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Grandselve Abbey (french: Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Grandselve) 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 in south-west France, at Bouillac, Tarn-et-Garonne. It was one of the most important Cistercian abbeys in the south of France.

History

Grandselve was founded as a hermitage under the Benedictine rule in 1114 by

Gerald of Sales Gerald of Sales (c.1055 or 1070 – 1120) was a French monastic reformer from Salles, Lot-et-Garonne near Bergerac, Dordogne in the south-west of France. His feast day is on April 20. Monastic reformer Gerald of Salles was ruler of Salles near Berg ...

, who placed it under the supervision of Cadouin Abbey. In 1117 Bishop Amelius Raymond du Puy of Toulouse recognized it as a monastery. He authorized the monks to build a church, gave them the lands, and required them to follow the rule as practiced at

Cîteaux Abbey Cîteaux Abbey (french: Abbaye de Cîteaux, links=no ) is a Catholic abbey located in Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, south of Dijon, France. It is notable for being the original house of the Cistercian order. Today, it belongs to the Trappists ...

. Over time, the monks began to detach themselves from their connection to Cadouin, and in 1135 Bishop Amelius, at the request of

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...

, reminded them of their required obedience.''L'abbaye Cistercienne de Grandselve''
/ref> Grandselve joined the Cistercian movement as a daughter house of

Clairvaux Abbey Clairvaux Abbey (, ; la, Clara Vallis) was a Cistercian monastery in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, from Bar-sur-Aube. The original building, founded in 1115 by St. Bernard, is now in ruins; the present structure dates from 1708. Clairvaux Abbey was a ...

in 1145. The church was dedicated in 1253. The land was cultivated, mills were established on the rivers and vineyards were planted. By the fourteenth century, the abbey owned two wine cellars in Bordeaux. It became one of the most flourishing and famous abbeys of the south. Grandselve founded the College of St. Bernard in Toulouse to teach theology. William VI and William VII, counts of Montpellier, were buried at Grandselve, where William VII's son, Raimond de Montpellier was a monk. In 1231 Bishop of Toulouse

Folquet de Marselha Folquet de Marselha, alternatively Folquet de Marseille, Foulques de Toulouse, Fulk of Toulouse (c. 1150 – 25 December 1231) came from a Genoese merchant family who lived in Marseille. He is known as a trobadour, and then as a fiercely anti- ...

was buried, beside the tomb of William VII of Montpellier, at the abbey of Grandselves, near Toulouse, where his sons, Ildefonsus and Petrus had been abbots. The abbey properties suffered during 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, ...

such that

John II of France John II (french: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which kill ...

temporarily exempted the abbey from taxes. By the late fifteenth century,

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 ...

s further depleted the abbey's resources while neglecting maintenance and repair. By 1790 there were only fourteen religious left. The abbey was suppressed 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 ...

. It was sold in 1791 to private owners who sold the walls for construction material."Grandselve", European Charter of Cistercian Abbeys and Sites
/ref>

References

External links

*
List of abbots
{{Coord, 43.856, N, 1.138, E, display=title, source:dewiki Cistercian monasteries in France Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Buildings and structures in Tarn-et-Garonne 1114 establishments in Europe 1110s establishments in France Benedictine monasteries in France Religious organizations established in the 1110s