Gorze Abbey 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 in

Gorze Gorze (; german: Gorz) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Sites and monuments Gorze Abbey was confiscated as public property during the French Revolution; it has since been restored and utilised for a v ...

in the present arrondissement of Metz, near

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

. It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s.

History

Gorze Abbey was founded in around 757 by Bishop

Chrodegang of Metz Chrodegang ( la, Chrodogangus; german: Chrodegang, Hruotgang;Spellings of his name in (Latin) primary sources are extremely varied: Chrodegangus, Grodegandus, Grodegangus, Grodogangus, Chrodogandus, Krodegandus, Chrodegrangus, Chrotgangus, Ruotga ...

, who obtained for it from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

the relics of Saint

Gorgonius Saint Gorgonius of Nicomedia ( el, Ἅγιος Γοργόνιος Νικομηδείας) was a Christian martyr, part of the group Gorgonius, Peter Cubicularius and Dorotheus, who died in 304 AD at Nicomedia during the Diocletianic Persecution. ...

. The new community at first followed his Rule, but decline later set in. The highly placed Frankish lord

Bivin of Gorze Bivin of Gorze (810/830–863) was a Frankish founder of the Bivinids family. He was married to a daughter of Boso the Elder, who may have been called Richildis. During his life he functioned as lay abbot of the Gorze Abbey.Pierre Riche, ''The ...

(810–863), married to a daughter of

Boso the Elder Boso (or Boson) "the Elder" ( 800 – 855) was a Frankish Count of Turin and Count of Valois of the Bosonid dynasty. Family and issue He was married to Engeltrude. They had the following issue: * Boso, Count of Valois (d. 874) * Teutberga (d. ...

, functioned as

lay abbot Lay abbot ( la, abbatocomes, abbas laicus, abbas miles, ) is a name used to designate a layman on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an abbey as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitle ...

of Gorze. In 933 the premises, by then semi-derelict, were given by Adalbero, Bishop of Metz, to

John of Gorze Saint John of Gorze (french: Jean de Gorze, also called John of Lorraine) ( — March 7, 974) was a Duchy of Lorraine, Lorraine-born monk, diplomat, administrator, and monastic reformer. Life John of Gorze was born at Vandières, Meurthe-et-Mosel ...

and Einald of Toul so that they could restore observance of the

Rule of St. Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

. They did so extremely successfully and the customary of Gorze soon spread to many other monasteries,Hartmann, Wilfried, "Gorze Abbey", ''Religion Past and Present''. 2006
at first local, such as St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, and St. Evre's Abbey, Toul, and later in more distant places, such as

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, through the mediation of

Wolfgang of Regensburg Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg ( la, Wolfgangus; 934 – October 31, 994 AD) was bishop of Regensburg in Bavaria from Christmas 972 until his death. He is a saint of the Catholic (canonized in 1052) and Eastern Orthodox churches. He is regarded ...

Gorze Reform

The Gorze Reform was similar to the

Cluniac Reform The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wi ...

in that it aimed at a reestablishment of the Rule of St. Benedict, but quite different in several major areas. In particular, whereas Cluny created a centralised system of authority in which the religious houses adopting its reforms became subordinate to Cluny itself, the Gorze reforms preserved the independence of the participating monasteries, and resulted instead in a network of loosely connected affiliations based on several centres, such as

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

, Niederaltaich,

Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. History Early history There was no permanent settlement in the area p ...

and St. Emmeram's Abbey in Regensburg. Gorze was also the home of the ''"

chant messin A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of note ...

"'', an early form of

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgy, liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in La ...

, as a part of the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

, and also of sacred drama, particularly in connection with the

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

rituals.

After the reform

From the 12th century Gorze ceased to occupy the central spiritual position it had had previously. Nevertheless, in material terms it continued to prosper, and in the 12th and 13th centuries undertook substantial building works, including the lay church, which alone of the abbey buildings still survives, as the present parish church of

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

. The extensive territory which the abbey accumulated became known as the "Terre de Gorze". The abbey was dissolved in 1572 as a consequence of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. An attempt at a re-foundation in 1580 came to nothing, and the buildings, apart from St. Stephen's church, were demolished.

Abbot's Palace

The "Terre de Gorze" continued however as a territorial unit, with an abbot as its overlord, even in the absence of a monastic community. In the 1660s these lands passed from the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

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 ...

. In the 1690s, the Prince-Abbot Eberhard von Löwenstein built an appropriately splendid residence, which still stands. At the time of 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 ...

the building was confiscated and sold off and was later used for a variety of military and local government purposes, particularly as a workhouse for the poor. The palace has now been restored and is in use as a museum, old people's home and for several other purposes. The gardens,

nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

and chapel are all of architectural and artistic interest.

Protection

The abbey is the property of the commune. It has been listed since 1886 as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

References

Sources

* Lawrence, C.H., 2001. ''Medieval Monasticism'' (3rd edn.). Longman

External links

*
Abbot's Palace, Gorze
* *

{{Authority control Monuments historiques of Grand Est Benedictine monasteries in France Buildings and structures in Moselle (department) Carolingian architecture Christian monasteries established in the 8th century Tourist attractions in Moselle (department) 8th-century establishments in Francia Churches completed in 749 8th-century churches