Philippine de Hornes (1719–1741)
*
Marie Thérèse Charlotte de Croï (1741–1774)
*
Adrienne-Florence de Lannoy (1775–1791)
References
Sources
*Moreira, Isabel (2000), ''Dreams, Visions, and Spiritual Authority in Merovingian Gaul'', Appendix B, ''The Earliest Vitae of Aldegund of Maubeuge''
External links
''Towards a Prosopography of the 'Maubeuge Cycle' Saints'' (PDF)Maubeuge municipal website: The Chapter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maubeuge, Abbey of
Christian monasteries established in the 7th century
Double monasteries
Benedictine nunneries in France
Buildings and structures in Nord (French department)
Augustinian monasteries in France
Monasteries of Canonesses Regular
1791 disestablishments in France
Monasteries destroyed during the French Revolution
Churches completed in 661
7th-century churches in France