Maubeuge Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maubeuge) was a women's monastery in Maubeuge, in the

County of Hainaut The County of Hainaut (french: Comté de Hainaut; nl, Graafschap Henegouwen; la, comitatus hanoniensis), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belg ...

, now northern France, close to the modern border with Belgium. It is best known today as the abbey founded by St.

Aldegonde Aldegund ( 639–684), also Aldegundis or Aldegonde, was a Frankish Benedictine abbess who is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in France and Orthodox Church. Aldegund was closely related to the Merovingian royal family. Her pare ...

, still a popular figure of devotion in the region. It is thought to have possibly been where the young Jan Gossaert, a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

-era painter known as

Jan Mabuse Jan Gossaert (c. 1478 – 1 October 1532) was a French-speaking painter from the Low Countries also known as Jan Mabuse (the name he adopted from his birthplace, Maubeuge) or Jennyn van Hennegouwe ( Hainaut), as he called himself when he matri ...

, was educated, claimed by some to have been a native of the town of Maubeuge, which grew up around the abbey.

History

Initially founded as a

double monastery A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East ...

, that is, a community of both men and women, this abbey was founded in 661 for the care of the sick by the young Aldegonde, who was abbess there until her death in 684, and was also buried there. She was succeeded as abbess by her two nieces, first Aldetrudis and then Madelberte. The abbey soon became 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 solely of

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s. St.

Amalberga of Maubeuge Saint Amalberga of Maubeuge (also Amalia, or Amelia of Lobbes or Binche) was a Merovingian nun and saint who lived in the 7th century. Narrative Amalberga's father was Saint Geremarus. She was born in Brabant. She is said to have been the n ...

became a member of the community later in the eighth century. Maubeuge was designated a royal abbey in 864, under the

Treaty of Meersen The Treaty of Mersen or Meerssen, concluded on 8 August 870, was a treaty to partition the realm of Lothair II, known as Lotharingia, by his uncles Louis the German of East Francia and Charles the Bald of West Francia, the two surviving sons of ...

, which divided

Lotharingia Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...

. In the eleventh century the abbess was a powerful local figure.Gerda Lerner, ''The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-seventy'' (1994), p. 25. At a later date the community changed their observance to the less severe Rule of St. Augustine and their status went from nuns to that of canonesses regular. A distinctive part of their religious habit was a gold medal, bearing an image of St. Aldegonde in enamel, suspended on a blue cord tied with a gold tassel. The abbey was dissolved in 1791 during 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 ...

Abbesses

(661 - 684 †) *

Aldetrude Aldetrude (died 696, or 526) was a Christian saint and from 684 was abbess of Maubeuge Abbey in the County of Hainault, now in northern France. She is also known as Aldetrude de Maubeuge, Aldetrude of Maubod, Aldetrudis and Adeltrude. She was on ...

(684 - nk) * Madelberte (nk - 705 † ) * Théotrade (nk - 935 †) * Ansoalde (1012) * Guiscende (1106) * Fredescente (1106) * Chrestienne (1138) * Frehesecende (1149) * Liduide (1171, during a vacancy) * Chrestienne or Christine (1173) * Ermengarde (1175) * Emme (1177–1202) * Eusile (1213) * Eusile (1235–1245) * Marguerite de Fontaine (1247–1278) * Elizabeth (1278–1292) * Béatrix de Faukemont (1292–1339) * Marie de Faukemont (1351–1371) * Gertrude de Trazegnies (1381–1429) * Marguerite de Gavre, called d'Hérimez (1429 - 1443 †) * Péronne de Landas (1444–1467) * Iolende de Gavre (1468–1482) * Antoinette de Hénin-Liénard, called de Fontaine (1483) * Michelle de Gavre (1507–1547) * Françoise de Nouvelle (1548 - 1557 †) * Marguerite de Hinckart (1558 - 1578 †) * Antoinette de Sainzelle (1581–1596) * Christine de Bernaige (1599–1624) * Bonne de Haynin (1625–1643) * Marie de Noyelles (1644 - 1654 †) * Marguerite d’Oignies (1655) * Ferdinande de Bernaige (1660–1669) * Anne-Chrétienne de Beaufort (1672–1698) * Claire-Hyacinthe de Noyelles (1699–1719) * Izabelle-Philippine de Hornes (1719–1741) * Marie Thérèse Charlotte de Croï (1741–1774) * Adrienne-Florence de Lannoy (1775–1791)

References

Sources

*Moreira, Isabel (2000), ''Dreams, Visions, and Spiritual Authority in Merovingian Gaul'', Appendix B, ''The Earliest Vitae of Aldegund of Maubeuge''

External links

''Towards a Prosopography of the 'Maubeuge Cycle' Saints'' (PDF)

Maubeuge municipal website: The Chapter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maubeuge, Abbey of Christian monasteries established in the 7th century Double monasteries Benedictine nunneries in France Buildings and structures in Nord (French department) Augustinian monasteries in France Monasteries of Canonesses Regular 1791 disestablishments in France Monasteries destroyed during the French Revolution Churches completed in 661 7th-century churches in France