Notre-Dame de Soissons was a

nunnery A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

(Our Lady) in

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

. It was founded during the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

era, between 658 and 666, but the community was dissolved and the building partially demolished 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 ...

(1789–99). The convent was founded by

Ebroin Ebroin (died 680 or 681) was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the aut ...

, the mayor of the palace under the Merovingian kings, who appointed Aetheria, a nun from

Jouarre Jouarre () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Jouarre Abbey It is the site of the Jouarre Abbey, a Merovingian foundati ...

, as its first abbess. Jouarre had been founded by Ado, a disciple of the Irish missionary

Columban Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in pr ...

, and Notre-Dame therefore stood in the Columbanian tradition of monasticism. In the 660s the nunnery received a

monastic rule A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practic ...

from the bishop of Soissons, Drauscius. It was a ''mixta regula'', a mixed rule, combining elements of the

Benedictine rule The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

and the rule of Columban. The text of this unique rule has not been preserved. During the 660s, the nuns also adopted the practice of the ''

laus perennis Perpetual prayer (Latin: ''laus perennis'') is the Christian practice of continuous prayer carried out by a group. History The practice of perpetual prayer was inaugurated by the archimandrite Alexander (died about 430), the founder of the monasti ...

'' (perennial praise), whereby the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

were sung constantly, day and night, by alternating groups of singers. This custom was pioneered at the monastery of

Saint-Maurice d'Agaune The Abbey of Saint Maurice, Agaunum (french: Abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune or ''Saint-Maurice-en-Valais'') is a Swiss monastery of canons regular in Saint-Maurice, Canton of Valais, which dates from the 6th century. It is situated against a c ...

. During the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

era, the nunnery came under royal control.

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

's daughter

Rotrude Rotrude (or sometimes referred to as Hruodrud/Hruodhaid) (c.775 – 6 June 810) was a Frankish princess, the second daughter of Charlemagne from his marriage to Hildegard. Early life Few clear records remain of Rotrude's early life. She was educ ...

(died 810) became a nun there, and his sister Gisela became abbess. In 816–17 it adopted the reforms of

Benedict of Aniane Benedict of Aniane ( la, Benedictus Anianensis; german: Benedikt von Aniane; 747 – 12 February 821 AD), born Witiza and called the Second Benedict, was a Benedictine monk and monastic reformer, who left a large imprint on the religious prac ...

propounded at the synods of Aix-la-Chapelle. According to the record of monasteries made around that time, the ''Monasterium sanctae Mariae Suessionis'' owed the state ''dona et militia'', a monetary gift and military contribution (in the case of a nunnery, paid soldiers). In 858, an inventory (''descriptio'') of the monastery's possessions was made before the king's leading men (''optimates'') and signed by fifteen bishops and abbots. The document is preserved. Such inventories were made and confirmed by the king or other leading men to serve as proof and confirmation of possession. The writer and theologian

Paschasius Radbertus Paschasius Radbertus (785–865) was a Carolingian theologian and the abbot of Corbie, a monastery in Picardy founded in 657 or 660 by the queen regent Bathilde with a founding community of monks from Luxeuil Abbey. His most well-known and influe ...

was raised at Notre-Dame de Soissons—prior to 803/4, when Charlemagne made illegal the education of boys at nunneries. He dedicated his treatises ''De assumptione sanctae Mariae virginis'' to the Abbess Theodrada (abbess 810, died 846), a cousin of Charlemagne, and her daughter, Irma. After Irma succeeded her mother as abbess, Radbertus wrote the ''Expositio in Psalmum XLIV'' for the nuns of Soissons. It is an exposition of

Psalm 44 Psalm 44 is the 44th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of ...

as an

epithalamium An epithalamium (; Latin form of Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον ''epithalamion'' from ἐπί ''epi'' "upon," and θάλαμος ''thalamos'' nuptial chamber) is a poem written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber. This form ...

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{coord, 49.3810, N, 3.3284, E, source:wikidata, display=title Nunneries in France