Abbaye du Thoronet
Chronology of Thoronet Abbey
1098 - origination of the primary Trappist religious residence at Cîteaux, near
Dijon, in Burgundy, by Henry M. Robert American state Molesme.
1136 - a bunch of Trappist monks from the Abbey of Mazan, a "granddaughter" of
the religious residence at Citeaux, found a brand new religious residence known
as Notre-dame-des-Floriéges, within the power unit region.
1140 - Raimond and Etienne des Baux present land for a brand new religious
residence in an exceedingly remote mountain vale forty five kilometers northwest
of Fréjus.
about 1157 The monks move from Floriéges to lupus Thoronet
about 1176 to 1200 Construction of the monastery[1]
1176 - Alphonse I, the Count of French region, confirms the Abbey property.
1199 - the folk singer Folquet American state Marseille becomes archimandrite of
lupus Thoronet.[2]
1785 - The Abbey is asserted bankrupt and secularised.
1791 an acquisition of Abbey property is proclaimed -
1840 Thoronet Abbey is one in every of the primary buildings in France to be
classified associate historical monument.
1841 - Restoration of the religious residence begins.
1854 - the French Government purchases the cloister and monks quarters.
1938 - the remainder of the religious residence is purchased by the French
Government.
History
The Abbey Church
Vaulted ceiling
In 1098 Henry M. Robert American state Molesme based a "new monastery" at
Cîteaux in Burgundy, as a reaction to what he saw because the excessive luxury
and decoration of Benedictine monasteries, beneath the direction of Cluny. He
immersed a stricter observance of the Rule of St Benedict, written within the
sixth century, and a sober aesthetic that emphasised volume, light, and fine
masonry, eliminating the distraction of details.[3]
Under Claude Bernard of Clairvaux, the Trappist Order began a fast growth. By
the time of his death in 1154, there have been 280 Trappist monasteries in
France - by the tip of the twelfth century, over 500.
The first Trappist community in French region had settled at Notre-Dame American
state Florielle, on the Florieyes stream close to Tourtour. wherever that they
had been given land by the native lords of Castellane. the primary website
apparently wasn't satisfactory for his or her system of agriculture, therefore
in concerning 1157 they moved twenty-five kilometers south, to land they already
closely-held at lupus Thoronet. The new website had the benefits of additional
fertile lands, many streams and a spring.
It is not identified specifically once the religious residence was designed,
however work was most likely afoot in 1176, once the title to the property was
confirmed by the Count of French region. the whole religious residence was
designed right away, that helps make a case for its uncommon subject area unity.
The church was most likely designed 1st, at the tip of the twelfth century,
followed by the remainder of the religious residence within the early thirteenth
century.
The first identified archimandrite of lupus Thoronet was Folquet American state
Marseille, nonappointive in 1199. Born concerning 1150 into a family of Genovese
merchants, he had an interesting career, 1st as a folk singer, a musician and
singer of laic love songs, United Nations agency was notable throughout medieval
Europe. In 1195 he left his musical career and have become a monk, then abbot,
then, in 1205, the Bishop of metropolis. but a century when his death, Dante
honored him by putting him collectively of the inhabitants of Paradise, in
Paradiso Canto IX.[4]
In the thirteenth century, there have been no over twenty-five monks within the
religious residence, however cash came in from donations, and also the Abbey
closely-held in depth lands between higher French region and also the
Mediterranean coast. the foremost vital trade for the religious residence was
raising kine and sheep. The meat was sold-out on the native market, and also the
skins of sheep were used for creating parchment, that was employed in the
scriptorium of the religious residence. The Abbey additionally operated salt
ponds at Hyères, and fisheries on the coast at Martigues, Hyères and Saint-Maxime.
Fish that wasn't needed at the Abbey was sold-out on the native market.
Much of the farming and administration was done by the lay brothers, monks drawn
from a lower socio-economic class, United Nations agency shared the religious
residence with the choir monks, United Nations agency were educated and
infrequently from noble families. The lay brothers didn't participate within the
choir or within the choices of the religious residence, and slept in an
exceedingly separate building.
