Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Notre Dame de Barbery Abbey, founded on 13 April 1176 by Robert Marmion, seigneur of Fontenay-le-Marmion, was initially a barn dependent on Savigny Abbey. Transferred to its current site near Barbery in 1181, it became a prosperous Cistercian abbey. His abbey church was dedicated in 1247 under the abbatiate of Philip I. The abbey was home to learned monks, such as Gervais de Barbery, the author of a 13th century bestiary.

In the 16th century, the abbey was looted by Calvinists (1563), then placed under the regime of commende, falling in decline. A reform led by Louis II Quinet in 1639 gave Barbery a reputation of monastic rigour, comparable to that of the Trappe. In the 18th century, reconstruction work was undertaken under the abbots Peter II of Poisson and Louis III Alderic of Lastours, but remained unfinished for lack of means. An earthquake in 1776 severely damaged the towers.

The French Revolution rang the abbey: sold as a national good in 1791, it was gradually dismantled. