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The Abbey of St Vaast (french: Abbaye de Saint-Vaast) was a
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 ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
situated in
Arras
Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
, ''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...
'' of
Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...
,
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 ...
.
History
The abbey was founded in 667. Saint
Vedast, or Vaast (c. 453–540) was the first
Bishop of Arras and was buried in the old cathedral at Arras. In 667 Aubert, seventh Bishop of Arras, began to build an abbey for
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 ...
monks on the site of a little chapel which Saint Vedast had erected in honour of
Saint Peter
Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
. Vedast's relics were transferred to the new abbey, which was completed by Auburt's successor and generously endowed by King
Theuderic III
Theuderic III (or Theuderich, Theoderic, or Theodoric; french: Thierry) (c. 651–691) was the king of Neustria (including Burgundy) on two occasions (673 and 675–691) and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king of ...
, who together with his wife was afterwards buried there.
[Alston, George Cyprian. "Abbey of Saint Vaast." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 3 September 2022
The Abbey burned down in 783, but was subsequently rebuilt.
[Arras Museum of Fine Arts]
/ref> By 867, a ''vicus monasterii'' had grown up around the monastery, inhabited by people employed in various crafts such as bakers, brewers, and smiths who provided services to the abbey. Under a charter of Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...
, seven manors were required to supply the abbey with flax and wool.
In 1008, Richard of Verdun. abbot of Saint-Vanne, became abbot of Saint-Vaast, as well, which he governed through the prior.[Vanderputten, Steven. ''Imagining Religious Leadership in the Middle Ages: Richard of Saint-Vanne and the Politics of Reform'', Cornell University Press, 2015, p. 7]
/ref> He was notorious for acquiring relics, some of dubious provenance. The abbey purportedly held the head of Saint James, which attracted pilgrims.
It was at this time that the Saint-Vaast Bible was produced by the abbey scriptorium. It is illuminated with narrative scenes before various books.Reilly, Diane J. "Chapter One The Saint-Vaast Bible and Medieval Arras". The Art of Reform in Eleventh-Century Flanders. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2006
/ref>
The Abbey of St Vaast was of great importance amongst the monasteries of the Low Countries. Between 1433 and 1435, Abbot Jean de Clercq commissioned Jacques Daret to paint an altarpiece
An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...
for the abbey church. The four panels depict the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, and the Presentation in the Temple, all now dispersed among various museums.
The Abbey was exempt from episcopal jurisdiction and maintained its independence until 1778, when it was aggregated to the Congregation of Cluny. At 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 ...
it was suppressed and the monastic buildings were used first as a hospital and then as barracks. In 1838 the premises were purchased by the town; part was used as a museum and archive, and the rest as the residence of the bishop. The abbey church, which had been desecrated and partially destroyed, was rebuilt and consecrated in 1833 and now serves as the cathedral of Arras,[ substituting for the former ]Gothic
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 ...
cathedral destroyed during the Revolution.
The abbey buildings now house the Musée des beaux-arts d'Arras.[
]
Burials
*Theuderic III
Theuderic III (or Theuderich, Theoderic, or Theodoric; french: Thierry) (c. 651–691) was the king of Neustria (including Burgundy) on two occasions (673 and 675–691) and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king of ...
*Clotilda of Herstal (650–699), his wife
*Ida of Lorraine
Ida of Lorraine (also referred to as Blessed Ida of Boulogne) () was a saint and noblewoman.
She was the daughter of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine and his wife Doda. Ida's grandfather was Gothelo I, Duke of Lorraine and Ida's brother was Go ...
(d. 1113)
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Vaast, Abbey
Benedictine monasteries in France
Churches in Pas-de-Calais
Buildings and structures in Arras
Merovingian architecture
Christian monasteries established in the 7th century
1790s disestablishments in France
7th-century establishments in Francia
Former Christian monasteries in France
Churches completed in 667
7th-century churches in France