Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey (french: Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay) was a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery in northern France ( Ile-de-France), situated in

Cernay-la-Ville Cernay-la-Ville () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. See also * Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey * Communes of the Yvelines department An intentional community is a voluntary residential commu ...

, in the

Diocese of Versailles The Roman Catholic Diocese of Versailles (Latin: ''Dioecesis Versaliensis''; French language, French: ''Diocèse de Versailles'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, in France. The diocese, headed by the Bishop of Versail ...

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Medieval France: An Encyclopedia By William W. Kibler
retrieved 20 March 2008 when Simon de Neauffle and his wife Eve donated the land for this foundation to the monks of

Savigny Abbey Savigny Abbey (''Abbaye de Savigny'') was a monastery near the village of Savigny-le-Vieux (Manche), in northern France. It was founded early in the 12th century. Initially it was the central house of the Congregation of Savigny, who were Benedi ...

, in order to have a monastery built in honour of the

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

and Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

Vital, Abbot of Savigny Vitalis of Savigny (ca. 1060 – 16 September 1122) was the canonized founder of Savigny Abbey and the Congregation of Savigny (1112). Life He was born in Normandy at Tierceville near Bayeux about 1060–5. His parents were Rainfred le Vieux and R ...

, accepted their offer, and sent a group of monks under the direction of Arnaud, who became their first abbot. Besides the founders, others of the nobility came to the aid of the new Savigniac community. As soon as the abbey was well established, many postulants were admitted, thus making possible in 1137 the foundation of

Le Breuil-Benoît Abbey Le Breuil-Benoît Abbey ( la, Brolium Benedicti, french: Abbaye Notre-Dame du Breuil-Benoît) is a former Cistercian abbey in Marcilly-sur-Eure in the Eure department of Normandy, France. It is located around 10 km to the west of Dreux, on th ...

in the Diocese of Evreux. In 1148 Vaux-de-Cernay, together with the entire Congregation of Savigny, entered the

Order of Cîteaux The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

and became an affiliation of

Clairvaux Abbey Clairvaux Abbey (, ; la, Clara Vallis) was a Cistercian monastery in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, from Bar-sur-Aube. The original building, founded in 1115 by St. Bernard, is now in ruins; the present structure dates from 1708. Clairvaux Abbey was a ...

. From this time on they prospered, building a church in the simple Cistercian style. Over time, additional buildings were constructed,Obrecht, Edmond. "Vaux-de-Cernay." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 1 Feb. 2015
/ref> as well as a mill, and a fish farm.

Abbots

Many of its abbots became well known. Andrew, the fourth, died as

Bishop of Arras The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras (–Boulogne–Saint-Omer) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Atrebatensis (–Bononiena–Audomarensis)''; French: ''Diocèse d'Arras (–Boulogne–Saint-Omer)'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church ...

Guy of Vaux-de-Cernay Guy (died 21 March 1223) was the sixth Cistercian abbot of Vaux-de-Cernay from 1181 until 1210 and then the bishop of Carcassonne from 1212 until his death. The crusades dominated his life. He was a preacher, organizer and spiritual leader of the F ...

, the sixth, was delegated by the General Chapter to accompany the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

in 1203. Three years later he was one of the principal figures in the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

, which fought against the

Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Fol ...

. In recognition of his service he was made

Bishop of Carcassonne The Diocese of Carcassonne and Narbonne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Carcassonensis et Narbonensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Carcassonne et Narbonne'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese c ...

(1211) and is commemorated in the ''Cistercian Menology''. His nephew

Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay Peter of Vaux de Cernay (died c.1218) was a Cistercian monk of Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey, in what is now Yvelines, northern France, and a chronicler of the Albigensian Crusade. His ''Historia Albigensis'' is one of the primary sources for the events of t ...

, also a monk of the abbey, accompanied him on this crusade, and left a chronicle of the Cathars and the war against them. It was under Thomas, Peter's successor, that Porrois Abbey, a Cistercian nunnery, later renamed the

Abbey of Port-Royal Port-Royal-des-Champs was an abbey of Cistercian nuns in Magny-les-Hameaux, in the Vallée de Chevreuse southwest of Paris that launched a number of culturally important institutions. History The abbey was established in 1204, but became fam ...

