Abbaye_Saint-Pierre-le-Vif_de_Sens_dans_Monasticon_Gallicanum

The Abbey of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif (french: Abbaye de Saint-Pierre-le-Vif) was 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 just outside the walls of

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second city of the d ...

, France, in the

Archdiocese of Sens The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Senonensis et Antissiodorensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Sens et Auxerre'') is a Latin Rite Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The Archdiocese compr ...

History

The first abbot of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif, Saint Ebbo, was

bishop of Sens The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Senonensis et Antissiodorensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Sens et Auxerre'') is a Latin Rite Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The Archdiocese compr ...

before 711. In 731 he led the people of Sens to compel the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

to lift their siege of the city. Before the 9th century there was in the cemetery near the monastery a group of tombs, among which are those of the founders of the diocese and the first bishops,

Savinian and Potentian Saints Savinian and Potentian (french: Savinien et Potenti(e)n) (d. 390) are martyrs commemorated as the patron saints and founders of the diocese of Sens, France. Savinian should not be confused with another early French martyr, Sabinian of Troye ...

. In 847, the transfer of their remains to the church of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif inspired popular devotion towards the two saints. In the middle of the 10th century their relics were hidden in a subterranean vault of the abbey to escape the pillage of the Hungarians, but in 1031 they were placed in a

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...

established by the writer

Odorannus Odorannus of Sens (c. 985-1046) was a Benedictine monk at the abbey of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif in Sens, France. He was, in varying capacities, an artist, architect, goldsmith, musical theorist, biographer, exegete and chronicler. Virtually all that is ...

, a monk of the abbey. Odorannus attributed the founding of the monastery to a Merovingian princess named Theodechild. Later historians came to identify her as a daughter of

Theuderic I __NOTOC__ Theuderic I (c. 485 – 533/34) was the Merovingian king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called—from 511 to 533 or 534. He was the son of Clovis I and one of his earlier wives or concubines (possibly a Franco- ...

. The ''

Chronicle of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif of Sens The ''Chronicle of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif of Sens'' ( la, Chronicon Sancti Petri Vivi Senonensis, french: Chronique de Saint-Pierre-le-Vif de Sens) is an anonymous Latin chronicle written at the Abbey of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif in Sens between about 11 ...

'' is a Latin chronicle written at the Abbey between about 1100 and 1125 with continuations added into the 13th century. The ''Chronicle'' is mainly a history of the abbey and of the city of Sens.Régis Rech
"Chronicon S. Petri Vivi"
in Graeme Dunphy and Cristian Bratu (eds.), ''

Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle The Medieval Chronicle Society is an international and interdisciplinary organization founded to facilitate the work of scholars interested in medieval annals and chronicles, or more generally medieval historiography. It was founded in 1999 and in ...

'' (Brill, online 2016), accessed 21 June 2019. In 1238, Baldwin II,

Latin Emperor The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was recovered by the Byzantine Greeks in 1261 ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, sold the

Crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the instru ...

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...

. The following year, during the royal progress of the relic to the

Sainte-Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; en, Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Co ...

in Paris, the court stopped at Sens. the king allowed the relic to repose overnight in the abbey. During the Revolution,

Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne (9 October 172719 February 1794) was a French clergyman, bishop, cardinal, politician and finance minister of Louis XVI. Life Early career He was born in Paris, in the Loménie family from Flavignac, s ...

, who had signed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, bought the former abbey and had the majestic church, burial place of his predecessors as Archbishop of Sens, demolished, installing himself in the abbot's house with members of his family.Jean, Armand. ''Les évêques et les archevêques de France depuis 1682 jusqu'à 1801'', Picard, Paris, 1891

References

Benedictine monasteries in France Buildings and structures in Yonne {{France-Christian-monastery-stub