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Origin and history

The abbey of Saint Urbain, originally named abbey of the Holy Trinity, was probably founded around 862 by Erchenraud, bishop of Châlons, who placed relics of Saint Urbain there. Although tradition also attributes its foundation to Charlemagne, the abbey recognizes four founders: Charlemagne, Lothaire, Charles le Chauve and Erchenraud, honoured on the pillars of his jube after the reconstructions of the sixteenth century. It became a royal abbey thanks to imperial and royal gifts.

In the Middle Ages, the abbey was protected by local lords such as the Counts of Bar and the Sisters of Joinville, although they had prolonged conflicts with the monks, sometimes requiring papal intervention. In 1323 it was sacked by armed bands, forcing the transfer of the relics to Chaumont. Subsequently strengthened, she welcomed Jeanne d'Arc in 1429 on her journey to King Charles VII. Ravaged in 1440 by the Count of Vaudémont, it was rebuilt with the help of the king.

In modern times, the abbey suffered the wars of Religion (destructed from 1568) before being reformed in 1648 by the congregation of Saint-Vannes, thus regaining its monastic discipline. In the 18th century, it housed about twenty monks and a college teaching humanities. The French Revolution ended its existence: declared national, its church was destroyed, and only a few remains remain today, classified as historical monuments in 1947.

The relics of Saint Urbain, but also those of saints such as Epiphanus, Amand or Sacerdos, made the abbey a place of pilgrimage. Among his notable abbots, Arnoult d'Aulnoy (who received Jeanne d'Arc) and John IV du Châtelet (abbé at the end of the 15th century) marked his history. The abbots, like the cardinals of Lorraine, administered the abbey until its disappearance in 1789.

The preserved buildings, including the house of the ladies and the 15th century doorway, still bear witness to its past. The abbey played a cultural role with his college, forming scholars like the Hellenist Nicolas Furgault. Its decline is part of the broader context of the secularization of ecclesiastical goods during the Revolution.

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