Les Écharlis Abbey (french: Abbaye des Écharlis) 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 ...

monastery in Villefranche, Yonne, France. It was founded in the 12th century by a secular priest with two companions who wanted to live a monastic life. Soon afterward, the monastery joined the Cistercian order as a dependency of

Fontenay Abbey The Abbey of Fontenay is a former Cistercian abbey located in the Communes in France, commune of Marmagne, Côte-d'Or, Marmagne, near Montbard, in the départements of France, département of Côte-d'Or in France. It was founded by Saint Bernard ...

. An initial site, quickly deemed too small for the growing numbers of monks, was soon abandoned in favor of a more suitable site located a few kilometers away. The abbey grew rapidly, thanks especially to the fame of the peasant saint Saint Alpaïs whom the monks had befriended and whose

vita Vita or VITA (plural vitae) is Latin for "life", and may refer to: * ''Vita'', the usual start to the title of a biography in Latin, by which (in a known context) the work is often referred to; frequently of a saint, then called hagiography * Vit ...

was written around ca. 1180 by a monk named Peter. However, the abbey experienced numerous changes and hardships thereafter: 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, ...

, the French Wars of Religion, abbatial appointments

in commendam In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...

, and repeated destruction. It was dissolved in 1791 and sold as a so-called ''

bien national The biens nationaux were properties confiscated during the French Revolution from the Catholic Church, the monarchy, émigrés, and suspected counter-revolutionaries for "the good of the nation". ''Biens'' means "goods", both in the sense of "obj ...

'' during the French Revolution.

Foundation

Les Écharlis Abbey became the first dependency of

. Its founding as a Cistercian monastery was made possible by a gift of land by a certain Vivien, a knight and lord of

La Ferté-Loupière La Ferté-Loupière () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. The village is famous for its danse macabre, dating back from the beginning of the 16th century, in the church of Saint-Germain. See ...

, to Father Étienne, a secular priest, and his two companions, Théobald (Thibault) and Garnier.Salomon, "Histoire de l'abbaye des Écharlis", 3Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 223 It is not clear when precisely the monks settled at Les Écharlis. The '' Gallia Christiana'' posits 1120 or 1125, while a charter from Guillaume, count of Joigny, which records a gift made by a Gérard de Chanle (

Champlay Champlay () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yonne department The following is a list of the 423 communes of the Yonne department of France. The communes coo ...

) to the church of Les Écharlis, dates to 1108.Salomon, "Histoire de l'abbaye des Écharlis", 4 It is therefore likely that there was a monastery on the site before its affiliation with the Cistercian Order, as was common at the time. The reference to Étienne and his two companions provides further evidence for this hypothesis: normally, Cistercian foundations required one abbot and twelve monks. Edmond Régnier suggests a dating of 1198 rather than 1108, but without questioning either the early 12th-century foundation of the monastery at Les Écharlis or a non-Cistercian origin.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 222 An early church document – an act signed by Hugues de Toucy,

archbishop of Sens The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Senonensis et Antissiodorensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Sens et Auxerre'') is a Latin Rite Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The Archdiocese compr ...

, and dated 1151 – confirmed the rights of the new abbey. A bull confirms the abbey's foundation dates from 20 November 1163 and was signed by

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

, who had sought refuge in nearby Sens to escape from

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

. What can be said with certainty is that the monastery, first settled at a site now known as Vieux-Écharlis, was eventually moved about three kilometers away to a new and, as it turns out, more permanent location.

Second site

With numbers growing rapidly, the monks of Les Écharlis realized that the original site was inadequate for their needs. As that location was not in a valley, according to the usual Cistercian custom, the abbey lacked running water. Guillaume, the third abbot, decided to rebuild the abbey in its current location.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 229 This move was not well viewed by Séguin, the son of the original donor, and he demanded that the monks remain on the land given by his father. The affair went before the ecclesiastical court in 1136. The Archbishop of Sens, Henri I Sanglier, sided with the monks and approved their new location. An enraged Séguin burned down the monastery, leading the monks to appeal once again to the Archbishop of Sens, now Hugues de Toucy, who sent the bishop of Auxerre to render a verdict locally. The bishop found a compromise to satisfy both parties and Séguin subsequently made amends for his behavior.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 230-31 The abbey was built with local materials, in cut stone for the load-bearing structures, and in flint rubble for the fillings. Both the abbey and the cloister were barrel-vaulted. The abbatial church was enormous, 75 meters long and 20 wide.Salomon, "Histoire de l'Abbaye des Écharlis", 52-54 (For comparison, the largest Cistercian church in the world, that of nearby Pontigny Abbey, is 119 meters long).

