The Abbey of Saint-Médard de Soissons was a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery, at one time held to be the greatest in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

.Goyau, Georges. "Soissons." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 25 September 2022

History

The abbey was founded in 557 by

Clotaire I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" (French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire from the original French version, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. With his eldes ...

on his manor of Crouy, near the villa of

Syagrius Syagrius (c. 430 – 486 or 487 or 493–4) was a Roman general and the last ruler of a Western Roman rump state in northern Gaul, now called the Kingdom of Soissons. Gregory of Tours referred to him as King of the Romans. Syagrius's defeat by K ...

, just outside the then boundaries of

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

to house the remains of Saint Medard, the legend being that during the funeral procession the bier came to a standstill at Crouy and was impossible to move until the king had made a gift of the whole estate for the foundation of the abbey. Besides Saint Medard, kings Clotaire I and

Sigebert I Sigebert I ( 535 – 575) was a Frankish king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death. He was the third surviving son out of four of Clotaire I and Ingund. His reign found him mostly occupied with a successful civil ...

were also buried here. In 751

Childeric III Childeric III ( 717 – 754) was King of the Franks from 743 until he was deposed in 751 by Pepin the Short. He was the last Frankish king from the Merovingian dynasty. Once Childeric was deposed, Pepin became king, initiating the Carolingian dy ...

was deposed here, and

Pippin the Short the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude. Pepin's upbringing was dist ...

crowned. Richard Gerberding, the modern editor of '' Liber Historiae Francorum'' places its anonymous author here, ca 727. Hilduin, abbot from 822 to 830, obtained in 826 from

Pope Eugene II Pope Eugene II (; died 27 August 827) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 6 June 824 to his death on 27 August 827. A native of Rome, he was Papal selection before 1059, chosen by nobles to succeed Paschal I as pope despite ...

relics of

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

and

Saint Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

, and also succeeded in obtaining the transfer to the abbey of the relics of

Saint Gildard Gildard or Gildardus, or Gildaredus also known as Godard or Godardus (c. 448 – c. 525), was the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen, Bishop of Rouen from 488 to 525. He is venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, and the missal of th ...

and

Saint Remigius Remigius ( or ; – 13 January 533) was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event in the Christ ...

. He rebuilt the church, which was consecrated on 27 August 841, in the presence of

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, 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 series of civil wars during t ...

and seventy-two prelates; the king himself assisted in carrying the body of Saint Medard into the new church. In 804,

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (; died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death on 12 June 816. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlem ...

stayed at Saint-Médard, having celebrated Christmas with

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

at Quierzy. In 833

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

was imprisoned and underwent a public penance here. In 1121, after a council at

where he was accused of heresy,

Peter Abelard Peter Abelard (12 February 1079 – 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, teacher, musician, composer, and poet. This source has a detailed description of his philosophical work. In philos ...

was, as punishment, confined to the convent of Saint Medard. In 1131

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...

reconsecrated the rebuilt church and granted those visiting it

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

s known as "Saint Medard's pardons". The wealth of the abbey was immense. In the 12th century the community owned about two hundred and twenty

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

s. The abbey also minted coins. Its wealth remained into the 16th century but the abbey was destroyed in 1567 during the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent ...

, and although it was restored in 1637, it never regained its former stature. The abbey was dissolved in the French Revolution. The buildings had disappeared by the beginning of the 20th century, except for the still extant but almost forgotten crypt of about 840.Pictures of the crypt
/ref>

Abbots

The abbots of St. Medard's included: * Saint Arnold of Soissons, who in 1081 became

Bishop of Soissons The Diocese of Soissons, Laon, and Saint-Quentin (Latin: ''Dioecesis Suessionensis, Laudunensis et Sanquintinensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Soissons, Laon et Saint-Quentin'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The dioc ...

; * Saint Gerald of Sauve-Majeure, late 11th century; *

Cardinal de Bernis Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot () 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 ecclesiastic, however, ...

from 1756

Burials

Chlothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" (French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire from the original French version, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. With his eldes ...

Eadgifu of Wessex Eadgifu or Edgifu (d. in or after 951), also known as Edgiva or Ogive (), was Queen of the West Franks as the wife of King Charles the Simple. She was a daughter of Edward the Elder, King of Wessex and England, and his second wife Ælfflæd. Q ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Medard's Abbey, Soissons Benedictine monasteries in France 557 establishments 6th-century establishments in Francia 18th-century disestablishments in France Monasteries dissolved during the French Revolution Christian monasteries established in the 6th century Merovingian architecture Burial sites of the Merovingian dynasty Monasteries used as prisons