By the fourteenth century, the religious residence was in decline. In 1328, the
archimandrite defendant his own monks of attempting to rob the native villagers,
being solely many years when the good Famine. In 1348, French region was ruined
once more, now by the bubonic plague that additional reduced the population. By
1433, there have been solely four monks living at lupus Thoronet.
In the fourteenth century, the popes at Avignon began the follow of naming
outsiders because the abbots of monasteries, command in commendam. within the
fifteenth century, this privilegge was condemned by the kings of France, United
Nations agency typically selected abbots for monetary or political reasons. The
new abbots in commendam received a share of the monastery's financial gain,
however didn't reside there. By the sixteenth century, whereas the abbey church
was maintained, the opposite buildings were for the most part in ruins. The
religious residence was most likely abandoned for a time throughout the Wars of
faith.
The Fountain, the sole ornamental component within the Abbey, was additional
within the eighteenth century once the archimandrite relaxed the foundations
In the eighteenth century, the archimandrite set the order's rules were too
strict, and additional ornamental options, like statues, a fountain. associated
an avenue of chestnut trees. The Abbey was deeply in debt, and in 1785, the
abbot, United Nations agency lived in Bourges, declared bankruptcy. lupus
Thoronet was desecrated in 1785, and also the seven remaining monks moved to
alternative churches or monasteries. The building was to be sold-out in 1791,
however the state officers responsible of the sale declared that the church,
cemetery, fountain and row of chestnut trees were "treasures of art and
architecture", that ought to stay "the Property of the state." [5] the remainder
of the religious residence buildings and lands were sold-out.
In 1840, the ruined buildings came to the eye of Prosper Mérimée, a author and
also the 1st official inspector of monuments. it absolutely was entered onto the
primary list of French Monuments historiques, and restoration of the church and
tower began in 1841. In 1854 the state bought the cloister, chapter-house, court
and dormitory, and in 1938, bought the remaining components of the religious
residence still privately possession.
Since 1978, the members of a non secular order, the Sisters of Bethlehem, are
celebrating Sunday Mass within the abbey.
The Abbey buildings
Following the Rule of St. Benedict, Thoronet Abbey was designed to be associate
autonomous community, taking care of all of its own wants. The monks lived
isolated within the center of this community, wherever access by laymen was
strictly taboo.
The design of the Abbey was associate expression of the spiritual beliefs of the
Cistercians. It used the foremost basic and pure elements; rock, light, and
water, to make associate austere, pure and easy world for the monks United
Nations agency owner-occupied it. the location of the church virtually atop a
rock symbolized[citation needed] the precept of building upon sturdy religion.
The simplicity of the look was imagined to inspire a straightforward life, and
also the turning away of distractions.
The Abbey was made of plainly-cut stones taken from a quarry procurable. All the
stones were a similar kind and color and matched the stony ground round the
church, giving a harmony to the ensemble. The stones were rigorously cut and
placed to supply sleek stone surfaces, to avoid any flaws or visual
distractions.
The water was an important issue for the Trappist monks; it absolutely was used
for drinking and preparation, for powering the mill, and for spiritual
ceremonies, like the mandatum, that befell once every week. The monks devised an
explicit water system, that most likely provided running water within the room
and for the fountains wherever the monks washed, furthermore as pure water for
spiritual ceremonies.
The Abbey Church
Depositoire on the south wall of the abbey church
The Abbey church is placed on the best purpose of the location, and is within
the style of a cross, concerning forty metres long and twenty metres wide,
orientating east-west, with the choir and altar at the east finish, as is
common. the outside is absolutely plain, with no decoration. Since solely the
monks were allowable within, there's no monumental entrance, however solely 2
easy doors, for the lay brothers on the left and also the monks on the correct.
