Clairvaux Abbey

Not to be confused with Clervaux Abbey.

Clairvaux Abbey

Main façade of the abbey
Location within France
Monastery information
Order	Cistercian
Established	1115
Mother house	Cîteaux Abbey
People
Founder(s)	Bernard of Clairvaux
Site
Location	Ville-sous-la-Ferté, France
Coordinates	48°08′50″N 4°47′20″E
Visible remains	substantial
Public access	yes

Clairvaux Abbey (/klɛərˈvoʊ/, French: [klɛʁvo]; Latin: Clara Vallis) was a Cistercian monastery in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Bar-sur-Aube. The original building, founded in 1115 by Bernard of Clairvaux, is now in ruins; the bulk of the present structure dates from 1708. Clairvaux Abbey was a good example of the general layout of a Cistercian monastery. The abbey has been listed since 1926 as a historical monument by the French Ministry of Culture.

From 1808 to 2023, the grounds were occupied by Clairvaux Prison, a high-security prison. As of 2024, it is in the process of being transferred to new ownership as a site oriented toward tourism.

History

Founding to dissolution

An early 18th-century view of the abbey, prior to the reconstruction that began in 1708

According to legend, on June 25, 1115, Bernard, a Benedictine monk of the Abbaye de Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, was sent with a group of twelve other monks to found a new house at Vallée d'Absinthe. Hughes I, Count of Troyes and a relative of Bernard, donated this valley to the colony of Cistercians. The Cistercians sought places both remote from the world, to be able to devote themselves to prayer, and well served by natural resources, to be entirely self-sufficient. Bernard was installed as first abbot by William of Champeaux, Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne.

Under his direction, the abbey developed rapidly. In 1118 Trois-Fontaines Abbey was founded from Clairvaux on land donated by Hugh de Vitry. It quickly became the largest Cistercian abbey in France, additionally benefiting commercially from the Champagne Fairs.

Foigny Abbey was founded in 1121 by Bernard and Barthélemy of Jur, bishop of Laon. Cherlieu Abbey was founded in 1131 with the support of Renaud III, Count of Burgundy. During Bernard's lifetime sixty-eight monasteries were founded from Clairvaux in France, Italy, Germany, England, Spain, and Portugal. Construction of the abbey in its roughly current form (named Clairvaux II by historians) began in 1135, and the abbey church was dedicated in 1174. However, the only building surviving from this time is a large 12th-century lay brother's building, eventually converted into a barn. By the end of the 12th century, it had founded 263 daughter monasteries. The structure of the abbey's church was the base for many of the churches of its daughter monasteries, with Clairvaux occupying a central space in the Cistercian world.

After two centuries of continental prominence and strict observance, Clairvaux began a long decline, but reforms were eventually undertaken. In 1615, Abbot Denis Largentier restored the fasts, abstinences and other practices of the order. Starting in 1708, the brothers undertook a comprehensive reconstruction of the abbey's buildings in the classical style, dubbed Clairvaux III by historians. The works were wide-ranging, and records indicate that construction was not complete upon the arrival of the revolution.

Revolution to present day

The prison as it appeared in 1901

In 1789, the French Revolution began. At that time, Clairvaux had in affiliation in France ninety-two houses with 864 religious. This abbey had given to the Church one pope, Eugene III (a former furnace tender at the oratory), fifteen cardinals, and a great number of archbishops and bishops. At the time of the Revolution Clairvaux had only 26 professed religious, counting the abbot, Louis-Marie Rocourt, 10 lay brothers, and 10 affiliated pensioners of the house; 19 of the religious and all the lay brothers were secularized.

Having become state property according to the decree of November 2, 1789, the abbey was purchased in 1792 and converted into a glassworks, which was repossessed by the state upon its bankruptcy in 1808 and turned into a prison. This fate was not uncommon for former monasteries following the penal reforms of Napoleon, it also befell other prominent institutions, such as Fontevraud and Mont-Saint-Michel. The abbey church was sold off as a quarry in 1812, as a result, the inmates were left without a place of worship and the prison's warden was dismissed. A small new chapel inside the former refectory was built in 1828. During the 19th century, the abbey held 2,700 prisoners, including 500 women and 550 children. Deplorable conditions at the abbey inspired Victor Hugo to write his short story Claude Gueux, based on a real prisoner at Clairvaux, in 1834. Following a reform in 1875 that required individual cells for prisoners, "chicken cages", cells measuring 1.5 x 2-meter (5 x 6.5 ft), were installed, they remained in use until 1971, when prisoners left many of the historic buildings for newer buildings on the property.

Starting in the 2000s, the prison was gradually dismantled, its prisoners sent to newer facilities. Comprehensive restorations began in 2013, and the prison was finally shut down in 2023. As of 2024, French government is in the process of selecting a candidate to carry over management of the abbey to.

Description

Plan of the abbey.

