Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hamage Abbey, located in Wandignies-Hamage on the right bank of the Scarpe, is founded between 625 and 639 by Saint Gertrude, widow of Rigomar, according to the Gallia christiana. This female monastery, dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Eusebius, became Benedictine after the year 1000. Saint Eusebie, granddaughter of Gertrude, took over at the age of 12 in 649 and died in 660-23 years. A second Gertrude built a church dedicated to the Virgin, consecrated in 686 by Saint Vindicien, bishop of Arras and Cambrai. The site briefly welcomes Saint Amé around 680 before leaving for Merville.

In 877, a diploma from Charles II le Chauve organized the sharing of wine produced by the local vineyard between the abbeys of Marchiennes and Hamage. However, the Viking raids of 881-883 destroyed the monastery, marked as "omnia monastery supra Hisscar fluvium". In 1028, Abbé Leduin de Saint-Vaast, by order of the Count of Flanders Baudouin, hunts the nuns and ties Hamage to Marchiennes. Between 1103 and 1105, Abbé Fulcard put the two abbeys at risk, before a Benedictine priory was restored in 1133 by monks of Marchiennes, remaining until the Revolution.

Archaeological excavations, initiated in 1991, reveal Merovingian and Carolingian remains over 2,000 m2, including a chapel, a seventh-century sanctuary, and artifacts such as engraved cups (e.g. "Aughilde", "NDI"). The site, shortly after its destruction in the 9th century, also contains traces of wooden buildings, fireplaces, and tableware. In 1712, during the Battle of Denain, the priory served briefly as a military post for allied troops before being abandoned.

The abbey, originally founded as a women's community, illustrates the monastic dynamics of the High Middle Ages in the North, between Merovingian foundations, Benedictine reforms, and Viking destruction. Its history also reflects the close links with the abbey of Marchiennes, on which it will depend after the 11th century, as well as its role in the local religious and economic landscape, notably via viticulture.

Hydrologically, the site is located 15 metres above sea level on the Scarpe, a historic river axis. Written and archaeological sources underline its importance as a spiritual and artisanal home, marked by religious inscriptions ("in nomine domini") and everyday objects (dish, tools), bearing witness to an active monastic life until its early disappearance.

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