Flaran Abbey is a former

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 ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

located near

Valence-sur-Baïse Valence-sur-Baïse (; Gascon: ''Valença de Baïsa'') is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France. Geography Population See also *Communes of the Gers department * Flaran Abbey * Baïse The Baïse () ( oc, Baïsa) is a ...

, in the ''département'' of

Gers Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377.

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The abbey was founded in 1151, as a daughter house of

Escaladieu Abbey Escaladieu Abbey ( French: ''l'Abbaye de l'Escaladieu'') was a Cistercian abbey located in the French ''commune'' of Bonnemazon in the Hautes-Pyrénées. Its name derives from the Latin ''Scala Dei'' ("ladder of God"). The abbey was founded ...

, at the confluence of the Auloue and

Baïse The Baïse () ( oc, Baïsa) is a long river in south-western France, left tributary of the Garonne. Its source is in the foothills of the Pyrenees, near Lannemezan. It flows north through the following ''départements'' and towns: * Hautes-Pyrén� ...

rivers, between the towns of

Condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

and

Auch Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony. Geography Localization Hydrography The Riv ...

. The abbey was founded by Burgundian

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s and today represents one of the best preserved abbeys in the south-west of France.

History

After its foundation in the 12th century, Flaran Abbey experienced rapid growth. In the middle of the 13th century, the abbey, jointly with

Gerald V Gerald V d'Armagnac (died 1219), Count of Armagnac and Fézensac from 1215 to 1219, was the son of Bernard d'Armagnac, Viscount of Fézensaguet and Geralda of Foix.''Bulletin de la Section de géographie'', Vol.15, Ed. Comité des travaux historiq ...

Count of Armagnac The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac: House of Armagnac *William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960 * Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ? * Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020 * Bernard ...

, founded the fortified town of

on a hillside on the other side of the Baïse river. The abbey did not escape the vicissitudes of history, beginning with the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

, which ended with the Plantagenet county of

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

being realigned with France. Engulfed by fire during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...

, the abbey was restored by subsequent abbots, but was suppressed and sold off 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 considere ...

. In 1913, the Archaeological Society of Gers intervened so that the abbey would not end up in the architectural collection of

George Grey Barnard George Grey Barnard (May 24, 1863 – April 24, 1938), often written George Gray Barnard, was an American sculptor who trained in Paris. He is especially noted for his heroic sized '' Struggle of the Two Natures in Man'' at the Metropolitan Museu ...

that resulted in

The Cloisters The Cloisters, also known as the Met Cloisters, is a museum in the Washington Heights, Manhattan, Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City. The museum, situated in Fort Tryon Park, specializes in European medieval art ...

museum in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The site was purchased by the department of Gers in 1972 and underwent an intense restoration project; it is now the site of numerous cultural activities. The site houses a permanent exhibition on the pilgrimage route to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

, the

Way of St. James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the Twelve Apostle ...

References

{{Coord, 43.8897, N, 0.3731, E, source:dewiki_region:FR_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Cistercian monasteries in France 1151 establishments in Europe 1150s establishments in France Religious organizations established in the 1150s Buildings and structures in Gers Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Tourist attractions in Gers Monuments historiques of Gers