Préaux Abbey

Préaux Abbey (French: Abbaye Saint-Pierre des Préaux) was a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Peter at Les Préaux, in Normandy, France.

Abbey of Saint-Pierre des Préaux (Monasticon Gallicanum)

History

The abbey was first mentioned in 833 by Saint Ansegisus, abbot of Fontenelle, but was destroyed by Vikings.[1]

In 1033-1034 the abbey was refounded on the same site.[2]

In 1050-1051, Humphrey de Vieilles, following the wish of his wife Albreda, founded a second abbey for women, the Abbey of Saint-Léger.[3]

The abbey was greatly endowed by the local lords[4] Saint Peter's Abbey became an influential player in the region and oversaw the construction of parish churches including[5] that of Saint-Germain at Pont-Audemer and the 12th-century church at Saint-Samson-de-la-Roque.

In the second half of the 12th century, the monks of St. Peter attempted to found a city next to the monastery.[6]

A village charter is mentioned in 1078,[7] but we have no knowledge of the characteristics of the custom applied to the town. The town never really took off and Alfred Canel reported that Préaux township was mentioned as a villa in a 14th-century act.[8]

Farming

The abbey owned two farms, one at Bosc-Auber belonging to Saint-Pierre, and one at Corbeaumont linked to Saint-Léger.[9]

Water mills

The monasteries also exploited the hydropower of the local stream. Each of the abbeys had its own mill, located in their own enclosure and a mill downstream, where their vassals were required to grind their wheat.[10]

The French Revolution

During the French Revolution, the two abbeys that were the economic engine of the territory were, sold as national property.[11]

Burials

References
  1. Comment vivait-on au moyen âge dans la région de Pont-Audemer, d'après les chartes des abbayes de Préaux (XIe-XIIIe siècle), par Lucien Musset, connaissance de l'Eure, n°31.
  2. Comment vivait-on au moyen âge dans la région de Pont-Audemer, d'après les chartes des abbayes de Préaux (XIe-XIIIe siècle), par Lucien Musset, connaissance de l'Eure, n°31.
  3. Comment vivait-on au moyen âge dans la région de Pont-Audemer, d'après les chartes des abbayes de Préaux (XIe-XIIIe siècle), par Lucien Musset, connaissance de l'Eure, n°31.
  4. ROUET Dominique, Le Cartulaire de l'abbaye bénédictine de Saint-Pierre-de-Préaux (1034-1227), éditions du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, Paris, 2005.
  5. BAUDOT, Marcel. Les églises du canton de Pont-Audemer. Nouvelles de l'Eure, janvier 1976, n°61.
  6. ROUET Dominique, Le Cartulaire de l'abbaye bénédictine de Saint-Pierre-de-Préaux (1034-1227), éditions du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, Paris, 2005.
  7. LEMOINE-DESCOURTIEUX Astridu, La frontière normande de l'Avre, De la fondation de la Normandie à sa réunion au domaine royal (911-1204), PURH, Mont-Saint-Aignan, 2011.
  8. Essai historique et archéologique Canel, p.395.
  9. SOREL Patrick, Les deux abbayes Saint Pierre et Saint Léger de Préaux et leurs moulins, Connaissance de l'Eure, n°132, avril 2004.
  10. SOREL Patrick, Les deux abbayes Saint Pierre et Saint Léger de Préaux et leurs moulins, Connaissance de l'Eure, n°132, avril 2004.
  11. Archives départementales de l'Eure, Q 896 ; n°3960.

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