Abbey of Bellebranche

Old the Cistercian abbey Notre-Dame de Bellebranche is located at Saint-Brice (Mayenne).

Etymology

Abbas B. - M. of Bellabrancha , 1175;
Abbas Beautiful Gill , 1180;
Abbas de Bella Branca , 1189;
Abbas Bellebranchiæ , 1197;
Beata Maria de Bella Branchia , 1218;
Abbas Beatæ Mariæ de Bellabrancha , 1232;
Abbas and conventus of Bellabrancha , 1265;
monks, abbots and convent of Bellebranche , 1412;
Monasterium beatæ Mariæ de Bellabrancha, ordinis cisterciensis , 1446.

History

The abbot of the Louroux sent, in 1150, a small colony of monks cistercians with the place known as of Bellebranche , and the establishment became final by the donation of Robert III of Sanded on July 27th 1152.

Robert IV of Sanded, at the time of the death of Clemence de Mayenne , his wife, and of her departure for the Holy Land (1190), confirmed and increased the paternal donations.

Notre-Dame de Bellebranche, 389è foundation of the Order of Citeaux, was approved by the popes Alexandre III (1165), Urbain IV (1264), Clément IV and Boniface VIII.

One mentions among the privileges of the monks, that to choose an abbot and a prior; they had care to be made confirm in this right, in 1498, by Louis XII. The abbey was in little the richest time of the houses cistercians of the Anjou and the Maine, thanks to liberalities of the lords of Sanded, Castle-Gontier, Laval, Craon, Sillé, Anthenaise, Rohan.

The field of the abbey

Around their monastery, the monks had created 7 ponds, 2 splendid wood of mature standing timber, without counting wood coppice of the Fourneau , of the Nortrons , and Large-Wood ; they had planted 53 districts of vine into three closed, arranged 10 smallholdings in Saint-Brice and Beaumont, of which they had the parochial seigniory.

50 smallholdings and of beautiful Stronghold S in the Seneschalsy of the Maine, the stronghold and the Manor of Gaulerie in the Chemiré-on-Sarthe, three smallholdings with Brissarthe, the ground of Encircled , with abbey house and vault, in Écouflant, that of the Châteauneuf-on-Sarthe, a hotel with Angers, etc… composed at the 15th century the field of Bellebranche. All these possessions moved away, settings with firm, were besides of a small output for the house: “ They are not too sufficient , say the monks to the 15th century, for entretenement of nostre abbey and convent, with food and vestement of us who suisms of number XXXV monk, and to make the aumosnes with the poor which are in great number of day in day, mesme when is time of sterility. ”

“ a mieche of the form and ordinance of the convent ” moreover was distributed to all poor, first Tuesday of Lent, and a dinner with an honest alms been used the Thursday-absolute for all people who were presented and which wanted to have “ as much like a monk of the abbey.

The claustral offices, priorat, under-priorat, chantery, Sacristy, cellery, gets, Aumônerie, infirmary, had each one their particular equipment.

War of Hundred-Years

The publication of the Father Denifle on the Désolation of the churches of France confirms the details already given on the state of devastation of the abbey during the first time of the Guerre of Hundred-Years. Convents, houses, buildings, residences, almost all had been ransacked, burned during the wars by the enemies of the king and the kingdom. Returned were so reduced that they could only hardly be enough with maintenance to the monks, half of the year, and made impossible the restoration of the abbey if the pope did not provide for it.

The abbey of Bellebranche of XIVe in XVIe century

The abbey left at the 14th century the strict observance of Bernardins for acceptéer the mitigated rule, said Clémentine , which reduced the abstinence to 4 days per week.

A college established street of the Cup to Angers, close to the bedside of the Notre-Dame church, gave the young monks very facilitated to follow the courses of the Université, and could even be used as asylum at the community in time of war. It was not an useless precuation: a letter of Charles V, of April 4th 1365, attests that the monks lost “ by the ennemys which lengthily still esté and are with feed, and by the catch of the chastel of Sanded, cross, chalices, sanctuaries, books and ornaments, corn, wine, oats; and also by ceulx which prisrent the fort of Saint-Brice who is close to their abbey, with the quarter of mile, which per several times have them very mys with grans and excessive ransoms and have arses and détruictes their houses, manors, mestayries and barns ”.

The letters of safeguard which the monks bought of the English in 1433, and undoubtedly the previous years and following, did not empéchèrent the bands to ruin the abbey almost completely. The peace returned by the expulsion of the enemies of the outside, Jean d' Hierray, bishop of Mans, wanted to deal with the restoration of the monastery. It had the right to make there visit under the terms of a payment, occurred towards 1320, between the Arnaud cardinal and the abbot of Citeaux, by announcing its arrival, by a letter whose terms had been lengthily discussed: “ Significamus vobis, vestrum monasterium intendimus declinare; unde pro nobis, will nostra familia and equitatura will nostra generose providere curetis ”. Jean Rock, abbot of Bellebranche in 1451, in spite of this undeniable right, had not less expressed the intention of it to close the door of the convent to the bishop; he had at least the good spirit to recognize his fault and to go to find Jean d' Hierray with Sablé to make him his excuses (1451). Two police chiefs sent by the bishop to Bellebranche found the church “ any discovery, the furnace bridges reverse, the broken clîtres, part of the dormitories burn, and all the rich person sépulchres lords of Sanded and Chasteau-Gontier, founders and bienfaicteurs of this abbey, break and put in parts; so that it estoit remained only some residences for the dwelling of five or six monks. ” For this calamitous period, the monks had withdrawn themselves with the castle of Sanded. Jean d' Hierray begged with tears the abbot to employ part of his incomes to raise the monastery of his ruins and to make there refleurir the old discipline.

