The Prieuré de l'Oiselière is a
priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...
located at
Saint-Planchers
Saint-Planchers () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. It is the location of the Prieuré de l'Oiselière, a 12th-century priory that is classified as a ''Monument historique'' since 1989.
See also
*Commune ...
, near
Granville, in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Nestled in a valley bordering the watercourse that bears its name, surrounded by fortified walls and moats, its history dates back to the 12th century. It was a
dependency of the abbots of
Mont-Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France.
The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...
who organised the cultivation of the fields and the woods and collected taxes. It was also a local justice court.
Restoration of the priory began in 1989, when it was classified as a ''
Monument historique
''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...
'' by the
French Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...
.
History
Founding
In 1022,
Richard II (Duke of Normandy) gave the Priory of
Saint-Pair
Saint-Pair is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Calvados department
The following is a list of the 528 communes of the Calvados department of France.
...
and its outbuildings to
Mont-Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France.
The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...
Abbey. The area was bound to the east by the public road of
Coutances
Coutances () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France.
History
Capital of the Unelli, a Gauls, Gaulish tribe, the town was given the n ...
, to the north by the (a coastal river), to the south by the small river
Thar, and to the west by the sea with the island of
Chausey
Chausey () is a group of small islands, islets and rocks off the coast of Normandy, in the English Channel. It lies from Granville and forms a ''quartier'' of the Granville commune in the Manche ''département''. Chausey forms part of the Chann ...
.
Various writings on local history describe the Oiselière as being part of the dependencies of the abbey of
Saint-Pair
Saint-Pair is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Calvados department
The following is a list of the 528 communes of the Calvados department of France.
...
, of which no other written or archaeological trace is known. Thomas Le Roy has also claimed the 'Oiselière' is the priory of Saint-Pair that in 1321 appears by name in historical acts authorizing the construction of its chapel. He refers to the construction of a chapel in Loysellière in 1321, and the inventory of the charters of
Mont-Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France.
The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...
from the 14th century which read: "Concessio episcopi pro capella de Loiseliere" which means: authorization of the bishop for the chapel of Oiselière.
In 1321, the chapel was added to an existing building. Studies of present-day Oiselière allow us to imagine the building that was there before the additions. Rectangular in shape, it was on the site of the present cathedral hall and farmhouse. Its western exterior
buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
forms the eastern and the northern walls of the cathedral hall and is visible from inside the ground floor of the present day manor. The addition of the chapel was made to the west of this first building.
The Prael Forest, which was a dependency of Oiselière, is mentioned by name earlier than Oiselière itself. In 1294, there is a record of a donation to the monks by Thomas,
esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
, Lord du Pont, of the Prael Forest, situated in the parish of
Saint-Planchers
Saint-Planchers () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. It is the location of the Prieuré de l'Oiselière, a 12th-century priory that is classified as a ''Monument historique'' since 1989.
See also
*Commune ...
. In 1297 a judgment was given between Guillaume du Bois and the monks for the Prael Forest in Saint-Planchers. It was found that Guillaume du Bois had the right to keep four cows and ten pigs in pasture and to take a cartload of wood each week (1297).
The Hundred Years' War
The history of the abbots of Mont-Saint-Michel provides historical insight for the following years.
"In the year 1420, the Abbot Jolivet, troubled by so many pains and fatigues endured with the upkeep and maintenance of this place of Mont-St-Michel, ..no longer having the heart to continue, comes out of his monastery the same year 1420, and leaves. He lets his monks act in their discretion. He will no longer come there, staying sometimes at Rouen, sometimes at L'Oiseliere, and elsewhere, where he sees fit. He does so well, being outside of this monastery, that he obtains the benevolence of the King of England, who allows him to enjoy all the possessions that this monastery has in the province of Normandy, which the aforementioned Englishman occupies for him, and our Robert behaves as he wishes without yielding any denier to his monks who carry the weight of the day and the heat, to preserve this place under the rule of the king of France. They are extremely poor, almost all the income and the most handsome revenue being in Normandy, from which Mgr Abbot Jolivet lives extravagantly and serves his friends lavish food, leaving his monks without bread."...[Michel Delalonde, "Manoirs du pays de Granville", in '' Art of Lower Normandy '' n ° 36 winter 1964-1965, .]
"The first calamity to befall the Oiselière dates to the year 1442 when, since it had been confiscated by the King of England twenty-five years ago, the French, who came to reclaim
Granville, seized the manor, pillaged it, set it afire and partially destroyed it."
The Renaissance
In 1509, the Abbot undertook great works at the Oiselière, in a graceful style that this era saw flourish. His brother J. de Lamps, according to the ''
Gallia Christiana
The ''Gallia Christiana'', a type of work of which there have been several editions, is a documentary catalogue or list, with brief historical notices, of all the Catholic dioceses and abbeys of France from the earliest times, also of their occupan ...
'', would go on to complete this work.
The plan of the Oiselière (1766) gives an idea of these works with the addition of the manor in the west. In the style of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
,
terraced gardens
In gardening, a terrace is an element where a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooks a prospect. A raised terrace keeps a house dry and provides a transition between the hardscape and the softscape.
History
;Persia
Since a level si ...
were established on the site of the
ramparts of the first building.
Commendatory abbots
The Oiselière served as a refuge for (the illegitimate son recognized by
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
,
Count of Brissac) who in 1562 became bishop of
Coutances
Coutances () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France.
History
Capital of the Unelli, a Gauls, Gaulish tribe, the town was given the n ...
, during one of the
French wars of religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...
, then abbot of Mont-Saint-Michel in 1570. He died there in 1587.
The
commendatory abbot
A commendatory abbot ( la, abbas commendatarius) is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ...
s, more concerned about the collection of income than the maintenance of buildings, let the manor fall into ruin.
The 1698 statistics indicate that the
barony Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of the Oiselière, whose manor was in the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of
Saint-Planchers
Saint-Planchers () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. It is the location of the Prieuré de l'Oiselière, a 12th-century priory that is classified as a ''Monument historique'' since 1989.
See also
*Commune ...
, belonged to the abbots and priests of Mont-Saint-Michel. The term "barony" appears for the first time on this document and seems to indicate that L'Oiseliere was at that time more than a manor house and that its domain was considered big enough to justify this title.
Thomas Cambernon was the last owner to benefit from the profits of the Oiselière, before the lands were sold during the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
.
Abandonment and restoration
Over time, the surrounding residents used the buildings as a source of construction material. In 1878, Father Lecanu noted with sadness that the chapel had been divided into several rooms and appropriated for secular purposes, a bed occupying the place of the altar.
['' History of the Diocese of Coutances and Avranches since the most remote times up to the present day '', 1878, volume 2, page 278.]
"All the defensive apparatus of the first fortified manor has practically disappeared: the body of water, evaporated; the moats, partially filled; the enclosure, whose walls are buttressed, is entirely filled with gaps; only the double curved porch still gives access to the vast inner courtyard."
It was not until its addition to the
Monument historique
''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...
list by decree of November 27, 1989, that restoration began.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oiseliere, Priory
Monuments historiques of Manche
Benedictine monasteries in France