The door for the monks was called the "Door of the Dead", for the bodies of
monks United Nations agency had died were taken out through this door when a
mass. They were 1st placed on a depositoire, an extended shelf by the south
wall, then buried directly within the earth of the graveyard.
The simple tower was most likely made between 1170 and 1180, and is over thirty
meters high. Order rules prohibited bell towers of stone or of undue height,
however exceptions were created in French region, wherever north wind winds blew
away additional fragile picket structures.
Inside, the church consists of a main area with 3 bays lined with a pointed
vault, and 2 aspect aisles. The arches supporting the vault rest upon
half-columns, that rest upon rigorously graven stone bases concerning 2 meters
halfway up the walls of the area.
Interior, facing east
The choir at the japanese finish finishes with a half-dome domed niche with 3
curved arched windows, symbolizing[citation needed] the Trinity. 3 arcades
within the area provide access to the opposite components of the building. There
area unit 2 little chapels within the apses of the structure, aligned a similar
manner because the main sanctuary, as within the Trappist abbeys of Cîteaux and
Clairvaux.
The chevet of the Abbey, the semi-circular area behind the altar, has no
decoration, however the refinement of the worksmanship, furthermore because the
absolutely rounded type, was itself associate expression of the spiritual ideas
of the Cistercians. The circle was imagined to approach the perfection of the
divine, as hostile the sq., that belonged within the laic world.[citation
needed]
The 3 windows within the niche, the spherical eye on top of, draw attention to
the altar. Facing east, they catch the primary morning light-weight, and face a
similar direction from that Christ was expected to come to earth. They and also
the four little windows within the structure let in precisely enough
light-weight to present life to the stone within, significantly at the time of
the sunrise and sunset, that were additionally the days of the foremost vital
spiritual services, lauds and vespers. the sunshine coming back through the
windows modified the colour of the stone and created slowly moving shapes of
darkness and lightweight, marking the passage of your time, the essential
component of the life within the religious residence.
The pale stained-glass windows date to 1935 - they were recreated following the
model of 12th-century glass from Obazine Abbey within the Corrèze.
The Monks' Building
The monks building is found to the north of the church, and is connected to that
by stairways, that allowed the monks direct access to services.
The Dormitory: one monk slept ahead of every window.
The dormitory is on the higher floor of the monks' building. The archimandrite
had a separate cell on the left aspect, up a brief steps. The dormitory was lit
by rows of curved windows. A monk slept ahead of every window.
The vestry, an area 2 meters high, 3 meters wide and 4 meters long, with one
window, designed against the church structure, was wherever the church vestments
and sacred vestments were unbroken. It had direct access to the church through a
door into the structure. The church officer was responsible of the treasury of
the Abbey, rang the dormitory bell for the night services, and climbed to the
roof to form astromical observations to see the precise time for spiritual
services, relying upon the season.
Entrance to the armarium
The armarium (library) may be a three-meter by three-meter space on the lower
level of the monks' building, gap onto the cloister. The armarium contained the
laic books used often by the monks. it's believed that it contained books of
drugs, geometry, music, astrology, and also the classical works of Aristotle,
Ovid, Horace and Plato.
The Chapter House, wherever the monks met daily
The Chapter House, or The capitular Hall, was the area wherever the monks met
daily for a reading of 1 chapter of the rule of St. Benedict, and to debate
community problems. Election of latest abbots additionally befell during this
space. Its design - with cross-ribbed vaults resting on 2 columns with
embellished capitals, was the foremost refined within the religious residence,
and showed the influence of the new Gothic vogue. The walls and columns date to
concerning 1170, the vaulting to 1200-1240.
During the reading of the Rule and discussions, the monks were sitting upon
picket benches, and also the archimandrite was sitting at the east, facing the
entry. the most sculptural component may be a easy cross of the order on the
south column, before that the monks would bow in brief. A hand holding a cross,
the image of authority of the archimandrite, is carved on the capital of the
north column. He was typically buried during this space, so when death his
memory would boost the authority of the living archimandrite.
