L'Épau monastery
| Cistercian abbey l'Épau | |
|---|---|
 The abbey church |
|
| location |
 Franceregion Pays de la Loire Sarthe department |
| Coordinates: | 47 ° 59 '28 " N , 0 ° 14' 31" E |
| Serial number according to Janauschek |
602 |
| founding year | 1229 |
| Year of dissolution / annulment |
1790 |
| Mother monastery | Citeaux monastery |
|
Daughter monasteries |
no |
The monastery L'Épau (Spallum; Espallum; La Piété-Dieu) is a former Cistercian abbey in the town of Yvré-l'Évêque in the Sarthe region Pays de la Loire in France . It is 4 km east of Le Mans on the banks of the Huisne .
history
The monastery was founded in 1229 on the basis of a donation from the widow of King Richard the Lionheart , Berengaria of Navarre , as the daughter of the Cîteaux monastery. The church was consecrated in 1234 before it was completed. Berengaria was first buried in the monastery, but her remains were later placed in the Cathedral of Le Mans. During the Hundred Years War , the monastery was set on fire by residents of Le Mans for fear that the English might seize it. The reconstruction lasted until the middle of the 15th century. The monastery came to an end during the French Revolution . Today it is owned by the General Council of the Sarthe Department, which has extensively restored it.
Buildings and plant
The monastery is grouped around the former wooden cloister that was destroyed in the 14th century and never rebuilt. The groin vaulted church has remained unfinished. Your choir is closed rectangular and has a large tracery window with a rose window in the east . From the transept there are three rectangular chapels on each side. The three-bay ship is 46 m long and 15.50 m high. Only one aisle was built. The enclosure is in the south of the church. Paintings from the 14th century have been preserved in the sacristy. The chapter house , open to the Kreuzhof through ogival arcades, was built between 1250 and 1260, it contains a reclining figure ( Gisant ) of Queen Berengaria. Four monolithic columns with capitals adorned with vine leaves support its groin vault. Above is the dormitory. The groin vaulted warm room has a very large chimney. The monk's hall from 1290 is also vaulted with a groin.
literature
- J. Barrere: La Piété-Dieu de l'Épau, construction et aménagement d'une abbaye cistercienne (1230–1365) , Le Mans 1968, 112 pp.
- J.-Y. Bernier: L'Épau, une abbaye cistercienne , Paris 1988, 96 pp.
- J. Bréau: L'abbaye de L'Èpau , Rennes 1991, 32 pp.
- Michel Niaussat: L'Epau: la piété d'une reine. In: Dossiers d'Archéologie. No. 234, 1998, ISSN 1141-7137 , pp. 50-51.
- Michel Niaussat: L'Abbaye Royale de L'Epau . Éditions Libra Diffusio, 2017. ISBN 978-2-84492-900-6 .
- Bernard Peugniez: Routier cistercien. Abbayes et sites. France, Belgique, Luxembourg, Suisse. Nouvelle édition augmentée. Éditions Gaud, Moisenay 2001, ISBN 2-84080-044-6 , pp. 356-358.
