Boyle Abbey

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Boyle Cistercian Abbey
Boyle Abbey
Boyle Abbey
location IrelandIreland Ireland
County Roscommon
Coordinates: 53 ° 58 '24.9 "  N , 8 ° 17' 48.9"  W Coordinates: 53 ° 58 '24.9 "  N , 8 ° 17' 48.9"  W.
Serial number
according to Janauschek 		288
founding year 1161
Year of dissolution /
annulment 		1569
Mother monastery Mellifont Abbey
later directly Clairvaux assumed
Primary Abbey Clairvaux Monastery

Daughter monasteries

Assaroe Abbey (1178)
Knockmoy Abbey (1190)

Boyle Abbey ( Irish Mainistir na Búille ) is located just outside the town of Boyle , in County Roscommon in Ireland , near the river of the same name and the N4 road from Dublin to Sligo . It is a subsidiary of Mellifont in County Louth and although the buildings suffered badly under the English occupation, it is an impressive example of an early 13th century Cistercian abbey .

description

Plan of Boyle Abbey

The floor plan of Boyle largely corresponds to that of other Cistercian monasteries. The cross-shaped church consists of a short choir , a north and south transept with two side chapels each and the stately three-aisled nave.

Boyle Abbey

The south side of the nave has pointed arches, the north side round arches. Some of the arches of the south nave seem to belong to the older part of the nave (probably around 1180). The arches on the north side are probably younger (approx. 1190–1200). They are pointed, a shape that lies between Romanesque and Gothic and is an example of the transition style .

Boyle Abbey

The church was consecrated in 1218, the western part of the nave may not have been finished until later. The floor plan corresponds to the architecture developed by Bernhard von Clairvaux . The epigonal outer walls of the nave have practically disappeared, only their course can still be traced. Some of the capitals depict mythical animals , similar to the works of the Irish transitional style in Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo . They are unusual for Cistercian buildings, but typical of Western Ireland. The west side of the church with the single lancet window is early Gothic . The numerous bundles of pillars on the sides are similar to the cathedral in Dublin . It is claimed that they are works by the same master. Without a doubt, this style is an atavism on Western English models. The choir was probably built right after the monks arrived in 1161.

The tapered barrel vault is typically Cistercian and, like the pointed choir arch and the entrances to the side chapels, comes from models from Burgundy . The three lancets in the east window are the result of a change in the 13th century. The original arched windows, which were originally probably smaller and arranged in double rows, can still be seen in the north transept. There is no doubt that in Boyle, contrary to the rules of the Cistercians, a crossing tower existed from the beginning , although part of the current tower is more recent, judging by the windows, it was probably increased around 1300. Cistercian towers are mostly additions from the 15th century.

Nothing has been preserved from the covered colonnade that used to lead around the courtyard. The sacristy was heavily modified during Elizabeth I's lifetime , when part of her army was stationed here. Part of the entrance to the chapter house can still be seen south of the sacristy. Little has been preserved of the other southern parts of the building due to the conversion to barracks. The north wall, threatened by collapse, has been extensively restored and given a new foundation.

history

Boyle Abbey was founded by monks from Mellifont who, after three unsuccessful attempts to find a location, finally settled at Boyle in 1161. A founder is unknown, but the MacDermots, lords of Moylurg in north Roscommon County, were the patrons of the monastery. The Abbot of Boyle was a key figure in the conspiracy of Mellifont Norman Anglo-(Conspiracy of Mellifont) of 1227, a power struggle between the Irish and houses of the Cistercian order. Boyle was the leader on the Irish side with Jerpoint and Baltinglass, Killenny, Kilbeggan and Bective. His abbot was then deposed along with other representatives of the Irish side.

In 1235 Boyle was sacked by William de Burgo de Mortaigne . The monastery was then cut off from Mellifont and annexed directly to Clairvaux . It lost its importance by the 15th century. An abbot of Mellifont reported that Mellifont and Dublin were the only Cistercian monasteries in which the monks lived according to the rules of the order. The monastery may have survived until 1589 when it was leased to William Usher. Hugh O'Neill besieged Boyle in 1595 and in 1603 the monastery was given to Sir John King, whose descendants owned it until the 19th century. From the Elizabeth I era until the end of the 18th century, the army was housed in Boyle Abbey.

literature

  • Wolfgang Metternich: Art monuments in Ireland. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-534-14909-2 , pp. 88-89.
  • Peter Harbison : Guide to the Naional Monuments in the Republic of Ireland Gill and Macmillan, Dublin 1992 ISBN 0-7171-1956-4 pp. 208-209

Web links