The Abbaye aux Dames ("Ladies' Abbey") was the first

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 ...

nunnery in Saintes in

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kil ...

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 ...

. The

abbey 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 conce ...

was founded in 1047 by

Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the m ...

, and his wife Agnes. Agnes later retired to the nunnery and died there.''The Chapter Book of the Nuns of Saintes'', Hugh Feiss, The Yale University Library Gazette, Vol. 67, No. 1/2 (October 1992), 13. One of its abbesses was Agnès of Barbezieux (1134–1174), whose relative,

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

, was a generous donor to the abbey.

Madame de Montespan Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

was educated here. It is located next to the town's

Arch of Germanicus :''There was also an Arch of Drusus and Germanicus, made up of two arches built in 19 in honour of Nero Claudius Drusus and Germanicus either side of the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum of Augustus, in honour of their German campaigns.'' The Arc ...

and was classified 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 ...

'' in 1948. Ancienne abbaye des Dames The abbey church,

Sainte-Marie-des-Dames The Abbaye aux Dames ("Ladies' Abbey") was the first Benedictine nunnery in Saintes in Charente-Maritime in France. The abbey was founded in 1047 by Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou, and his wife Agnes. Agnes later retired to the nunnery and died t ...

, dates from the 12th century.

Pictures

Eglise de l'Abbaye aux Dames de Saintes.jpg, Church F06.Abbaye aux Dames Saintes. 2033.1.jpg, Roman porch Porte conservatoire 04432.JPG, Door F06.Abbaye aux Dames Saintes. 2049.jpg, Nave F06.Abbaye aux Dames Saintes. 2048.1.jpg,

References

External links

Abbaye aux Dames
- official website Buildings and structures in Charente-Maritime Monuments historiques of Nouvelle-Aquitaine Benedictine nunneries in France Churches in Charente-Maritime Tourist attractions in Charente-Maritime Saintes, Charente-Maritime {{France-church-stub

Pictures

See also

References

External links