Saint-Savin (; Gascon: ''Sent Savin'') is a commune in the

Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/ Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs ; alts piɾiˈneʊs ) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. The department is bordered by Pyrénées-Atlantiques to t ...

department, and the Occitanie region, in south-western

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 ...

. The community was founded in the fourth century as a

Benedictine abbey 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, they a ...

under the protection of St. Martin. The inhabitants (gentilés) of Saint-Savin are called “Saint-Savinois”. One of the best places to view Saint-Savin is from the sixteenth-century chapel, Notre Dame de Piétat.

Legends

One legend concerns the name

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. In the ancient past,

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

visited the area, and fell in love with a beautiful girl named

Pyrene Pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) consisting of four fused benzene rings, resulting in a flat aromatic system. The chemical formula is . This yellow-green solid is the smallest peri-fused PAH (one where the rings are fused thro ...

, who happened to be a daughter of the King of

Cerdagne Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a land area of , divided almost ev ...

. The king refused to allow Pyrene to marry Hercules, and so the desperate girl ran away. Hercules searched for her, but found her too late: she had been killed by wild cats. Hercules buried the body, and covered her grave with stones, which subsequently became the mountains.

Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

, a warrior who was part of the court of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

, also has an important legendary connection to the area. In exchange for room and board at the Saint-Savin

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 ...

, Roland is said to have fought and killed two giants, Passamont and Alabaster, who, much to the monks' dismay, were living close to their priory.

The Abbey of Saint-Savin

The known history of the Abbey of Saint-Savin-en-Lavedan dates back to 945. The counts and viscounts of

Bigorre Bigorre (; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region k ...

financed and helped arrange a major part of the construction and decoration of the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, and the abbey enjoyed prosperity for quite some time. In the thirteenth century, it controlled the territory of seven

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. Then, after several

religious wars A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a War, war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the exte ...

, the abbey was virtually abandoned. Only three monks lived there in 1790. In 1854 a violent

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

ruined the abbey even more, but also caused something of a new beginning.

Savin, the pious hermit monk

Savin was born in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

into a wealthy family: his father was a count in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. At some point Savin moved to

, and became a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

. He was sent to Saint-Savin, but decided to live a simple and isolated life in the mountains above the village. During the 13 years he spent there he performed several miracles: he was able to find water where there was none, he created milk in order to feed a hungry child, and so on. When he died, his body was carried to Saint-Savin. Now his marble tomb serves as the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

in the Saint-Savin church.

Cagots

As was the case in a few other villages and towns in Hautes-Pyrénées, the town of Saint-Savin included a small community of

Cagot The ''Cagots'' () were a persecuted minority who lived in the west of France and northern Spain: the Navarrese Pyrenees, Basque provinces, Béarn, Aragón, Gascony and Brittany. Evidence of the group exists as far back as 1000 CE. The name th ...

s, a minority group that was despised for obscure reasons. They were treated as if they were

lepers Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

and dangerously infectious, though investigations even by 17th century doctors found no evidence of this. There are quite a few examples of

Romanesque art Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic Art, Gothic style in the 12th century, or later depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 1 ...

in the church, one of which is a granite carving of two Cagots. The church also contains an interesting example of a special separate

Holy water font A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or other Christian art. It is used in Catholic, as well as many Lutheran and Angli ...

for them to dip their right hand into. Use of the normal font was forbidden to Cagots. Cagots were allowed to attend the

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

, but only through a low window at the bottom of the

nave 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 ...

. People were afraid to get close to them, and so they were given communion using a long stick that is still to be seen in the church.

References

External links