Abbey of Morimond

The abbey of Morimond is a Abbaye cistercian, located at Fresnoy-in-Bassigny, located in the department of the Haute-Marne, in France. It is the fourth of the four girls abbeys of Cîteaux, with Ferté, Pontigny and Clairvaux. These abbeys had a role of first importance in the organization of the Ordre of Cîteaux.

The name Morimond derives from the Latin mori mundo (“to die in the world”), illustrating the ideal of renouncement of the world of the monks cistercians.

History

Located in the diocese of Langres, Morimond was founded in 1115 by the count Odolric or Ulric d' Aigremont and his Adeline wife of Choiseul, with monks come from Cîteaux under the direction of the first Arnold abbot. Morimond developed quickly, and essaima largely in France, Germany, Poland, Bohemia, Spain, and Cyprus. Among most known of his/her daughters appear the abbey of Ebrach in Germany (1126), the abbey of Heiligenkreuz in Austria (1134), the Abbaye Notre-Dame d' Aiguebelle in France (1137) and the abbey of Sedlec (1142). Morimond continued to take an active part in the foundation of new monasteries cistercians during nearly two centuries, so that at the end of the 18th century, it counts among its filiation more than seven hundred male and female monasteries.

bubble S of several popes placed the principal military orders of Spain under its spiritual jurisdiction, such as:

the Order of Calatrava (1187),
the Order of Alcantara (1214),
the Order of Christ in Portugal (1319),
the Order of the Saints Maurice-and-Lazare in Savoy.

Among the famous monks of the abbey, one counts Otto de Freising, wire of the margrave Léopold IV of Austria: he studied with Paris then entered to the abbey, of which he became the abbot. The pope Benoit XII, third of the popes of Avignon, began his career with Morimond.

Structure

The abbey church, in Latin cross, was built in a severe and stripped style, in accordance with esthetics cistercian, without turns or ornaments. In 1572, during the wars of religion, then again in 1636 during the War Thirty Year old, Morimond was destroyed. It was sold like Bien national with the French revolution. Only the church survived, but fell in ruin at the 19th century.

Nowadays, only a fragment of the northern wing of the church remains of the medieval structures. The vault Sainte Ursule dates from the 15th century, while the main door, the library and some houses testify to constructions of the 18th century. One also finds traces of the hydraulic infrastructures built to make function the forging mills and mills of the abbey.

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