The Commende introduced in Bellebranche one century later (1552) compromised like everywhere the religious spirit of the abbey. It had to suffer at the end of the 16th century, more than any other, of the disorders and the civil war. Plundered by the Huguenots, as of 1567, and by wild the Rene of the Plantation of oaks which made hang several monks, catch and taken again by all the parties, it left this disastrous period only seriously compromised even in its existence.

The abbey of Bellebranche with XVIIe and XVIIIe centuries

Also, when Henri IV had founded the college of the Arrow, thought it of annexing the abbey Mense to him. There was resistance; but however, after the resignation of François de Donnadieu , the pope Paul V promulgated the decree of union in a bubble of June 11th 1607, in favor of the college of the fathers Jésuite S, “ whose zeal, science, the aptitudes for teaching were to get a Christian and solid education with the youth of the city and kingdom ”. The monastery was not to thus be controlled any more from now on but by one triennial prior. As of the following year (1608), the king wanted, to supplement the income that he had promised with his college, to remove even the conventual Mense. This project raised a true storm; the king had to write with Mr. de Brèves , his ambassador in Rome, to make stop the forwarding of the Bref; but at the same time, it manda in Paris Nicolas Boucherat , abbot of Citeaux, and made him accept in exchange of Bellebranche the Abbaye of Buxière , with the diocese of Autun (June 26th 1609). The opposition came then from the monks, who carried felt sorry for in front of the official of the Mans and called like abuse at the Parliament. They had win, took even with lease Jesuits the abbey Mense; they accepted Novice S as in the past, and their number still rose up to 30 profès, without counting the Convers.

They were not any more which 14, and the sifted house of debts, in 1683. To withdraw itself from the reform which the general of the Order required, and threatened to be transferred in another monastery, they treated with the Jesuits, who promised a pension with the Prieur, Jean of Hardas , like with the other monks (February 11th 1684). March 23rd 1684, the abbot of Chaloché and the prior of the Abbaye of Epau came in the name of the superiors to protest against this convention, and the deprived Council in front of which the business was carried links the conventual Mense with the college (stop of October 26th 1686), with load by him to pay all the debts, to maintain the monastery, to discharge the foundations and to ensure a revenue the monks. Those, in the act passed in front of François Ivert , notary with Grez-in-Bouère, by which they accepted preceding conventions, reserved the right to make drive out on the grounds of the abbey and to nourish each one there a horse. They continued to live part of the convent, except the Father Jean of Hardas which became intendant of the marquis de Sablé; the remainder of the convent was at the disposal of the Fathers Jesuits like country house.

That Jean-Baptiste Gresset composed there the alive Lectern (1734), saysaid which makes probable allusion to the employers' festival of Saint Brice.

Six Chapelain S replaced the last monks; the Doctrinary ones succeeded the Jesuits, in Bellebranche as with the Arrow; then the Révolution completed the work of destruction.

Some insermentés were interned in the old buildings while waiting for that one joined together them with their fellow-members, Laval. The last chaplains refused also the schismatic oath. One of them, Joseph Lemercier was locked up with Patience , transported with Bordeaux, stopped again on January 18th 1798, and held with the Abbaye Notre-Dame d' Évron. Another, François-Anne Gouzay , stopped by the gendarmes on March 4th in the country of Saint-Wolf which it évangélisait, locked up in Patience , transported in Rambouillet, died in the Mans. December 2nd 1794, the Chouan S, which had been quartered in the abbey house, were attacked by the garrison of Sanded; the business was hot and the significant losses on each side.

The national sale of the field of Bellebranche took place on February 19th 1793, that of the church on June 1st 1794.

List abbots

Regular abbots

Abbots commendataires

Claustral priors

Structure

At the end of the 19th century the owner, Mr. de Sars, built an elegant castle starting from the ruins of the old abbey home of the 15th century, entirely disfigured, and to which it makes his aspect primitive. The sculptures of the mullioned windows, the pediments, of the doors, are carried out by a craftsman of Mans, Mr. Gaullier.

A sundial gone back to 1711 and the year 1733 engraved on a arrêtier, indicated the time of the modifications (or mutilations) former. The vault with ogival ferrugineous sandstone door found its old windows, which had been walled; one of them is even surmounted from now on escutcheon of the abbey on which one saw an eagle carrying a branch of oak . A large ogival ferrugineous sandstone arc of 6m X 6.60m was reopened on the frontage is: it was perhaps the starting point of a cloister leading to the church or the abbey itself; perhaps also this was the opening of one of these interior porches often used in the castles of the 15th century.

One found small iron crosses of 0.20m length in the walls, and, that and there, of the pilot calcined stones of the fires of the 16th century, when the abbey fell to the hands from the Huguenots. The main building is flanked of one wing in the east and the vault in the west. The northern frontage has a tower engaged in the interior angle and placing the staircase.

Are registered with the inheritance of the Historic buildings since May 21st 1986 (N° note MH: PA00109583): the old vault of the abbey home, the Roman building (wing of the convers, refectory), the home known as vault Saint-Michel ; the site and vestiges of the disappeared churches and cloister (cad. To 13,18,29,30,408,410) .

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