Cormery () is a commune in the

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.department,

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (; ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior ...

. Its inhabitants are called Cormeriens, Cormeriennes.

Geography

Cormery is located 21 kilometres from Tours and 18 kilometres from

Joué-lès-Tours Joué-lès-Tours (, literally ''Joué near Tours'') is a commune in the department of Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, central France. It is the largest suburb of the city of Tours, and is adjacent to it on the southwest. Population ...

. The area of the town is watered by the Indre river.

History

Cormery Abbey

In 791, a religious institution was founded by Ithier of St. Martin, abbot of Basilica of St. Martin in Tours and prochancelier of

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 ...

. This edifice was to create a more friendly place for meditation and prayer, plus respect for the rule of Saint Benedict of Nursia. Ithier come here to retreat from the world and its agitations. The modest priory was first called Celle Saint-Paul.

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; ; 735 – 19 May 804), also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin, was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Ecgbert of York, Archbishop Ecgbert at Yor ...

who succeeded Ithier Cormery led a tremendous spiritual growth and materially transformed the priory into an important abbey by donating important areas. This allowed his successor, Fridugisus, to perform great works. A protective shadow of the abbey caused many residents to gather and a town was formed which became an important commercial center: since 845 a market is held every Thursday. During the raids of the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

up the Loire river, the monks of Saint-Martin first put the holy relics in their safe in Cormery before forced to flee to the east. The abbey was in ruins in the early eleventh century and was rededicated in 1054. In 1268 to 1271, the abbot was

Jean de Brosse Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * ...

, parent of Pierre de Brosse, and close to

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

according to Le Hardi. In 1562, Cormery was sacked by

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

s during the

Huguenot rebellions The Huguenot rebellions, sometimes called the Rohan Wars after the Huguenot leader Henri, Duke of Rohan, Henri de Rohan, were a series of rebellions of the 1620s in which French people, French Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots), mainly located in ...

. In 1662, the congregation of St Maur recreated a monastic community that would last until the French Revolution when the monastery was resolved. Only impressive remains are left of the abbey which is objects of study by historians of the region and a cookie recipe "macaroons Abbey".

List of mayors

Heraldry

Drinking water management

The town of Cormery is part of the SIPTEC (Syndicat Intercommunal de Truyes-Esvres-Cormery).

Demographics

Places and monuments

* A lantern of the dead from the twelfth century. Declared a historical monument on 1 December 1920 as a lantern of the dead. (It seems that this is actually a hosanna cross). * Benedictine abbey: founded in 791 by Ithier, abbot of Saint Martin of Tours * The Chapel of the Virgin: Built at the end of the 15th century. * The rectory: Built in the 15th century.