Notre-Dame de Laon Abbey
The Notre Dame Abbey in Laon was founded around 660 by the holy Salaberga. From the 12th century, the abbey was named Saint-Jean without a formal change in patronage .
history
According to the Vita Sadalbergae , the Australian noblewoman Salaberga had founded a monastery as a widow near Langres after two marriages , which she had to give up after three years, probably in the second half of the 650s, due to the political turmoil of the time. She turned to Laon, although the reasons for choosing Laon are not known, the city was not in Salaberga's Australian homeland, but in Neustria . Bishop Attola of Laon assigned her free land in the southwest of the fortified city, west and south of the ancient Roman Cardo and Decumanusand near the city walls, west of the still existing Porte d'Ardon. Here Salaberga founded her new monastery as a double monastery, which she and her family provided financially and also lived in: Salaberga's brother Leudin Bodon entered the monastery with his wife Odile before he was appointed Bishop of Toul in 664 . Salaberga's father lived and died in the monastery a good six weeks after Salaberga herself died in 656. Salaberga's husband died as archdeacon here in 685, as did her son Baudoin, who was also archdeacon. Her 20-year-old daughter Anstrude was her successor.
The beginnings of the abbey were under the supervision of Waldebert , the third abbot of the Luxeuil monastery and thus under the strict Columban rule , but in the version for women's convents, which he himself presumably had years before together with Chagnoald , Attoal's predecessor in office in Laon, for the Faremoutiers Abbey had written.
Due to the origins of Salaberga's family and the loyalty they showed to their homeland, the monastery became a bridgehead for Australia in Neustria. With the victory of the Australian house maid Pippin over the Austrian competition, Notre-Dame de Laon became an abbey that was no longer under the control of the Bishop of Laon .
At the beginning of the 8th century, the scribe Dulcia probably also lived in the Abbey of Notre-Dame, whose copy of De natura rerum Isidore of Seville, known as the “Liber rotarum” (Livre des roues, Book of Wheels), is the oldest manuscript to be found in Laon survived the Middle Ages.
In the 9th century, Notre-Dame de Laon became, on the one hand, an abbey that, together with the neighboring royal palace, formed a "monastery palace", but on the other hand it also became an abbey that served to care for royal daughters and widows:
- Hildegard († probably 860), the daughter of Louis the Pious, was the abbess of a Notre-Dame abbey, probably Notre-Dame de Laon.
- Eadgifu , daughter of Edward the Elder , King of Wessex , was the widow of Charles the Simple († 929) abbess of Notre-Dame until in 951 Heribert the Elder , Count of Meaux etc., married her son's long-term opponent Ludwig IV , who immediately withdrew the abbey from her and gave it to his wife Gerberga († 984), the daughter of the East Franconian king Heinrich I ; after the death of Ludwig (954) the beneficiary became the abbess of Notre-Dame de Laon in 959.
With the end of Carolingian rule and the decline in the importance of the Palatinate, the decline in the importance of the Notre-Dame Abbey began. During the uprising of the citizens of Laon against their Bishop Gaudry in 1112, the abbey was partially burned down, but it was largely rebuilt in the following period after the bishop had entrusted the monastery to the Benedictines . But even in spite of the destruction caused by the uprising, Notre-Dame de Laon remained the oldest, richest and most respected abbey in the diocese. During this time, however, the abbey began to be named not after its main church Notre-Dame, but after the more centrally located church Saint-Jean.
The abbey was partly destroyed during the Huguenot Wars , rebuilt in the 17th century, handed over to the masons in 1644 , renovated again from 1742 and finally turned into a municipal monastery in 1781. During the revolution the monastery was closed. In 1800, the prefect of the Aisne department chose the abandoned abbey as his seat. Today the abbey is home to the entire prefecture of the department. Some buttresses in the city wall, parts of a church portal and the cloister from the 18th century have been preserved from the former monastery. The street name "Rue du Cloître Saint-Jean" reminds of the abbey and its cloister.
architecture
Seven churches or chapels were built on the site of the abbey during the founding phase:
- The main church was Notre-Dame, also called Notre-Dame la Profonde to distinguish it from Notre-Dame Cathedral . This church stood on the southern edge of the abbey directly on the city wall and the steep terrain behind it, hence the name. Notre-Dame was burned down during the popular uprising of 1112, but was rebuilt shortly afterwards in Gothic style. This church was partially destroyed by the Holy League during the siege of Laon by Henry IV in 1594 to prevent royal troops from entering the city. Some of the buttresses of the Notre-Dame monastery church have been preserved in the city wall (Rampe d'Ardon at the Porte d'Ardon, the former Porte royale).
- The second important church in the abbey was Saint-Jean, which stood in the northern part of the monastery grounds and, in contrast to Notre-Dame, in the traditional west-east direction. Saint-Jean was also burned down in 1112, but was not rebuilt until the end of the 13th century. Parts of the main portal have been preserved from her, but not in their original location, but in the prefect's private garden. The rest of the church was destroyed during the revolution . The Saint-Jean church was actually dedicated to the prophets and patriarchs, one of whom was John the Baptist . Its location and importance led to the entire monastery being called Saint-Jean de la Cité from the 12th century onwards. The prefecture's administrative building is now located on the site of the Saint-Jean church.
- To the right of the choir of Saint-Jean stood the third church, generally dedicated to the apostles, but only called Saint-Pierre. This church was also burned down in 1112, but was also rebuilt shortly afterwards. This church was reserved for the monks of the monastery when the abbey was founded.
- The fourth church, Sainte-Croix, stood at the entrance to the abbey, ostensibly to prevent demons from entering the abbey. You and the access to the abbey were to the east of the site at the Porte royale and next to the entrance to the royal palace.
- The fifth church was dedicated to angels and was called Saint-Michel. It stood on the northern wall of the monastery grounds.
- The sixth church was dedicated to Saint Aspre, Bishop of Toul; it was abandoned in the 12th century and converted into a wine press . The General Council Hall is located at its location today .
- The seventh church, dedicated to Mary Magdalene, was just an oratory to the left of the main entrance to Saint-Jean. It was consecrated to Saint Flochel in 1341.
literature
- Bruno Krusch (Ed.): Vita Sadalbergae abbatissae Laudunensis. MGH SS rer. Merow. 5 (1910). Pp. 40-66.
- Suzanne Martinet: L'abbaye Notre-Dame la Profonde et les deux premières abbesses. In: Mémoires de la Fédération des Sociétés d'histoire et d'archéologie de l'Aisne. Volume XV, 1969, pp. 62–71f (online) (PDF; 774 kB)
- Annie Renoux: Palais et monastères: la question des Klosterpfalzen en France. In: Hans Rudolf Sennhauser (Ed.): Pfalz - Kloster - Klosterpfalz St. Johann in Müstair. 2011, ISBN 978-3-7281-3339-7 , p. 93. (Sketch of the location of the abbey in Laon in the 11th century)
Remarks
- ↑ The manuscript is in the Laon City Library, see here ( Memento of the original from July 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