, was founded and placed under the direction of the abbots of Vaux-de-Cernay. The ninth abbot,

Thibault de Marley Theobald of Marly (french: Saint Thibaut, Thibault, Thiébaut) (died 8 December 1247) was a French abbot and saint. He was born at the castle of Marly, Montmorency, and was trained as a knight. He served as a knight at the court of Philip Augus ...

(1235–47), a descendant of the Montmorency family, was canonized. Towards the end of the fourteenth century the monastery began losing its fervour, both on account of its wealth and because of the disturbed state of the Île-de-France 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, ...

. After the introduction of

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 in 1542 there was little left of the monastic community beyond the name. In the seventeenth century the community was restored in spirit by embracing the

Reform of the Strict Observance The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

as promoted by Denis Largentier. During this time the commendatory abbot was

John Casimir, King of Poland John II Casimir ( pl, Jan II Kazimierz Waza; lt, Jonas Kazimieras Vaza; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 until his abdication in 1668 as well as titular King of Sweden from 1648 ...

. The monastery was suppressed in 1791 during 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 ...

and its members (twelve priests) were dispersed.

Recent history

The buildings, after passing through various hands, were partly restored after the site was bought by

Charlotte de Rothschild Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild (6 May 1825 – 20 July 1899) was a French socialite, painter, and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France. Early years She was born in Paris, the daughter of Betty von Rothschild (1805� ...

in the 1880s, who saved the ruins of the church and part of the buildings, fully restoring the abbey.All free photos
/ref> Today the buildings are used as a hotel with a capacity for 1,200 persons, complete with restaurant and heliport, but still using the nearby spring as the monks did centuries before.
retrieved 20 March 2008 VaulxDeCernay

Footnotes

References

*''

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 ...

'', VII; * Caspar Jongelinus, ''Notitia Abbatiarum, O. Cisterciensis'' (Cologne, 1640); *

Bertrand Tissier Bertrand may refer to: Places * Bertrand, Missouri, US * Bertrand, Nebraska, US * Bertrand, New Brunswick, Canada * Bertrand Township, Michigan, US * Bertrand, Michigan * Bertrand, Virginia, US * Bertrand Creek, state of Washington * Saint-Be ...

, ''Bibliotheca Patrum Cisterciensium'', VII (Paris, 1669); *Merlet and Moutier, ''Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de N. D. des Vaux-de-Cernay'', I-III (Paris, 1857–58); *Morize, ''Étude archéologique sur l'Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay'' with introduction by de Dion (Tours, 1889); *De Dion, ''Cartulaire de Porrois plus connue sous le nom mystique de Port-Royal'' (Paris, 1903); *

Charles Beaunier Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

, ''Recueil historique des archévechés, évechés, abbayes et prieurés de France, province ecclesiastique de Paris'' (Paris, 1905); *

Angel Manrique In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as wikt:benevolent, benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Oth ...

, ''Annales Cistercienses'' (Lyons, 1642–59); *

Edmond Martène Edmond Martène (22 December 1654, at Saint-Jean-de-Losne near Dijon – 20 June 1739, at Saint-Germain-des-Prés near Paris) was a French Benedictine historian and liturgist. In 1672 he entered the Benedictine Abbey of St-Rémy at Reims, a house ...

and

Ursin Durand Ursin Durand (20 May 1682, Tours – 31 August 1771, Paris) was a French Benedictine of the Maurist Congregation, and historian. He took vows in the monastery of Marmoutier at the age of nineteen and devoted himself especially to the study of dipl ...

, ''Veterum Scriptorum et Monumentorum amplissima collectio'', II (Paris, 1724); *

Petrus Sarniensis Peter of Vaux de Cernay (died c.1218) was a Cistercian monk of Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey, in what is now Yvelines, northern France, and a chronicler of the Albigensian Crusade. His ''Historia Albigensis'' is one of the primary sources for the events of ...

, ''Historia Albigensium'' (Troyes, 1615); *

Leopold Janauschek Leopold Janauschek (13 October 1827 – 23 July 1898) was an Austrian Cistercian historian. Life Janauschek was born at Brünn, Moravia. In 1846 he received the religious habit at the Cistercian Zwettl Abbey, Lower Austria, where he was profe ...

, ''Originum Cisterciensium'', I (Vienna, 1877). *

External links

Photos page
*
Cartulary online (Latin, French notes)
{{Authority control 1118 establishments in Europe 1110s establishments in France Cistercian monasteries in France Religious organizations established in the 1110s Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Hotels in France Rothschild family residences