Aisne
Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374.
Geography
The department borders No ...
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...
in northern
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
According to Abbot Berner (''Bernerus Humolariensis Abbas'') who wrote the Vita of Hunegund (''Vita Sanctae Hunegundis Virginis Humolariensis'') in the 10th century, Bernerus Humolariensis Abbas, De Vita Sanctae Hunegundis Virginis Humolariensis documentacatholicaomnia.eu
a monastic community was founded around 650 near the site of present-day Homblières by a young noblewoman named Hunegund (d. ca. 690), a native of Lambay in the
Vermandois
Vermandois was a French county that appeared in the Merovingian period. Its name derives from that of an ancient tribe, the Viromandui. In the 10th century, it was organised around two castellan domains: St Quentin (Aisne) and Péronne ( Som ...
.Newman, William Mendel/ The Cartulary and Charters of Notre-Dame of Homblieres. - 1. History of the Monastery medievalacademy.org
The monastery of Homblières (
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
: ''Humolarias'', from humulus = hop field) is first mentioned in the 940s as a community of nuns in need of reform because of lapsed morals. The archbishop of
Reims
Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...
assigned Bertha, an old nun from the abbey of Saint-Pierre of Reims, to restore the community, but without much success. After Bertha’s death in 948 or 949, King Louis IV authorized the expulsion of the nuns and their replacement by monks from Saint-Remi of Reims who were required to live at Homblières under the
Benedictine Rule
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of th ...
. It was their first abbot, Berner, who wrote the Vita of Hunegund from stories that he had heard locally.
Eilbert of Florennes, a direct descendant of Emperor Lothair’s vassal Ebro, was responsible for refounding the abbey at Homblières.
During the later stages of the
Hundred Years War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a c ...
, the relics of Saint Hunegund were sent for safety to Saint-Quentin.
With the Concordat of 1516, Homblières passed under royal control. In 1607, the abbey church collapsed and Homblières was abandoned, but in 1666, a monk from Saint-Remi became prior of Homblières and undertook its restoration. He rebuilt the abbey church and reestablished a community by 1679, when the remains of Hunegund were returned.
During the French Revolution, on 13 february 1790, the
constituent assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
dissolved all religious orders in France. In 1792, the last eight Benedictine monks left the abbey, which subsequently was sold and turned into a stone quarry.