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Origin and history

The Abbey of Saint-Martin de Vertou, located in the commune of Vertou in the Loire-Atlantique, is a former Benedictine abbey founded in the sixth century by Saint Martin de Vertou, a hermit who became a local figure. From the medieval building, there is today only a 17th century porch, inscribed in the historical monuments in 1971, integrated into a private property. This porch, although after the foundation, marks the historic location of the abbey, disappeared after centuries of looting and reconstruction.

The abbey had a turbulent history: looted and burned by the Vikings in 843, it remained abandoned until the tenth century. In the Middle Ages, it regained its influence under abbots like Americus (XI century), which restored the seigneurial rights of the monastery, or Brice, fiercely opposed to the implantation of rival canons. The monastery, then the most powerful in the diocese of Nantes, had a vast estate between the forest of Touffou and the châtellenie of Goulaine, and organized local fairs from the twelfth century.

The transition to merchant provosts from the 15th century marked a gradual decline. Figures such as Cardinal Robert Guibé (named in 1474) or Alain de Coëtivy (1468), papal legate, accumulated the benefits without always preserving the monastery. The current porch, built in the 3rd quarter of the 17th century, is the last witness to this millenium monastic institution, which is now gone.

The site, located in the heart of the village of Vertou between the church of Saint Martin and the town hall, recalls the religious and economic importance of the abbey. Its history, documented by medieval charters and ecclesiastical archives, illustrates the power dynamics between lay lords, clergy and rural communities in Pays de la Loire from the 6th to the 17th century.

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