Melleray Abbey (Abbaye de Notre-Dame-de-Melleray) was a
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monastery, founded about the year 1134. It was situated in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
,
Diocese of Nantes
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes ( la, Dioecesis Nannetensis; french: Diocèse de Nantes; br, Eskopti Naoned) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire-At ...
, in
La Meilleraye-de-Bretagne in the vicinity of
Châteaubriant (in present
Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...
).
History
Foulques, Abbot of Pontron in
Anjou Anjou may refer to:
Geography and titles France
* County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou
**Count of Anjou, title of nobility
*Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France
**Duk ...
, which was founded from Loroux (itself a daughter foundation of
Cîteaux), sent monks for the foundation of a monastery in Brittany. They chose a solitary location near Old Melleray, shown them by Rivallon, pastor of Auverné, which Alain de Moisdon, proprietor of the place, donated to them. According to legend, two of the founding brothers, spending the night in the forest, found in the hollow trunk of the tree under which they slept, a honeycomb, which supplied them with the food they desperately needed. This hollow tree marked the spot of the site of their new monastery, ''Meilleraie'', which means honeycomb, and which in the long course of time has become Melleray.
[Hoffmann, M.M., ''Arms and the Monk! The Trappist Saga in Mid‑America'', Dubuque, Iowa, Wm. C. Brown Company, 1952]
Guitern, the first abbot, erected the original monastery in 1145, but the church was not completed until 1183, under Geffroy, the fourth abbot.
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 22 January 2023
A small monastery built for about twelve monks, Melleray remained regular in observance until during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when relaxation prevailed. Etienne de Brezé (1544) was the first
commendatory abbot
A commendatory abbot ( la, abbas commendatarius) is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ...
, and from his time the monastery declined, until toward the end of the seventeenth century when, through the efforts of Dom Jouard, vicar-general of the order, 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 ...
was re-introduced, and the monastic buildings restored. In 1791 it was suppressed, and the few religious were dispersed.
[
This, however, was not the end of Melleray. The ]Trappists
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...
, expelled from France, took refuge at Valsainte in Switzerland; from there Dom Augustine de Lestrange established them in various parts of the world.["Historique", Chartreuse de La Valsainte (Suisse)]
/ref> Through the generosity of Sir Thomas Weld, a wealthy English Catholic and the father of Cardinal Weld
Thomas Weld (22 January 1773 – 10 April 1837) was an English landowner who renounced his assets to enter the Roman Catholic priesthood. He was consecrated Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.
Family
Weld was born in London on 22 January 1773 ...
, they settled (1795) at Lulworth
Lulworth is the popular name for an area on the coast of Dorset, South West England notable for its castle and cove. However, there is no actual place or feature called simply "Lulworth", the villages are East and West Lulworth and the coastal f ...
, Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, England. St. Susan's was soon created an abbey, and Dom Antoine de Beauregard was elected the first abbot (1813). In 1817, with changed conditions and the restoration of the Bourbons, the monks of Lulworth returned to Melleray.[
Although much of the soil of their property was stony and sterile. Upon these fields they applied the skill learned from the improved methods of English farming, introducing new types of plows and the first threshing machine ever used in Brittany.][ The restored abbey flourished, increasing from fifty-seven to one hundred and ninety-two members in twelve years. During the Revolution of 1830 they were again persecuted, especially those of foreign birth, of whom they had a great number. To make homes for these they founded ]Mount Melleray Abbey
Mount Melleray Abbey is a Trappist monastery in Ireland, founded in 1833. It is situated on the slopes of the Knockmealdown Mountains, near Cappoquin, Diocese of Waterford.
It is famous in literature due to Seán Ó Ríordáin's poem ''Cnoc Mel ...
(1833) in Ireland and Mount Saint Bernard Abbey
Mount St Bernard Abbey is a Roman Catholic, Trappist monastery near Coalville, Leicestershire, England, founded in 1835 in the parish of Whitwick and now in that of Charley. The abbey was the first permanent monastery to be founded in England ...
(1835) in England. Dom Antoine (d. 1839) was succeeded first by Dom Maxime, then by a second Dom Antoine, and finally by Dom Eugene Vachette.
Under Dom Antoine II several monasteries were established, among them Gethsemani Abbey
The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani is a Catholic monastery in the United States near Bardstown, Kentucky, in Nelson County. The abbey is part of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (''Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae''), ...
(1848) in the United States. Dom Eugène, elected in 1875, was for many years the vicar-general of the Congregation of La Grande Trappe
La Trappe Abbey, also known as La Grande Trappe, is a monastery in Soligny-la-Trappe, Orne, France. It is known for being the house of origin of the Trappists, to whom it gave its name.
History
The site of the famous La Trappe Abbey was for cen ...
, and was instrumental in effecting the reunion into a single Order of the three congregations among which the Trappists were then divided 1892).
In 2015, the Trappist monks announced that they would leave the abbey in 2016, and give charge of it to the Chemin Neuf Community.[.]"Melleray Abbey", Office de Tourisme Intercommunal de Châteaubriant - Derval
/ref>
See also
*Mount Melleray Abbey
Mount Melleray Abbey is a Trappist monastery in Ireland, founded in 1833. It is situated on the slopes of the Knockmealdown Mountains, near Cappoquin, Diocese of Waterford.
It is famous in literature due to Seán Ó Ríordáin's poem ''Cnoc Mel ...
*New Melleray Abbey
New Melleray Abbey is a Trappist monastery located near Dubuque, Iowa. The abbey is located about 15 miles southwest of Dubuque and is in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Currently the Abbey is home to about 16 monks. Several of the monks work in the ...
* Trappists
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...
References
;Attribution
* The entry cites:
**MANRIQUE, "Annales Cistercienses" (Lyons, 1642);
**JANAUSCHEK, "Originum Cistercienium" (Vienna, 1877);
**HAUREAU, "Gallia Christiana", XIV (1856);
**MORICE, "Preuves de l'Histoire de Bretagne";
**FELIX, "Notice sur l'Abbaye de Melleray" (Nantes, 1884);
**DE CORSON, "L'Abbaye de Melleray avant la Revolution" (St. Brieuc, 1895);
**"Vie du R. P. D. Antoine" (Paris, 1840);
**GAILLARDIN, "Les Trappistes de l'ordre de Citeaux au XIXe s." (2 vols., Paris, 1845);
**RICHER, "Voyage par un Trappiste de 7 Fons" (Paris, 1870); "Grandmaison y Bruno" (Paris, 1852);
External links
{{Authority control
Cistercian monasteries in France
Chemin Neuf Community