Longchamp Abbey (french: Abbaye royale de Longchamp), known also as the Convent of the Humility of the Blessed Virgin, was a convent of

Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...

founded in 1255 in

Auteuil Auteuil may refer to: Places * Auteuil, Oise, a commune in France * Auteuil, Paris, a neighborhood of Paris ** Auteuil, Seine, the former commune which was on the outskirts of Paris * Auteuil, Quebec, a former city that is now a district within ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, by Saint Isabelle of France. The site is now occupied by

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced ...

Royal Foundation

Isabelle was the daughter of

Louis VIII of France Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

and

Blanche of Castile Blanche of Castile ( es, Blanca de Castilla; 4 March 1188 – 27 November 1252) was Queen of France by marriage to Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX: during his minority from 1226 until 1234, and during ...

, and the younger sister of King Louis IX of France (Saint Louis). Though betrothed to Hugh, eldest son and heir of Hugh X of Lusignan, Isabelle refused to celebrate the formal wedding due to her fixed determination to remain a virgin, although she never became a nun.Bihl, Michael. "St. Isabelle of France." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 30 December 2015 In furtherance of Isabelle's wish to found a nunnery of

, her brother King

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 d ...

began in 1255 to acquire the necessary land in the

Forest of Rouvray A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, not far from the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...

, west of Paris. On 10 June 1256, the first stone of the monastic church was laid. The building appears to have been completed about the beginning of 1259. The less rigorous Rule of Mansuetus allowed the community to hold property. The abbey was named the "Convent of the Humility of the Blessed Virgin". Subject to the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

, some of the first nuns came from the Poor Clares in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

. Isabelle never joined the community herself, but did live in the abbey, in a room separate from the nuns’ cells. The King visited often and remembered the Abbey in his will. Isabelle died at Longchamp on 23 February 1270, and was buried in the abbey church.

Abbesses of Longchamp

* Agnès I d'Anneri 1259-1262 * Mathilde de Guyencourt 1262-1263 * Agnès II d’Harcourt 1264-1275 * Julienne de Toyes 1275-1279 * Agnès II d’Harcourt 1279-1287 * Jeanne I de Nevers 1288-1294 * Jeanne II de Grèce 1294-1303 * Jeanne III de Vitry 1303-1312 * Jeanne IV d’Harcourt 1312-13?? * Jeanne V de Gueux 13??-1328 * Marie I de Lions 1328-1347 * Jeanne VI de Boucheville 1347-1349 * Agnès III de Liège 1349-1357 * Marie II de Gueux 1357-1369 * Agnès IV La Chevrel 1369-1375 * Jeanne VII de La Neuville 1375-1390 * Laurence Jacob 1390-13?? * Jeanne VIII de La Godicharde 13??-1402 * Agnès V d'Issy 1402-1418 * Jeanne IX des Essarts 1418-1437 * Marie III de La Poterne 1437-1451 * Marguerite I Gentianne 1451-1467 * Jeanne X La Porchère 1467-1484 * Jeanne XI Gerente 1484-1500 * Jacqueline de Mailly 1500-1514 * Jeanne XII de Hacqueville 1514-1532 * Catherine I Picard 1532-15?? * Jeanne XIII de Mailly 15??-1540 * Georgette Cœur 1540-1550 * Louise de Cerasme 1550-1559 * Marie IV Lottin 1559-15?? * Charlotte de La Chambre 15??-1567 * Anne I de Fontaines 1567-1580 * Jeanne XIV de Mailly 1580-1604 * Françoise Potier 1604-1606 * Bonne d'Amours 1606-1608 * Catherine II Brûlart de Sillery 1608-1629 * Claudine I Isabelle de Mailly 1629-1634 * Isabelle II Mortier 1634-16?? * Madeleine Placain 16??-1653 * Catherine III de Bellièvre 1658-1668 * Claudine II de Bellièvre 1668-1670 * Claudine I Isabelle de Mailly 1670-1673 * Catherine III Marie Dorat 1673-1676 * Catherine-Elisabeth I de Gournay 1676-1679 * Marguerite II Isabelle de Flecelles, 1679-1683 * Catherine III Marie Dorat 1683-1685 * Marie-Anne I Dorat 1685-1688 * Anne-Marie de Bragelongne 1688-1691 * Catherine III Marie Dorat 1691-1694 * Marie-Anne I Dorat 1694-1697 * Catherine III Marie Dorat 1697-1700 * Marie-Anne I Dorat 1700-1700 * Elisabeth-Henriette Guignard 1700-1703 * Catherine III Marie Dorat 1703-1706 * Marguerite III Agnès Nolet 1706-1709 * Elisabeth-Henriette Guignard 1709-1712 * Marguerite III Agnès Nolet 1712-1715 * Catherine-Elisabeth II Le Cosquino 1715-1718 * Marguerite III Agnès Nolet 1718-17?? * Catherine-Elisabeth II Le Cosquino 17??-1721 * Marie-Anne II Le Jau 1721-1724 * Catherine-Elisabeth II Le Cosquino 1724-1730 * Marie-Anne II Le Jau 1730-1733 * Catherine-Elisabeth II Le Cosquino 1733-1737 * Catherine IV Thérèse de Tourmont 1737-1740 * Anne II Louise de Tourmont 1740-17?? * Marie V Jeanne Jouy 17??-1790

Destruction

Corbel005 Vue panoramique de l'ancienne abbaye de Longchamp

Longchamp Abbey underwent many vicissitudes. 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, on 26 February 1790, the nuns were served with an order of expulsion; on 17 September 1792 the valuables and sacred objects were taken away from the chapel and by 12 October that year the nuns had left the abbey.Henri Corbel, ''Petite Histoire du Bois de Boulogne'', Albin Michel, 1931, p. 42. In 1794 the empty building was offered for sale, but, as no one wished to purchase it, it was destroyed. In 1857 the remaining walls were pulled down, except for one tower, and the grounds were added to the

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by t ...

Depictions

* Misbach, ''Vue de l'abbaye de Longchamp prise du pied du jardin de M. Lagarde'', Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.

Royal Foundation

Abbesses of Longchamp

Destruction

Depictions

See also

References

Further reading