14th-century peak

Les Écharlis Abbey faced difficulties from the beginning, the surrounding land being barely cleared and still rather wild. The new monks were rather deprived of resources.Régnier, "Histoire de l'abbaye des Écharlis", 224 As evidenced in charters, the nascent monastery received numerous gifts and legacies. Some came from nobility and royalty, especially Louis VI (died 1137), who had been cured by the ferruginous water of the fountain in the abbey's courtyard and returned there from time to time, and

Louis VII Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...

. Other donations came from artisans and peasants.Salomon, "Histoire de l'abbaye des Écharlis", 19-20 All these donations request prayers either for the donor or for their family. As the donations were very often either of farm- or woodland, the monks survived by working the land.Salomon, "Histoire de l'abbaye des Écharlis", 35-36 Other gifts, manifest in the barns being raised around the monastery, were made by local squires at ''Bornisois'' (

Villiers-sur-Tholon Villiers-sur-Tholon () is a former commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Montholon.Senan)."50 ans du Père Grégoire: un cistercien en ses terres…"
20 May 2012 Note that these transfers of land, despite being called donations, were always made against a sum of silver put up by the monks, with the exception of gifts made by the archbishop or the king. By the end of the 12th century, all these donations had made the abbey very much richer.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 234-39 Moreover, the abbey enriched itself spiritually, especially with the growing sanctity of Saint Alpaïs, who lived as a hermit at nearby

Cudot Cudot () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yonne department The following is a list of the 423 communes of the Yonne department of France. The communes cooper ...

. Miraculously cured of a skin ailment, she lived the final 30 years of her life in a total

fast Fast or FAST may refer to: * Fast (noun), high speed or velocity * Fast (noun, verb), to practice fasting, abstaining from food and/or water for a certain period of time Acronyms and coded Computing and software * ''Faceted Application of Subje ...

, eating nothing but the host every day. This miracle attracted large crowds, while the archbishop, skeptical, put Alpaïs under constant surveillance to prove the truth of her fasting. Over the years the monks of Les Écharlis wrote numerous lives of Alpaïs, of which 7 survived to the 20th century.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 240 According to a royal charter from 1271, the monastery had 10 monks and one abbot in that year. In 1336, the papal bull ''Summi magistri dignatis'' issued by

Pope Benedict XII Pope Benedict XII ( la, Benedictus XII, french: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope. Benedict was a careful p ...

required that Cistercian monasteries numbering more than 40 monks send at least one of them to receive theological training.Dom Romain Clair, "Hautecombe" (Aix-les-Bains: Société d’art et d’histoire d'Aix-les-Bains, 2010). The monastery of Les Écharlis was well below this number, which also explains the lack of daughter houses.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 244

Burials at the abbey

As was the case at other Cistercian abbeys (notably Pontigny and, of course, Cîteaux) the abbey of Les Écharlis was chosen as a burial site for several local families who wanted to guarantee the monks' prayers for their souls and to create a prestigious place of burial. Among those buried at the abbey were Hugues and Alexandra de Précy in 1301, Pierre de

Dicy Dicy is a former commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Charny-Orée-de-Puisaye.Joigny and Prunoy, and perhaps Ferry de Seignelay in 1231.

Difficulties and first destructions

From the beginning of the

in 1356, the monks were menaced by the advancement of the English in the Gâtinais. They sought refuge in their "red house", near the porte de Sens in Villeneuve-le-Roi (now

Villeneuve-sur-Yonne Villeneuve-sur-Yonne () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. It is surrounded by a partly intact wall, built during the 12th century, which was one of the 8 residences of the French kings. Ge ...

).Salomon, "Histoire de l'abbaye des Écharlis", 27-28 Soldiers destroyed the abbey down to the walls and it remained unoccupied until at least 1373. Even after their very gradual return to the abbey, the monks had to pray in the small entrance chapel. As their numbers had seriously decreased due to the war, they were likewise forced to rent out some of their barns.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 258 The war dragged on and in the 15th century the monks again fled before the invading English forces. Les Écharlis Abbey languished unoccupied and open to pillage from 1440 to 1455.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 260-61. The severe decrease in their numbers caused by war, the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

and a general decline in interest in monasticism prevented the monks from cultivating their lands themselves. They chose to lease out their lands under emphyteusis, a kind of long-term lease, thus becoming both farmers and owners.

