The Priory of Saint-Arnoul, named after a legendary fifth-century

bishop of Tours The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tours (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Turonensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Tours'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese has roots that go back to the 3rd cent ...

, is located in

Crépy-en-Valois Crépy-en-Valois (, literally ''Crépy in Valois'') is a commune located in the Oise department in northern France. It is located in the Paris Metropolitan Area, northeast of the center of Paris. History Crépy-en-Valois was founded in the tent ...

in France. It was founded between 935 and 943 by Count Ralph II of Valois as a chapter of

canons regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

, then re-founded as a

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

by Count Walter II in 1008. In 1076, Count

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, on a pilgrimage to Rome, offered it to Abbot

Hugh of Cluny Hugh (13 May 1024 – 29 April 1109), sometimes called Hugh the Great or Hugh of Semur, was the Abbot of Cluny from 1049 until his death. He was one of the most influential leaders of the monastic orders from the Middle Ages. Biography Hugh was ...

as a daughter house. Their meeting was itself the work of

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

. Hugh returned to France with Simon and personally stayed at Saint-Arnoul to reform it along

Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wit ...

lines, against the resistance of the monks. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the priory prospered through numerous gifts. The west wall and the Romanesque crypt, both preserved today, were built in the final decades of the eleventh century. The main buildings, in use until the dissolution of the priory, were constructed in the

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

in four separate campaigns between 1170 and 1260. Saint-Arnoul was subject to the direct authority of Cluny, and was one of the highest ranking Cluniac priories. Its charter specified that it had twenty-eight members, but in the early fourteenth century this number was exceeded. The priory suffered heavily during 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, ...

(1337–1453). Its choir was burnt by the English in 1431 and never rebuilt. In the sixteenth century the commendatory priors replaced the furnishings, and in the eighteenth the

convent 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 ...

ual buildings were renovated. In 1790, 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 ...

formally abolished all religious orders and Saint-Arnoul was suppressed. The prior's house became a private residence, which it remains today. The east wing of the priory became a boarding school, which it remained until 1940. The building still stands. All the other buildings fell into ruin or were destroyed. The medieval ruins are preserved 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 ...

'' (historic monument) according to a decree of 24 February 1943. Nonetheless, some medieval walls were destroyed in 1964, when the municipal government proceeded with work without the approval of the Service des Monuments Historiques. The gateway to the courtyard of the prior's house, erected in 1759, was also inscribed as a historic monument on 9 March 1979. The ''Association pour la restauration et l'animation de Saint-Arnoul'' (Association for the Restoration and Animation of Saint-Arnoul) currently oversees the surviving east wing. Restored areas are open to the public. Of most interest to researchers is the crypt, which is of unusually large size and of a style rare for the region. It was designed after the crypt of the

abbey of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...

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