Prémontré Abbey was the mother house of the

Premonstratensian Order The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Church ...

and was located at Prémontré about twelve miles west of

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...

, ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of

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 ...

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

It was founded by Saint Norbert of Xanten in 1120 on waste land that had previously belonged to the Abbey of St. Vincent, Laon, to which it had been given by a former Bishop of Laon; the monks of St. Vincent's had tried in vain to cultivate it. As shown in the charter of donation the place was called ''"Præmonstratus"'', or "pratum monstratum", probably from a clearing (''pré'' or meadow) made in the forest. The name, however, easily lent itself to the adapted meaning of ''"locus praemonstratus"'', "a place foreshown", as for example in the life of Godfrey of Cappenberg, one of Norbert's first disciples (1127): :"Venit ad locum vere juxta nomen suum, a Domino premonstratum, electum et prædestinatum" ("He came to a place truly according to its eryname foreshown, elect and predestined of the Lord"). The founding tradition says that the Bishop of

and Norbert visited Prémontré about the middle of January and that the bishop gave the white habit to Norbert on 25 January, the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. At the conclusion of the Council of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

(1131),

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...

and Norbert came to Laon and stayed with Bishop Bartholomew. They also visited Prémontré Abbey and were delighted to see some five hundred religious – priests, clerics, and lay-brothers – all united in the observance of their duties under Abbot Hugh of Fosse. It was the original Premonstratensian custom to establish

double monasteries 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 ...

, but in the general chapter of 1141 it was decided to remove the convents of nuns to at least one league's distance from the abbeys of men. Hugh died on 10 February 1161, and was succeeded by Philip, then Abbot of Belval in the

Forest of Argonne The Forest of Argonne () is a long strip of mountainous and wild woodland in northeastern France, approximately east of Paris. The forest measures roughly long and wide filled with many small hills and deep valleys formed by water run-off fr ...

. Abbot John II founded in 1252 a college or house of studies for Norbertine clerics at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. At the death of Virgilius, forty-third Abbot General of Prémontré, Cardinal Francis of

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

had intrigued so much at the Court of Rome that he succeeded in being named commendatory abbot of Prémontré, and in 1535 took possession of the abbey and all its revenues. Cardinal Francis was succeeded by Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

in France, who also held the abbey ''in commendam'' until he died in 1572. The historian of the abbey Charles Taiée calls these two cardinals "les fléaux de Prémontré" ("the scourges of Prémontré"). After the death of Cardinal d'Este a free election was held and Jean Des Pruets, Doctor of the Sorbonne, an earnest and zealous priest, was elected, and his election confirmed by

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

, 14 December 1572. With great ability Des Pruets undertook the difficult task of repairing the financial losses and of promoting conventual discipline at Prémontré and other houses of the order. He died on 15 May 1596, and was succeeded by two further zealous abbots, Longpré and Gosset; but the latter was succeeded by

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

, as commendatory abbot. The last abbot general, L'Ecuy, was elected in 1781. At the French Revolution the abbey was suppressed and confiscated, and the site sold to a certain Cagnon, who demolished several buildings and sold the material. It was converted into a potassium and saltpetre factory by a wealthy glass manufacturer in the early 1790s.Peter McPhee, Liberty or Death, 2016, pg 259 Having passed through several hands, the property was bought by Paul-Armand de Cardon de Garsignies, Bishop of Soissons, whose successor sold it to the ''Département'' of Aisne, by whom the buildings were converted into an asylum or

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

Buildings

Of the old abbey as it was from the 12th to the 16th centuries hardly anything remains, but three large buildings of the 17th and 18th centuries are still standing, part of one of which is used as a church, dedicated to Saint Norbert. Most of the site is still in use as the

founded in 186

List of abbots

*1128–1161 : Heather Wacha and Yvonne Seale, eds., ''The Cartulary of Prémontré'' (University of Toronto Press, 2023), p. 880. *1161–1171 : Philippe I de Reims *1171 : Jean I de Brienne *1171–1174 : Eudes *1174–1189 : Hugues II *1189–1191 : Robert I *1191–1195 : Gautier *1195–1201 : Pierre I de Saint-Médard *1201–1203 : Baudouin *1203–1204 : Vermond *1204–1206 : Guillaume I de Saint-Omer *1206–1209 : Robert II *1209–1220 : *1220–1233 : Conrad Suève *1233–1228 : Guillaume II d'Angles *1238–1242 : Hugues III d'Hirson *1242–1247 : Conon *1247–1269 : Jean II de Rocquigny *1269–1278 : Guerric *1278–1281 : Gilles van Biervliet *1282–1287 : Guy *1287–1288 : Robert III *1288–1304 : Guillaume III de Louvignies *1304–1327 : Adam I de Crécy *1327–1333 : Adam II de Wassignies *1333–1339 : Jean III de Châtillon *1339–1352 : Jean IV Le Petit de Saint-Quentin *1352–1367 : Jean V de Roigny *1368 : *1368–1381 : Pierre II de Froidsaints *1381–1391 : Jean VI de Marle *1391–1409 : Jean VII *1409–1423 : Pierre III d'Hermi *1423–1436 : Jean VIII de Marle *1436–1443 : Jean IX de La Fère *1443–1449 : Pierre IV Rodier *1449–1458 : Jean X Aguet *1458–1470 : Simon de La Terrière *1470–1497 : *1497–1512 : Jean XI de L'Ecluse *1512–1512 : Jean XII Evrard *1512–1531 : Jean XIII Bachimont *1531–1533 : Virgile de Limoges *1533–1533 : Michel Ier Coupson *1533–1562 : Francesco Pisani *:1533–1537 : Jean de Folembray, vicar *:1537–1562 : Josse Coquerel, vicar *1562–1572 : Ippolito d'Este *:1565-1569 : Gilbert Tournebulle, vicar *:1569-1573 : Antoine Visconti, vicar *1573–1596 : Jean XIV Despruets *1596–1613 : François II de Longpré *1613–1635 : Pierre V Gosset *1635–1636 : Pierre VI Desban *1636–1642 : Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu *1643–1644 : Simon Raguet *1645–1666 : Augustin I Le Scellier *1667–1702 : Michel II de Colbert-Terron *1702–1702 : Philippe II Celers *1702–1740 : Claude-Honoré-Luc de Muin *1740–1741 : Augustin II de Rocquevert *1741–1757 : Bruno Bécourt *1758–1769 : Antoine Parchappe de Vinay *1769–1780 : Guillaume IV Manoury *1780–1790 :

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Premontre Abbey Premonstratensian monasteries in France 1120 establishments in Europe 1120s establishments in France Monasteries in Aisne Christian monasteries established in the 1120s Churches in Aisne