16th-century decline

In 1524, the monks were once again harassed by armed bands sponsored by François d'Allègre, lord of Précy. As a result, the monks had to seek temporary refuge in Villeneuve-le-Roi once again.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 266 Thereafter, the monastery saw some stability and the ancient refectory was repurposed as the abbey church. It was also at this time that the appointment of abbots ''

'' began in Les Écharlis: from that point on the abbot came from outside the abbey and existed outside of its rules. Initially such abbots were members of the secular clergy, often a bishop; but increasingly the commendatory abbot was chosen by the king from among the ranks of the nobility, as result of the Concordat of Bologna signed by King

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe ...

and Pope Leo X.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 269 The first commendatory abbot of Les Écharlis was Jean de Langeac, bishop of Avranches and later of

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

.Salomon, "Histoire de l'abbaye des Écharlis", 37-39 He undertook a number of major projects at Les Écharlis, and, according to Edmond Régnier, built a new abbey, much smaller than the first on a site measuring 32 metres by 10 metres (as opposed to 75 metres by 20 metres for the medieval abbey) and on the opposite side of the cloister.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 272 However, the good relations Jean de Langeac had with the monks were an exception. The subsequent commendatory abbot, Guillaume Pellissier, was so hated by his monks that they brought him before the courts.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 274-76 In 1562 and 1568, the abbey, as well as the surrounding region, fell prey to the ravages of the French Wars of Religion. On 24 October 1562, Protestant troops led by Coligny massacred the monks and burned down the church.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 279 During the Huguenot siege of Auxerre, the monks once again sought refuge outside the monastery and therefore were not present as the abbey house, among other structures, was destroyed.Salomon, "Histoire de l'abbaye des Écharlis", 46-47 With the Edict of Nantes in 1589 peace returned to the region and the monks returned to their monastery, electing a new, non-commendatory abbot, Denis de Buffevant, themselves. Unfortunately, de Buffevant spent only two years in office before abbatial appointments ''in commendam'' were restored. The monastic community was decimated: from about a dozen monks in 1544, the monastery's population dropped to just four after the wars of religion. It rose again to eight or ten monks before the Fronde, but dropped once more to four in 1669.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 306 In this period the monastery suffered most gravely from the ''in commendam'' appointment of abbots. Not only did the work of the abbey serve only to enrich a distant lord, but a single family arrogated to themselves the exclusive right to pass on the ''commendam''. In 1615 the house of Courtenay secured their control of the abbey of Les Écharlis, keeping it until 1731. Their commendatory abbots enjoyed the abbey's revenues without carrying out the regular repairs required to maintain the monastery.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 295 The monastery suffered further damage during the Fronde. in 1652, a squadron of 600-700 soldiers from the forces of Louis, Prince of Condé, pillaged and burned the monastery; eight villagers who had sought refuge at the abbey died in the fire despite the monks' best efforts to save them. The damages were estimated at 100,000 livres tournois.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 284–85 At the end of the 17th century, the monastery had fewer than four or five monks living in the only building to have survived these various ravages. Edmond Martène and Ursin Durand found just three monks living there in the early 18th century.

Reconstruction

In the 18th century, once the Courtenay family had secured their control over the abbey, the new commendatory abbot, Gaspard de Coriolis d'Espinouse, wanted to restore the monastery, which he financed by cutting a massive quantity of timber on the abbey's lands between 1767 and 1774. The church of Jean de Langeac received a new roof (though, ''pace'' Alexandre Salomon, it was not reconstructed in its entirety) and the monastic buildings, dormitory, chapter house, and refectory were completely restored. At this time there were very few monks at Écharlis, just three or four permanently throughout the 18th century. In 1791, of the four monks then in residence, just one, Marie-Joseph Mésange (from Montargis), was from the surrounding region. The prior, Dom Jean-Antoine Choppin, and a monk named François Guériotand were from Lorraine; the remaining monk, Claude Viennot, was from

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

The French Revolution and dissolution

Despite everything, the monks enjoyed a good reputation and when, on 18 November 1790, two administrators from the district of Joigny came to affix the seals on the abbey, they held back.Régnier, "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis", 307 Nonetheless, on 23 January 1791 the monks were forced to leave by the revolutionaries, and the monastery was sold as a ''

'' in 1792. The buyer, an artisan, dismantled it bit by bit.Salomon, "Histoire de l'abbaye des Écharlis", 56-57 Nothing remains of the medieval monastery but the entrance to the property, which dates from the 12th century and includes a small chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-Pitié. The chapel dates to the 13th century and was a place of local pilgrimage. By contrast, by 1868 all that remained of the 18th-century monastery was the monks' quarters.Quantin, "Répertoire archéologique de l’Yonne", 149

