Hautmont Abbey () or the Abbey of Hautmont, 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 in

Hautmont Hautmont () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is southwest of the centre of Maubeuge, and has 14,500 residents. On 3 August 2008 a narrow but strong F4 tornado swept through the town, as well as Maubeuge, Neuf-Mesn ...

in the department of

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

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 ...

History

Foundation

The Hautmont Abbey was originally in the

pagus In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geograp ...

Hainoensis on the right bank of the

Sambre The Sambre () is a river in northern France and in Wallonia, Belgium. It is a left-bank tributary of the Meuse, which it joins in the Wallonian capital Namur. The source of the Sambre is near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, in the Aisne department. ...

, a few kilometres southwest of

Maubeuge Maubeuge (; historical or ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and ab ...

. The origins of the abbey lie in a religious community established in the 640s by Madelgaire who was the

Count of Hainaut The Count of Hainaut (; ; ) was the ruler of the county of Hainaut, a historical region in the Low Countries (including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany). In English-la ...

and husband of Saint Waltrude. During prayer or a dream in 642, Vincent received a divine inspiration instructing him to build a monastery on Hautmont, a hill above the

. According to legend, it had snowed all night, but when he arrived, the snowy ground had a cross-shaped clearing where he built the monastery. Vincent Madegarius was the first Abbot of Hautmont. Endowing the abbey with vast resources, Vincent added several relics, including those of Saint Marcel, whom he allegedly sought from

Pope Martin I Pope Martin I (, ; between 590 and 600 – 16 September 655), also known as Martin the Confessor, was the bishop of Rome from 21 July 649 to his death 16 September 655. He had served as Pope Theodore I's ambassador to Constantinople, and was pap ...

in Rome. After overseeing the abbey for a period, he relocated to the forest on the border of Hainaut and Brabant where he constructed a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

that led to the establishment of the town of

Soignies Soignies (; , ; ; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It consists of the following districts: Casteau, Chaussée-Notre-Dame-Louvignies, Horrues, Naast, Neufvilles, Soignies and Thieusies. Casteau is k ...

.Gossart, D. (1860). Précis de l'histoire des principaux Etablissements religieux de l'arrondissement d'Avesnes. France: Prignet. Madelgaire passed on his position as

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

to Landry of Soignies around 660 AD, and subsequently, Halidulphe received the monastery in 675 AD.Vinchant, F. (1648). Annales de la province et comté d'Haynau, où l'on voit la suitte icdes comtes depuis leur commencement. Les antiquitez de la religion, et de l'Estat depuis l'entrée de Jules César dans le pays. Ensemble les évesques de Cambray, qui y ont commandé les fondations pieuses des églises et monastères, et les descentes de la noblesse. Belgium: de l'imprimerie de Jean Havart. Halidulphe, in a 691 patent, granted his abbey over 100 villages and surrounding lands, meadows, and woods, with full rights and no possibility of future claims. Saint Ansbert was banished to the monastery of Hautmont-sur-Sambre by

Pepin of Herstal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Franks, Frankish statesman and military leader who was the de facto ruler of Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke ...

.Butler, A., Burns, P. (1995). Butler's Lives of the Saints. United Kingdom: Burns & Oates. The monastery was devastated and abandoned after the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

and other barbarians destroyed it in

900 __NOTOC__ Year 900 ( CM) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate * Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are victorious at Balkh (Northern Afghan ...

, massacring several members of the clergy.

11th Century

In the 1020s, Count Herman, married to Richilde of Hainaut, assumed control of Hautmont, granting it as a

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

to Arnould de Rumigny. His son Godefroi inherited it but, at his brother Gerard of Florennes' urging, expelled the clerics and handed it to

Richard of Verdun Richard of Verdun (970–1046) was the abbot of the influential northeastern French Monastery of St. Vanne from 1004 to 1046.Geary, Patrick. '' Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in The Central Middle Ages''. Princeton University Press,1990, p. 65 Life ...

. With Gerard's support, Emperor Folcuin secured the return of property from Godefroi, repaired the abbey, and restored the Benedictine rule. The abbey was taken over by the

House of Avesnes The Avesnes family played an important role during the Middle Ages. The family has its roots in the small village Avesnes-sur-Helpe, in the north of France. One branch produced a number of Counts of Holland during the 13th century. The family d ...

in the

12th century The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of the ...

. Gautier I, Count of Brienne, was the first to represent the family as solicitor of Hautmont and later Gautier II.

French Revolution

Amid the French Revolution, Hautmont Abbey's assets were nationalized, with its movable goods sent to Avesnes. The religious fled to avoid death, leaving the abbey deserted while the 1793

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

resulted in widespread vandalism. The abbey's most valuable relics including those of Saint Marcel and

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

were sent to the Mint in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

on 14 February 1793.

Gallery

Abbaye d'Hautmont-1598.jpg, Abbaye d'Hautmont, 1598

References