Cistercian monasteries were all arranged according to a set plan unless the circumstances of the locality forbade it. A strong wall, furnished at intervals with watchtowers and other defenses, surrounded the abbey precincts. Beyond it a moat, artificially diverted from tributaries which flow through the precincts, completely or partially encircled the wall. This water furnished the monastery with an abundant supply of water for irrigation, sanitation, and for the use of the offices and workshops.

An additional wall, running from north to south, bisected the monastery into an "inner" and "outer" ward. The inner ward housed the monastic buildings, while the agricultural and other artisan endeavors were carried out in the outer ward.

The precincts were entered by a gateway at the extreme western extremity, giving admission to the lower ward. Here the barns, granaries, stables, shambles (slaughtering yard), workshops, and workmen's lodgings were located. Convenience was the only consideration for design. A single gatehouse afforded communication through the wall separating the outer from the inner ward.

Coat of arms of Clairvaux abbey

On passing through the gateway, monks and visitors entered the outer court of the inner ward, to face the western facade of the monastic church. Immediately to the right of entrance was the abbot's residence, in close proximity to the guest-house. On the other side of the court were stables for the accommodation of the horses of the guests and their attendants. The church occupied a central position, with the great cloister to the south, surrounded by the chief monastic buildings. Further to the east, the smaller cloister contained the infirmary, novices' lodgings, and quarters for the aged monks. Beyond the smaller cloister, and separated from the monastic buildings by a wall, lay the vegetable gardens and orchards. The location made it possible to create mills and fish ponds and use the forest for timber and raising livestock. Large fish ponds were also located in the area east of the monastic buildings. The ponds were an important feature of monastic life, and much care was given by the monks to their construction and maintenance. They often remain as one of the few visible traces of these vast monasteries.

The church consisted of a vast nave of eleven bays, entered by a narthex, with a transept and short apsidal choir. To the east of each limb of the transept were two square chapels, divided according to Cistercian rule by solid walls. Nine radiating chapels, similarly divided, surrounded the apse. The stalls of the monks occupied the four eastern bays of the nave, forming the ritual choir. There was a second range of stalls in the extreme western bays of the nave for the lay brothers. The still-extant cloister was located to the south of the church so that its inhabitants could benefit from ample sunshine.

The chapter house opened out of the east walk of the cloister in parallel with the south transept.

List of abbots

• 1115–1153 — Bernard I
• 1153–1157 — Robert I of Bruges
• 1157-vers 1161 — Fastradus
• 1162–1165 — Geoffrey of Auxerre
• 1165–1170 — Pons of Polignac
• 1170–1175 — Gerard I
• 1176–1179 — Henry of Marcy
• 1179–1186 — Peter I Monoculus
• 1186–1193 — Garnier de Rochefort
• 1193–1196 — Guy of France
• c. 1214–1216 — Conrad I of Urach
• 1217–1221 — William I
• 1221–1223 — Robert II
• 1223–1224 — Lawrence
• 1224–1232 — Raoul de la Roche-Aymon
• 1233–1235 — Dreux de Grandmont
• 1235–1238 — Evrard
• 1238–1239 — William of Dongelberg
• 1242–1255 — Stephen I of Lexington
• 1257–1260 or 1261 — John I
• 1262–1273 — Philip I
• 1273–1280 — Beuve
• 1280–1284 — Thibaud de Sancey
• 1284–1285 — Gerard II
• 1286–1291 — Jean II de La Prée
• 1291–1312 — Jean III de Sancey
• 1312 — William III
• 1313–1316 — Conrad II of Metz
• 1316–1330 — Mathieu I d'Aumelle
• 1330–1345 — Jean IV d'Aizanville
• 1345–1358 — Bernard II de Laon
• 1358–1359 — Jean V de Bussières
• 1363–1380 — Jean VI de Deulemont
• 1380–1402 — Étienne II de Foissy
• 1402–1405 — Jean VII de Martigny
• 1405–1428 — Mathieu II Pillaert
• 1428–1448 — Guillaume IV d'Autun
• 1449–1471 — Philippe II de Fontaines
• 1471–1496 — Pierre II de Virey
• 1496–1509 — Jean VIII de Foucault
• 1509–1552 — Edmond de Saulieu
• 1552–1571 — Jérôme Souchier
• 1571–1596 — Lupin Lemire
• 1596–1626 — Denis Largentier
• 1626–1653 — Claude Largentier
• 1654–1676 — Pierre III Henry
• 1676–1718 — Pierre IV Bouchu
• 1718–1740 — Robert III Gassot du Deffend
• 1740–1761 — Pierre V Mayeur
• 1761–1784 — François Le Blois
• 1784–1792 — Louis-Marie Rocourt

Burials

• Henry of France, Archbishop of Reims (1175)
• Philip I, Count of Flanders
• Saint Malachy
• Bernard of Clairvaux
• Theresa of Portugal, Countess of Flanders
• Giacomo da Pecorara

See also

• List of abbeys and priories
• Chiaravalle Abbey
• Claraval in Brazil: the same name in Portuguese; also the seat of a former Abbacy nullius

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Abbey of Clairvaux". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

External links

• Official website
• Virtual Library of Clairvaux