Bourgueil Abbey (french: Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Bourgueil-en-Vallée) 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 located at

Bourgueil Bourgueil () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population Bourgueil wine Bourgueil is an ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) for wine in the Loire Valley region, and produces primarily red wine from th ...

, historically 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 ...

, currently in

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it ...

and the

diocese of Angers The Roman Catholic Diocese of Angers (Latin: ''Dioecesis Andegavensis''; French: ''Diocèse d'Angers'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The episcopal see is located in Angers Cathedral in the city of Anger ...

. The founder was

Emma of Blois Emma of Blois ( 950–27 December 1003) was Duchess consort of Aquitaine by marriage to William IV, Duke of Aquitaine. She ruled Aquitaine as regent for her son, William V, Duke of Aquitaine, from 996 until 1004. Life She was the daughter of ...

, daughter of

Theobald I of Blois Theobald I (913–975), called the Trickster (known as ''le Tricheur'' –meaning “cheater”– in French), was first Viscount of Blois and Viscount of Tours, and then from 956, Count of Blois, Chartres and Châteaudun, as well as Count of To ...

, and by her marriage, duchess of Aquitaine.

History

Bourgueil was formerly a ''

mansio In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...

'' known as ''Burgolium'' set up on the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

main road from

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

, at a point where other Roman routes converged. Before 977, these lands belonged to Theobald I of Blois. He gave them as

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

for his daughter Emma. At this point a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

already existed at Bourgueil. Emma of Blois, tired of her philandering husband

William IV of Aquitaine William IV (937 – 3 February 994), called Fierebras or Fierebrace (meaning "Proud Arm", from the French ''Fier-à-bras'' or ''Fièrebrace'', in turn from the Latin ''Ferox brachium''), was the Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 963 ...

(935-995), and particularly of his liaison with Aldéarde of Thouars, wife of

Herbert I of Thouars Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...

, had her rival beaten up and raped. Emma then fled with her young son, the future

William V of Aquitaine William the Great (french: Guillaume le Grand; 969 – 31 January 1030) was duke of Aquitaine (as ) and count of Poitou (as or III) from 990 until his death. Upon the death of the emperor Henry II, he was offered the kingdom of Italy ...

, to her brother Odo I, Count of Blois, at the

château de Chinon Château de Chinon is a castle located on the bank of the river Vienne in Chinon, France. It was founded by Theobald I, Count of Blois. In the 11th century the castle became the property of the counts of Anjou. In 1156 Henry II of England, ...

. The penitent Emma founded the abbey, in the town of Bourgeuil, in 990. The family was pious and Odo was a lay abbot of St. Martin's Abbey, Tours, and Marmoutier Abbey. There were also political reasons, in the Loire region, for the family to stand up to

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...

. The abbey's rich endowment likely came from several sources, principally Emma's uncle

Herbert III of Omois Herbert III d'Omois, Herbert the old, Heribert le Vieux (910 – 980/985) was count of Omois from 943 to his death. He was the son of Herbert II, Count of Vermandois and Adela of France, daughter of King Robert I of France. In 943 after his father ...

, but also her husband's estate, which included ''Brolium'', ''Longua-Aqua'', ''Oziacum '' and ''Vendeia'': Le Breuil, Longève, Gazais and La Vendée in Poitou.''L'Anjou et ses Monuments'', vol. 1, p. 351 et Archives d'Anjou, recueil des documents et mémoires inédits sur cette..., 1843, p.82n. William V also contributed. The possessions - land and a large forest, and feudal and seigneurial rights down to the waters of the Loire - were later counted as a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

. From the 12th century, the abbey acquired 42 dependent priories and 64 parishes in the

Angoumois Angoumois (), historically the County of Angoulême, was a county and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of Aquitaine, similar to the Périgord to its east but lower and generally less forested, equally with occasional vin ...

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

. Abbot Breton is credited with introducing winegrowing to the area while the abbot Baudry de Bourgueil was a poet who praised in verse the wine cultivated locally by the monks. In 1630 it was attached to the

Congregation of Saint-Maur The Congregation of St. Maur, often known as the Maurists, were a congregation of French Benedictines, established in 1621, and known for their high level of scholarship. The congregation and its members were named after Saint Maurus (died 565), ...

. In the 20th century, the Abbey was home to a community of nuns. Today, it comprises 13th and 18th-century buildings, together with 10th century ruins. It houses a cinema open to the public while some of the cloisters, infirmary refectory with original wooden panelling and the interesting ornamental staircase are open for tours, together with the old monks' cells which now house a museum of arts and local traditions.

Notes

{{Authority control Benedictine monasteries in France 990 establishments 10th-century establishments in France Buildings and structures in Indre-et-Loire