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Origin and history

Saint-Martin des Deux-Jumeaux Abbey, located in Calvados, Normandy, is a former Benedictine abbey transformed into a priory. Founded in the late 6th or early 7th century, it is attributed to Saint Martin de Vertou, a nantese religious. According to legend, the latter would have raised two unbaptized children, who then took the monastic habit. This miracle would have inspired the name of the place and the abbey.

The abbey was mentioned as early as the reign of Dagobert I (629-639), then under Pépin the Short (751-768), where the bishop of Mans, Herlemont, took refuge with his brother, then Abbé. Under Charles le Chauve (843-877), it beats currency, confirming its economic importance. Destroyed during the Viking raids, it was rebuilt before 1138, then given around 1190 to the Abbey of Cerisy, becoming a simple priory. At the Revolution, it still depended on Cerisy, having adopted the reform of Saint-Maur.

The present church, dated the 12th century, succeeds two older shrines and preserves Carolingian remains. Excavations (1958-1961) revealed an underlying Gallo-Roman habitat. The priory, which was listed as a historical monument in 1927, houses a bell of 1859. The church, classified since 1914, bears witness to Norman monastic history, linked to figures such as Abbé Magnoveus and Bishop John, quoted in a local martyrologe.

The site, marked by donations of English and Norman lands, illustrates the transmanche links of medieval times. The preserved archives confirm his term dedicated to Saint Martin de Vertou. Today, the priory and his church offer a rare example of the forty monastic establishments recorded in Normandy, mixing religious, architectural and legendary heritage.

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