The Abbey of Saint-Martin de Savigny was a

Benedictine monastery , 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 ...

in the

Archdiocese of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops ...

. Nothing today survives of its buildings other than some stones in the Musée Lapidaire of Savigny-en-Lyonnais. It was founded by Leidradus after he resigned as bishop of Lyon in 816. The first mention of the abbey is in a charter of 817. It also appears in the ''

Notitia de servitio monasteriorum The ''Notitia de servitio monasteriorum'' ("Notice of the Service of Monasteries") is a list of monasteries in the Frankish Empire and the services they owed the crown. It was compiled under Emperor Louis the Pious in 819, probably as a summation ...

'' of 819, where it is one of the monasteries owing only prayers (''orationes'') for the emperor and no other service.. In 976, Conrad the Peaceful,

King of Burgundy The following is a list of the kings of the two kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations. Kings of the Burgundians * Gebicca (late 4th century – c. 407 ...

, confirmed the possessions and privileges of the abbey. In 1139,

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...

wrote to Falco, archbishop of Lyon, indicating that Savigny was in conflict with the abbey of

La Bénisson-Dieu La Bénisson-Dieu () is a commune in the Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire department The following is a list of the 323 communes of the Loire department of France. The communes cooperate in t ...

over possessions in the Roannais. Bernard was writing in support of La Bénisson-Dieu because its abbot, Alberic, was one of his disciples.« "Pauperes sunt, et habitant inter pauperes. Hoc præcipue obsecramus ut Saviniacenses monachos prohibeatis ab infestatione eorum, quoniam calumniantur eos injuste, ut putamus. Aut si se confidunt habere justitiam, judicate inter illos. Filius noster abbas Albericus, etsi suis meritis commendabilior, etc." Mabillon, Vol. 1 (1690) & col. 169 of the 1719 ed. Savigny was eventually placed ''

in commendam In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...

'' and lost its spiritual significance. In 1779, King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

ordered the closure of the abbey by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

. This was confirmed by

Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

through a Papal bull on 22 June 1780. In 1784, the buildings were sold.. The archives of the abbey are now part of the archives of the

department of the Rhône Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

References

Further reading