Nicolas of Normandy (or Nicholaus; –1092) was the fourth abbot of

Saint-Ouen Abbey, Rouen Saint-Ouen Abbey, (french: Abbaye Saint-Ouen de Rouen) is a large Gothic Catholic church and former Benedictine monastic church in Rouen. It is named for Audoin (french: Ouen, ), 7th-century bishop of Rouen in modern Normandy, France. The church's ...

Origins

Nicolas of Normandy was born in 1026–1027, the legitimate or natural son of

Richard III, Duke of Normandy Richard III (997/1001 – 6 August 1027) was the duke of Normandy who reigned from August 1026 to his death. His brief reign opened with a revolt by his brother. Life Richard III was the eldest son of Richard II of Normandy and Judith of Britta ...

. He is nicknamed Nicolas the Levite by

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...

. The first names of the Norman princes are generally William, Robert and Richard. Véronique Gazeau suggests that the first name Nicolas is not the one given by his father, but one assigned to him by the abbot Isembert.

Abbot

There is uncertainty about the date Nicolas became abbot. Orderic Vitalis says that he was chosen “in adolescentia” a few years after being sent as an

oblate In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally livi ...

Fécamp Fécamp () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. Geography Fécamp is situated in the valley of the river Valmont, at the heart of the Pays de Caux, on the Alabaster Coast. It is around ...

, appointed by his uncle

Robert the Magnificent Robert the Magnificent (french: le Magnifique;He was also, although erroneously, said to have been called 'Robert the Devil' (french: le Diable). Robert I was never known by the nickname 'the devil' in his lifetime. 'Robert the Devil' was a fic ...

. It seems possible that his cousin

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

sought to establish his authority by appointing Nicolas abbot of Saint-Ouen and thus preventing factions which were hostile to him from claiming the duchy in Nicolas's name. Nicolas provided William with 15 ships and 100 soldiers for the conquest of England. Starting in 1062 Abbot Nicolas of Normandy rebuilt the Carolingian church in Romanesque style, according to Orderic Vitalis. Dedicated to Saint-Pierre, it hosted his tomb in 1095. In 1090 he had acquired through the abbot Odon of Saint-Médard de Soissons the head of Saint Romain, the arm of Saint Godard, the relics of

Saint Rémi Remigius (french: Remi or ; – January 13, 533), was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event ...

Saint Médard Saint Medardus or St Medard (French (language), French: ''Médard'' or ''Méard'') (ca. 456–545) was the Ancient Diocese of Noyon, Bishop of Noyon. He moved the seat of the diocese from Vermand to Noviomagus Veromanduorum (modern Noyon) in no ...

, the Saints Innocent and Saint Sérène. He also undertook the restoration of monastic buildings. The abbey church was dedicated after his death on 17 October 1126. It was burnt down in 1248. Today a two-storey apse of the Romanesque abbey called the Tower of the Clerics remains. According to excavations carried out in 1885, the dimensions of the Romanesque abbey are comparable to the Gothic one visible today. The choir followed the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

plan. The nave had aisles and the transept was wide. Nicolas left at the end of 1091 for Jerusalem. He died during his return trip on 27 February 1092 in

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

. First buried in Nicaea, he was brought back and buried in front of the altar of the abbey's Church of Our Lady, in the middle of the choir, according to the Interpolations of Orderic Vital to

William of Jumièges William of Jumièges (born c. 1000 - died after 1070) (french: Guillaume de Jumièges) was a contemporary of the events of 1066, and one of the earliest writers on the subject of the Norman conquest of England. He is himself a shadowy figure, only ...

. Today one can see his recumbent statue, which was erected by , destroyed and then recreated in 1869, on the north side of the axial chapel dedicated to the Virgin.

Notes

Sources

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