The Hall of the Monks, was at the north finish of the monks' building, however
fell into ruins, and tiny remains. the area was used for creating covering, as a
workshop, for the coaching of the new monks, and as a scriptorium, the area
wherever manuscripts were written, since it absolutely was the sole heated space
within the abbey.
The Cloister
In the cloister
The cloister, within the middle of the religious residence, was the middle of
religious residence life. It measures concerning thirty meters on a aspect, is
within the form of associate elongated trapezoid, and follows the parcel,
sloping downward from the monks' building toward the stream. Despite its odd
form, and its location on terribly uneven ground, it manages to keep up its
subject area unity, and to mix with its natural environment; in some places the
rock of the incline becomes a part of the design.
Eastern arcade of the cloister
Construction began in 1175, creating the cloister of Thoronet one in every of
the oldest existing Trappist cloisters. The south gallery is that the oldest,
followed by the east gallery, next to the chapter house, that incorporates a
additional fashionable slightly pointed vault ceiling. the development was
completed by the north gallery, beside the previous dining-hall, and also the
west gallery. At a later date a second level of galleries was designed,
additionally since disappeared.
The thick walls of the galleries, their double arcades, the straightforward
spherical openings over every central column, and also the plain capitals
provide the cloister a specific power and ease.
The Lavabo, wherever the monks washed before services
A lavabo, or laundry fountain, stands within the cloister ahead of what had been
the doorway to the dining-hall. it's placed in its own polygon structure, with a
vault roof. The water came from a close-by spring, and was employed by the monks
for laundry, shaving, tonsure, and doing laundry. The washbowl may be a
reconstruction, supported a fraction of the initial central basin.
The former North Wing
The north wing of a Trappist religious residence, facing the church,
historically contains the dining-hall (dining room), the kitchens and also the
calefactive, or heated room. The north wing fell into ruins and was abandoned in
1791.
Building for Lay Brothers
The wing of the religious residence for the lay brothers dates to the thirteenth
century, well when the opposite buildings. The building was 2 stories high, with
a eating space on the bottom floor and a dormitory on top of. 2 arches of the
building cross the Tombareu stream. The latrines were situated during this a
part of the building.
The Cellar
The cellar may be a long rectangual space connected to the east gallery of the
cloister. This building has undergone varied remodelings, and isn't any longer
its original form. within the sixteenth Ccntury it absolutely was become a
cellar, and also the wine presses will still be seen.
Le Thoronet and architect
Thoronet Abbey had a major influence upon country designer architect Following
the Second war, Father clothes designer, a Dominican priest and creative person,
United Nations agency had contacts with up to date artists painter, painter,
painter and capital of South Dakota Bonnard, invited architect to style a
convent at La Tourette, on the brink of city. Father Coutourier wrote to
architect in 1953: "I hope that you just will visit lupus Thoronet, which you'll
like that place. It looks to American state that there you'll notice the essence
of what a religious residence should are like at the time it absolutely was
built; an area wherever men lived by a vow of silence, devoted themselves to
reflection and meditation and a communal life that has not modified a great deal
over time." architect visited Thoronet, and wrote a writing concerning his
visit, together with the observation, "the light-weight and also the shadow area
unit the loudspeakers of this design of truth." The convent that he eventually
designed incorporates a variety of options impressed by Thoronet, together with
the tower and also the easy volumes, and also the alternating full and empty
areas created by bright light-weight falling on the walls.
The Influence of lupus Thoronet
The British designer John Pawson additionally used Thoronet as an idea for the
Trappist abbey of Novy Dvur within the European nation (2004).
Le Thoronet was a supply of inspiration for the Belgian author Henry Bauchau
(born 1913), United Nations agency printed in 1966 La capital of South Dakota
Sans Chagrin.
In 1964, the French designer Fernand Pouillon printed Les pierres sauvages,
associate historical novel within the style of the journal of a master employee
at the abbey. It won the prix des Deux Magots (1965) and was praised by Umberto
Eco as "a fascinating contribution to the understanding of the center Ages."
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