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22-527: The abbey was founded in 1104 at Fontemoy as a hermitage, or small priory, by the knight Anseric of Avallon and Gui of Noyers. it grew quickly and in 1128 was accepted into the Cistercian Order as a daughter house of Clairvaux Abbey . The first abbot was Stephen of Toucy, a monk of Clairvaux. In 1134 the monastery was moved to the present site on the right bank of the river Cure , a gift to the community from William II, Count of Auxerre and Nevers . In 1147 it

44-452: A central place in the Cistercian world. Clairvaux continued to attract promising monks; one of them became a pope ( Eugene III ), twelve became cardinals, and over thirty were elevated to the episcopacy. The manuscripts copied and written at Clairvaux were of great importance. Research about the monks' literary and theological studies have led to a research project that seeks to reconstruct

66-561: A new monastery at Vallée d'Absinthe. Hughes I, Count of Troyes and a relative of Bernard, donated this valley to the Cistercians. Bernard was installed as first abbot by William of Champeaux , Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne . The abbey developed rapidly, eventually reaching its peak in numbers at 700 members belonging to Clairvaux alone, thus the largest Cistercian abbey in France. Many daughter monasteries followed. In 1118 Trois-Fontaines Abbey

88-455: A publication now in the public domain :  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Abbey of Clairvaux ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. Trois-Fontaines Abbey Trois-Fontaines Abbey ( French : Abbaye de Sainte-Marie des Trois-Fontaines ) was a Cistercian abbey in the present commune of Trois-Fontaines-l'Abbaye in the French department of Marne , in

110-420: A terrace surrounded by a balustrade. Beyond a courtyard stands a further gateway with a coat of arms and building in the style of Louis XV . Imposing ruins are all that remain of the abbey church, constructed between 1160 and 1190, originally about 70 metres long and 40 metres broad across the transept , on a cruciform ground plan. The portal is dominated by three large round-arched windows. The lower portion of

132-667: The Hundred Years' War and in the French Wars of Religion . In 1582 the Huguenots destroyed most of it by fire, including the church. The monastic buildings were rebuilt during the 17th-18th centuries. The new church was completed in 1759–1765; the work is often attributed to Claude-Nicolas Ledoux but according to the French Ministry of Culture and Communication is by the less well-known royal architect Claude-Louis d'Aviler. The abbey

154-439: The Cistercian movement. 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 more than 250 daughter monasteries. As the mother of so many, Clairvaux occuped

176-560: The abbey church was sold off as a quarry in 1812, a small new chapel was built inside the former refectory 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. The abbey

198-473: The abbey's buildings in the classical style began, dubbed Clairvaux III by historians. The works were wide-ranging, and records indicate that construction was not complete upon the arrival of the revolution. At the time of the French Revolution in 1789, Clairvaux had only 26 professed religious, counting the abbot, Louis-Marie Rocourt, ten lay brothers, and ten affiliated pensioners of the house; 19 of

220-514: The abbey's medieval library. In the 13th century, Clairvaux Abbot Stephen Lexington founded the Cistercian college at the University of Paris and it remained under the abbey's responsibility for generations. In the early modern period, Clairvaux was the origen of the movement toward stricter observance , particularly under Abbot Denis Largentier. Starting in 1708, comprehensive reconstruction of

242-612: The exceptional 14th century refectory , the 17th century dovecote and part of the south range of the conventual buildings restored in the 18th century, including the monks' parlour and dormitory, passed into private ownership. The site is now commercially run as a conference and event centre. The abbey site was classed as a monument historique in 1920. 47°38′45″N 3°43′40″E  /  47.64583°N 3.72778°E  / 47.64583; 3.72778 Clairvaux Abbey Clairvaux Abbey ( / k l ɛər ˈ v oʊ / , French: [klɛʁvo] ; Latin : Clara Vallis )

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264-462: The historic province of Champagne . It was the first daughter-house founded by Clairvaux Abbey , one of the four Cistercian primary abbeys, and was established north of the head of navigation of the Marne at Saint-Dizier by Bernard of Clairvaux in 1118, on isolated woodland given by Hugh de Vitry , which the monks drained. It was a large community, comprising at its height some 130 monks. The abbey

286-453: 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 others like Fontevraud and Mont-Saint-Michel . Because

308-430: The space available and attractive to tourists. Its layout was significantly altered by construction in the 18th and 19th centuries. Before it was a prison, Clairvaux Abbey served as an archetype for Cistercian monasteries; significant portions of the ancient abbey remain standing. According to legend, on June 25, 1115, the Cistercian monk Bernard was sent from Cîteaux Abbey with a group of twelve other monks to found

330-409: The surround of the large rose window is extant, which fills almost the entire width of the west front. The first three bays of the nave are noticeably wider than the rest. The vault of the first is gone, but that of the next three remains, supported on massive corbels . The vaults of the next three bays collapsed in the 19th century. The side aisles have pointed barrel vaulting and are separated from

352-460: Was Pierre Guérin de Tencin , French ambassador in Rome, who was made a cardinal in 1739. He rebuilt it, making good the damage caused by a fire in 1703. In 1790 it was sold off, and the premises largely demolished for the sake of the building materials. The monumental gateway dates from the 18th century rebuild. It has a concave façade with four very large pilasters with Corinthian capitals and supports

374-478: Was a Cistercian monastery in Ville-sous-la-Ferté , 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Bar-sur-Aube . The abbey was founded in 1115 by Bernard of Clairvaux . As a primary abbey , it was one of the most significant monasteries in the order. Dissolved during the French Revolution , it was used from 1808 to 2023 as Clairvaux Prison , a high-security correctional facility. As of 2024, work is in process to make

396-411: Was dissolved in 1790 during the French Revolution ; the community at that point comprised eight monks. Many of the buildings, among them the new church, the cloisters, the chapter house and the greater part of the conventual buildings, were destroyed. Many decorative items from the former abbey church are still to be found in churches nearby. The precinct and surviving buildings, principally comprising

418-420: Was founded from Clairvaux on land donated by Hugh de Vitry. Many nobles were buried there. Later, Clairvaux founded Foigny Abbey (1121), and Cherlieu Abbey was founded in 1131. During Bernard's lifetime over sixty monasteries were founded from Clairvaux all over Europe and reaching into Scandinavia. Many ("over a third of them") were pre-existing communities of monks, canons, or hermits who had decided to join

440-445: Was granted papal protection by Pope Eugene II . The abbey continued to thrive and at its peak numbered up to 300 monks. The generosity of the local nobility provided it with sufficient estates to maintain this large population and engage in active trade with its surplus produce. In 1370 King Charles V of France granted it royal protection, and in 1493 Charles VIII made it a fondation royale . It suffered severely however both during

462-501: Was in 1926 as a historical monument by the French Ministry of Culture , but only one of the buildings, the one for the lay brothers , is medieval in origin yet erected after Bernard had died. Starting in the 2000s, the prison was gradually dismantled. Comprehensive restorations began in 2013, and the prison was finally shut down in 2023. Renovation has been underway since. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from

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484-419: Was very active in its first century or so in the settlement of daughter houses: James of Pecorara , later a cardinal, was elected abbot in 1215. The chronicler Alberic of Trois-Fontaines , who covered the years 1227 to 1241, was a monk here. The abbey's isolated site protected it from armed attack. It fell however into the hands of commendatory abbots in 1536. Between 1716 and 1741, the abbot in commendam

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