The Abbey of Saint-Martin de Savigny was a

Benedictine monastery 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 ...

in the

Archdiocese of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called primates of Gaul. The oldest diocese in Fran ...

. Nothing today survives of its buildings other than some stones in the Musée Lapidaire of Savigny-en-Lyonnais. It was founded by Leidradus after he resigned as bishop of Lyon in 816. The first mention of the abbey is in a charter of 817. It also appears in the ''

Notitia de servitio monasteriorum The ''Notitia de servitio monasteriorum'' ("Notice of the Service of Monasteries") is a list of monasteries in the Frankish Empire and the services they owed the crown. It was compiled under Emperor Louis the Pious in 819, probably as a summation ...

'' of 819, where it is one of the monasteries owing only prayers (''orationes'') for the emperor and no other service.. In 976, Conrad the Peaceful,

King of Burgundy The following is a list of the kings of the two kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations. Kings of the Burgundians * Gebicca (late 4th century – c. 40 ...

, confirmed the possessions and privileges of the abbey. In 1139,

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

wrote to Falco, archbishop of Lyon, indicating that Savigny was in conflict with the abbey of La Bénisson-Dieu over possessions in the Roannais. Bernard was writing in support of La Bénisson-Dieu because its abbot, Alberic, was one of his disciples.« "Pauperes sunt, et habitant inter pauperes. Hoc præcipue obsecramus ut Saviniacenses monachos prohibeatis ab infestatione eorum, quoniam calumniantur eos injuste, ut putamus. Aut si se confidunt habere justitiam, judicate inter illos. Filius noster abbas Albericus, etsi suis meritis commendabilior, etc." Mabillon, Vol. 1 (1690) & col. 169 of the 1719 ed. Savigny was eventually placed ''

in commendam In canon law, commenda (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastica ...

'' and lost its spiritual significance. In 1779, King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

ordered the closure of the abbey by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

. This was confirmed by

Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

through a

Papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

on 22 June 1780. In 1784, the buildings were sold.. The archives of the abbey are now part of the archives of the department of the Rhône.

References

Further reading