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Aumard, Sylvain, Ayed Ben Amara, and Stéphane Büttner. "Analyses archéométriques des carreaux de l’église de Cudot et de l’abbaye des Écharlis." ''Études villeneuviennes'' 43 (2011): 56–64. * Bell, David N., Denise Borlée, Terryl N. Kinder, and Christophe Wissenberg, eds. ''Les Cisterciens dans l’Yonne.'' Pontigny: Les Amis de Pontigny, 1999. * Bondéelle-Souchier, Anne. ''Bibliothèques cisterciennes dans la France médiévale: Répertoire des abbayes d’hommes.'' Paris, CNRS Éditions, 1991. * Orgeur, Magali. "Les carreaux de pavement incisés de l’abbaye cistercienne d’Écharlis (Yonne)." In ''Terres cuites architecturales médiévales et modernes en Ile-de-France et dans les régions voisines'', edited by Jean Chapelot, Odette Chapelot, and Bénédicte Rieth. Caen: Publications du CRAHM, 2009. * Cotteau, Gustave, and Victor Petit. Guide pittoresque dans le département de l’Yonne. Voyage onzième". ''Almanach historique du département de l’Yonne'' (1847): 183–84. * Dauphin, Jean-Luc. "À propos de l’Abbaye des Écharlis…" ''Études villeneuviennes'' 4 no. 45 (March 1981). * Despons-Clément, André. "La maison rouge des Écharlis: un établissement cistercien à Villeneuve-sur-Yonne." ''Études villeneuviennes'' 4 no. 45 (March 1981): 11–14. * Dimier, Marie-Anselme. "Écharlis (Les)." In ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques'', vol. 14: Dabert - Eger. Paris, Librairie Letouzey et Ané, 1960. * Drouot, Henri. "À propos de la mise au tombeau des Écharlis." ''Annales de Bourgogne'' 26 (1954): 72–73. * Dufour, Jean, and Robert-Henri Bautier (dir.) ''Recueil des actes de Louis VI, roi de France (1108-1137): Actes antérieurs à l'avènement et 1108-1125'', vol. 2. Paris: Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, 1992. * Luchaire, Achillle. ''Études sur les actes de Louis VII''. Alphonse Picard, 188

* Martène, Edmond, and Ursin Durand. ''Voyage littéraire de deux religieux bénédictins de la congrégation de Saint-Maur''. Paris: F. Delaulne, 171

* Orgeur, Magali. "Les carreaux de pavement incisés des Écharlis et de Cudot." ''Études villeneuviennes'' 43 (March 2011): 36–55. * Peugniez, Bernard, and Henri Gaud. ''Routier cistercien: Abbayes et sites.'' Gaud, 2001. * Prévost, Antoine François. ''Gallia Christiana'', vol. 12. Paris, 1771. * Quantin, Maximilien. ''Répertoire archéologique de l’Yonne''. Paris, 186

* Quantin, Maximilien and Francis Molard. ''Inventaire sommaire des Archives du département de l'Yonne antérieures à 1790'', vol. 3. A. Gallot, 188

* Salomon, Alexandre, and Maximilien Quantin. "Note sur les ruines de l’abbaye des Escharlis". ''Bulletin de la Société des sciences historiques et naturelles de l’Yonne'' (1848): 431–33. * Salomon, Alexandre. "Histoire de l'abbaye des Écharlis." ''Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Historiques et Naturelles de l'Yonne'' (1852). * Régnier, Edmond. "Histoire de l’abbaye des Écharlis." ''Bulletin de la Société des sciences historiques et naturelles de l’Yonne'' 67 (1913): 221–346. * Régnier, Edmond. "Origine de l’abbaye des Écharlis," ''Bulletin de la Société des sciences historiques et naturelles de l’Yonne'' 96 (1954): 289–90. * Stein, Henri. "Chartes inédites relatives à la famille de Courtenay et à l’abbaye des Écharlis XIIe et XIIIe siècles." ''Annales de la Société historique et archéologique du Gâtinais'' 36 (1923): 141–6

* Tarbé, Théodore. "Notice historique sur la commune de Villefranche et sur l’abbaye des Écharlis." ''Almanach historique du département de l’Yonne et de la ville de Sens'' (1811): 153–59. * Tryon-Montalembert, Renée de. "Notre-Dame des Écharlis." ''Bulletin de la Société des sciences historiques et naturelles de l’Yonne'' 95 (1949). * Verdier, Jean. "Chartes des Écharlis." ''Bulletin de la Société d’émulation de l’arrondissement de Montargis'' 3 no. 45 (1979): 37–54. * Verdier, Jean. "Chartes des Écharlis." ''Bulletin de la Société d’émulation de l’arrondissement de Montargis'' 3 no. 46 (1979): 28–38. * Verdier, Jean. "Chartes des Écharlis." ''Bulletin de la Société d’émulation de l’arrondissement de Montargis'' 3 no. 47 (December 1979): 39–51. * Verdier, Jean. "Chartes des Écharlis." ''Bulletin de la Société d’émulation de l’arrondissement de Montargis'' 3, no. 48 (March 1980): 59–65. * Verdier, Jean. "Chartes des Écharlis (Yonne)." ''Bulletin de la Société d’émulation de l’arrondissement de Montargis'' 3 no. 73 (December 1986): 233–326. {{DEFAULTSORT:Echarlis, Abbey of Les 1131 establishments Cistercian monasteries in France Christian monasteries established in the 12th century