Hersende of Champagné (1060 – 1 December 1114) was the founder and first
Abbess
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...
of
Fontevraud Abbey
The Royal Abbey of Our Lady of Fontevraud or Fontevrault (in French: ''abbaye de Fontevraud'') was a monastery in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in the former French duchy of Anjou. It was founded in 1101 by the itinerant preache ...
.
Biography
Hersende was born 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 ...
to a noble French family in or after 1060. Hersende had been married twice and widowed twice. She became a disciple of
Robert of Arbrissel
Robert of Arbrissel ( 1045 – 1116) was an itinerant preacher, and founder of Fontevraud Abbey. He was born at Arbrissel (near Retiers, Brittany) and died at Orsan Priory in the present department of Cher.
Sources
The first ''Vita'' was writt ...
. Hersende persuaded her step-son, Gautier of
Montsoreau
Montsoreau () is a commune of the Loire Valley in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast and from Paris. The village is listed among '' The Most Beautiful Villages of France'' (french: Les Plus ...
, to provide her with the land to found the abbey. Robert was a believer in double monasteries, which considered of separate quarters of men and women under the management of the Abbess. Hersende became the first Abbess of the Abbey of Fontevraud, overseeing the construction of the abbey herself. This was the Motherhouse of the Order of Fontevraud. Hersende died in
Fontevraud Abbey
The Royal Abbey of Our Lady of Fontevraud or Fontevrault (in French: ''abbaye de Fontevraud'') was a monastery in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in the former French duchy of Anjou. It was founded in 1101 by the itinerant preache ...
.>
It has been postulated that Hersande may be the mother of
Héloïse
Héloïse (; c. 1100–01? – 16 May 1163–64?), variously Héloïse d' ArgenteuilCharrier, Charlotte. Heloise Dans L'histoire Et Dans la Legende. Librairie Ancienne Honore Champion Quai Malaquais, VI, Paris, 1933 or Héloïse du Paraclet, w ...
, wife and lover of
Abelard
Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a Middle Ages, medieval French Scholasticism, scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This ...
.
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Champagné, Hersende de
1060 births
1114 deaths
People from Anjou
11th-century French nuns
French Roman Catholic abbesses