Belcinac Monastery was founded in the second half of the 7th century by Saint Condède, a monk of

Fontenelle Abbey Fontenelle Abbey or the Abbey of St. Wandrille is a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in the commune of Rives-en-Seine. It was founded in 649 near Caudebec-en-Caux in Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France. First foundation It was foun ...

. Condède was a disciple of Lambert, Bishop of Lyon, and was known as the hermit of England. The monastery was built on an island in the river Seine in France, called Belcinac in ancient texts. The island, which sank in 1330, was donated by

Theuderic III Theuderic III (or Theuderich, Theoderic, or Theodoric; french: Thierry) (c. 651–691) was the king of Neustria (including Burgundy) on two occasions (673 and 675–691) and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king of ...

, King of

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It later ...

, and son of

Clovis II Clovis II (633 – 657) was King of Neustria and Burgundy, having succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639. His brother Sigebert III had been King of Austrasia since 634. He was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her deat ...

and

Balthild Balthild (; ang, Bealdhild, 'bold sword' or 'bold spear; around 626 – 30 January 680), also spelled Bathilda, Bauthieult or Baudour, was queen consort of Neustria and Burgundy by marriage to Clovis II, the King of Neustria and Burgundy (639� ...

. Saint Condède had built three small churches dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, Saint Peter, and Saint Valérie. This island, located on the Seine opposite

Villequier Villequier () is a former commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Rives-en-Seine.Caudebec-en-Caux Caudebec-en-Caux (, literally ''Caudebec in Caux'') is a former commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Rives-en-Seine. Geography Caudebec-en-C ...

, was referred to as ''lutum'' (lotus) in the donation charter. The island and the neighboring Celtic houses were called "the island of Lot." In the 7th century, the island was approximately three miles long and five hundred yards wide and had often been partially submerged. In 1330, the island was submerged, then reappeared a few years later. However, the monastery had entirely disappeared, carried away by the waves. The island disappeared again in 1597, only to reappear in 1641. It disappeared for good in 1740, and is now lost in the water meadows of

Vatteville Vatteville () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. The surname "Waterfield" originates from this town. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eu ...

Sources

* ''A Historical essay on the life and the monastery of St. Condède and the strange disappearance of an island in the Seine'', Caudebec-en-Caux, 1938. * Parker, John W., ''The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, Volume 56'', 1883 (available o
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belcinac Former Christian monasteries in France Former buildings and structures in France Buildings and structures in Seine-Maritime