Langonnet Abbey, formally the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Langonnet (), which became the Langonnet stud farm between 1807 and 1857, is a former

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

belonging to the diocese of Quimper (now

Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...

). It is located in the Gourin

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

, east of the village of

Langonnet Langonnet () is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Geography Langonnet is in north-west of Cornouaille, in Lower Brittany. It is one of the few Cornouaille parishes to be located in the present-day Mo ...

, on the road to Plouray. It now belongs to the Congrégation du Saint-Esprit. It was listed as a ''

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 collection of buildings, ...

'' by decree on September 25, 1928. Its ogival-style

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

dates back to the 13th century.

History

Middle age

The site of the present-day abbey was probably occupied as early as the 5th century by Breton immigrants from across the Channel, perhaps disciples of , but nothing remains of the original buildings. Notre-Dame de Langonnet Abbey was founded on June 20, 1136 by Conan III, sovereign duke of Brittany, and his mother Ermengarde of Anjou. "There were marshes and peat bogs. The

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

cleaned up the land and cultivated it. (1130-1158), was buried there. Twelve monks from l'Aumône Abbey, in

La Colombe (''The Dove'') is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts by Charles Gounod with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré based on the poem by Jean de La Fontaine, itself after a tale (V,9) in The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio. It premiered i ...

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region of France. It is named after two rivers which run through it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher (river), Cher in its southern p ...

, in the diocese of

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

, settled here in 1136. All ancient titles to foundations and donations have disappeared. A confession dated 1550 attests that the abbey owned 82 villages, manors, noble holdings, mills and forests, including 63 in Langonnet, 14 in Gourin and 5 in Le Faouët. In particular, it owned the Conveau wood in Gourin and the Conveau manor house. In 1170, Duke

Conan IV Conan IV ( 1138 – 18/20 February 1171), called the Young, was the Duke of Brittany from 1156 to 1166. He was the son of Bertha, Duchess of Brittany, and her first husband, Alan, 1st Earl of Richmond, Alan, Earl of Richmond. Conan IV was his fa ...

gave the abbey's Cistercian monks several villages near the Carnoët forest to establish a community. Maurice Duault de

Croixanvec Croixanvec (; ) is a former commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.Saint Maurice de Carnoët), then abbot of Langonnet Abbey, founded an abbey there in 1177, near the banks of the Laïta river, called Notre-Dame de Carnoët, of which he was abbot until his death in 1191. The abbey was later renamed Saint-Maurice de Carnoët. During the

War of the Breton Succession The War of the Breton Succession (, ) or Breton Civil War was a conflict between the Counts of Blois and the Montfort of Brittany, Montforts of Brittany for control of the Duchy of Brittany, then a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was fou ...

, the abbey was largely ruined (only the chapel and a few sections of wall remain). In

1387 Year 1387 ( MCCCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * Elizabeta Kotromanic, mother of Mary, Queen of Hungary and the regent of Hungary, is murdered in prison by the Croatian ...

, the General Chapter of the Cistercian Order recorded its state of devastation and consequently exempted it from all taxes and arrears. In 1442, the General Chapter of Citeaux noted for a second time the state of devastation of Langonnet Abbey, "which has not yet been repaired". Between 1470 and 1518, abbots Vincent and Henri de Kergoët completely rebuilt the abbey.

Modern period

1595 Events January–March * January 16 – Mehmed III succeeds Murad III, as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and begins a reign of almost nine years. Upon ascending the throne, Mehmed orders that all 19 of the other sons of Murad III a ...

, the monks were expelled during the troubles of the League War. The church was turned into a stable by the soldiers of League leader

Guy Éder de La Fontenelle Guy Éder de Beaumanoir de la Haye (1573 – September 1602), also known by his nicknames La Fontenelle or ''Ar Bleiz'' (the "Wolf" in Breton), was a French nobleman, seigneur de Le Vieux-Bourg, de Saint-Gildas et du Leslay, and a warlord acti ...

. They returned in 1598, but the abbey was in ruins and the surrounding lords had seized most of their lands. It was largely rebuilt between 1650 and 1780: "The main body of the abbey is a large square building, of which the church occupies one side; most of this building was constructed in the time of the abbot commendataire Claude de Marbœuf" (an inscription Aeternitati positum uilt for eternitygives the date 1688), "the church is the newest part, built by abbé François Chevreul and dedicated in 1789".

French Revolution

The monks were expelled at the end of 1790 during the French Revolution, and the abbey was put up for sale as ''bien national''. Unable to find a buyer, it was rented to the Bréban family, who hid a number of refractory priests there. It soon became a refuge for the

Chouans Chouan (, "the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Pa ...

, who were dislodged by a detachment of republican soldiers from Le Faouët, who vandalized the premises and took up residence there to keep watch over the surrounding area. On Pluviôse 24, Year IX (February 13, 1801), the Langonnet gendarmes were attacked in the abbey by more than 50 armed men.

The nineteenth century

At the time, the abbey was in a sorry state: "No doors, no windows, no woodwork; collapsed roofs, rotten frames! (...) Urgent repairs had to be carried out to install a stud farm. The upper part of the chapel was converted into a hayloft". By decree of June 10, 1806,

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

established

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

's first public

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud (animal), stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, ...

with forty

stallions A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

and ten brood mares. The choice of Langonnet was debated: "Langonnet (...) is located in the most appalling desert of

Lower Brittany Lower Brittany (; ) denotes the parts of Brittany west of Ploërmel, where the Breton language has been traditionally spoken, and where the culture associated with this language is most prolific. The name is in distinction to Upper Brittany, th ...

