Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The abbey of Notre-Dame de Soissons was founded between 658 and 666 by Ébroin, mayor of the palace of the Merovingian kings, who installed Ætheria, a nun from the Abbey of Jouarre. Draussin, bishop of Soissons, gave him his rule around 660. As a royal abbey under the Carolingians, it was led by influential abbesses like Gisèle, sister of Charlemagne, and Rotrude. His property was restored in 993 by Hugues Capet after spoliations in the 10th century.

In the Middle Ages, the abbey experienced an architectural and social boom. In 1184 she had canals built to bring running water, and Abbess Catherine de Bourbon built the refectory, an infirmary and cloisters. The abbey's hold on Soissons extended over four arpents under Henriette d'Elbeuf. The abbey housed up to four churches, including that of Notre-Dame for nuns and that of Sainte-Croix for funeral services.

The abbey played a major hospital role from the Carolingian era, with a first hospital mentioned under Charles le Chauve. In 1230, a new hospital was built near the river, served by conversants under the authority of the abbess. The tombs of the abbesses and benefactors, like Drassin or Catherine de Bourbon, adorned the church before they were scattered to the Revolution. Dissolved in 1791, the abbey fell into ruin, leaving only remains like two Romanesque windows classified in 1913.

Among the notable abbesses were Élisabeth de Châtillon, who had a collateral built at the church in the 14th century, and Antoinette-Louise de Lorraine-Aumale, who changed the habit of the nuns in the 17th century. The abbey also welcomed personalities like Thomas de Canterbury in 1165. His income came from land like Guny's, donated by Charles Le Chauve in 858.

External links