: the premises, a stone hovel, without roof or framework, the ruin of an abbey, with a few hovels around. You can only get supplies from Pontivi (

Pontivy Pontivy (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Morbihan Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest. ...

) or Hennebon (

Hennebont Hennebont (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in the region of Brittany in north-western France. Geography Hennebont is situated about ten miles from the mouth of the River Blavet, which divides it into two parts: the ''Ville Close' ...

)" wrote General Baron de Wimpfen, clearly unfavorable to this choice, in a report dated May 28, 1807. The establishment prospered for a time, however: "It is now a first-class stallion depot serving the four departments of the Brittany peninsula. Its position is very advantageous, in the middle of beautiful meadows watered by the lovely Ellé river, and surrounded by a walled park. The Langonnet depot is made up of beautiful buildings and vast courtyards. A great deal of work has been carried out over the last few years, and if the roads had been made passable, it would have become one of the most magnificent in France, just as it is one of the most important. The Langonnet depot now has seventy stallions," write A. Marteville and P. Varin. Marteville and P. Varin in 1843. The establishment was moved to

in 1856-1857, and the abbey was returned to the " Missionaries of the Holy Spirit", where he rediscovers his religious vocation. A model farm was then established by , which became an agricultural colony for children. In 1880, the establishment of Notre-Dame de Langonnet, directed by the Brothers of the Holy Spirit and the Sacred Heart of Mary, ran "a secondary school, a scholasticate and a Brothers'

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

for those destined for the Missions". owned 5 cm of Saint Maurice's right

humerus The humerus (; : humeri) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius (bone), radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extrem ...

. As the abbey was falling into ruin, the

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

of the precious

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

to the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Langonnet on August 7 and 8, 1880, in the presence of the bishops of Quimper and Vannes, 150 priests and 20,000 devotees.

The twentieth century and the twenty-first century

In August 1930, great solemnities celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the translation of the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

of Saint Maurice of Carnoët. "In the heart of Breton Brittany, which by 1930 had already given 153 Fathers and Brothers of the Holy Spirit to religious France, Notre-Dame de Langonnet has become a citadel of the missionary spirit," particularly in Africa. "The old missionaries reside there, to put an interval between their life of action and supreme rest; there, in an apostolic school, are formed the children who will later perpetuate the lineage" wrote

Georges Goyau Georges Goyau (31 May 1869 – 25 October 1939) was a French historian and essayist specializing in religious history. Biography Pierre-Louis-Théophile-Georges Goyau was born in Orléans 31 May 1869, and attended the Lycée d'Orléans before mov ...

in 1936. Sam Poupon founded the cercle de l'abbaye in 1950 (Korollerien an Ellé), one of the first (after the Poullaouen group) to revive Breton dance. The abbey now serves as a resting place for elderly Spiritan missionaries, and houses a museum of African art and its collection of objects gathered by former missionaries to Africa, as well as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

animation center.

Architecture

Today's abbey comprises a

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

, dwelling, guest quarters, chapel, school (former abbot's dwelling) and workshops. The abbey has undergone many alterations, and it is impossible to trace the layout and dimensions of the original building. The chapter house, surrounded by buildings dating from the modern era, is the only vestige dating back to the 13th century: "it has an

ogival An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two- or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture, woodworking, and ballistics. Etymology The French Orientalist Georges Séraphin Colin gives as ...

doorway overlooking the cloister, flanked on either side by twin

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, all with a lancet arch, with several recesses formed by toroids falling on

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

with bases and leafy

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

; each of the double bays is also framed by an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

, also ogival. Inside, the hall, now converted into a chapel, consists of two

naves The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type b ...

with three bays, with stone vaults and ribbed cross vaults resting on columns with foliate capitals. Next to this beautiful room, which is reminiscent of the rooms at

Mont-Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is in ...

, is another apartment dating back to the same period, vaulted in stone and ogival, which is thought to have been the monks' penitentiary ". Various reconstructions were carried out between the 17th century (abbot's dwelling) and the 20th century (the current cloister was built between 1930 and 1936). The chapel dates from the second half of the 19th century. The abbey also boasts a museum of African art. File:Entrée de l'abbaye de Langonnet.JPG, The entrance to the abbey File:Langonnet porte baie salle capitulaire.JPG, The entrance to the chapter house. File:Langonnet abbaye salle capitulaire.JPG, The chapter house File:Cloître de l'abbaye de Langonnet 2.JPG, The abbey cloister.

Filiation and dependencies

Langonnet Abbey is the daughter of Aumône Abbey and the mother of Carnoët Abbey.

Filiation

Cîteaux Abbey Cîteaux Abbey ( ) is a Catholic abbey located in Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, south of Dijon, France. It is notable for being the original house of the Order of Cistercians. Today, it belongs to the Trappists (also called the Cistercians of th ...

* L'Aumône Abbey *

Clairvaux Abbey Clairvaux Abbey (, ''l’abbaye de Clairvaux''; ) was a Cistercian monastery in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, from Bar-sur-Aube. The abbey was founded in 1115 by Bernard of Clairvaux. As a primary abbey, it was one of the most significant monasteri ...

* Buzay Abbey * Villeneuve Abbey * Prières Abbey

List of Abbots

People who died at Langonnet Abbey

* Father Jean Prat, linguist (Tarbes 1868 - Langonnet 1952) * Mgr François Cléret de Langavant (Saint-Malo 1896 - Langonnet 1991)

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

External articles

History

Sculptural and architectural details
{{coord, 48.1060, -3.4329, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Cistercian monasteries in France Gothic architecture in France Horse farms in France Former Christian monasteries in France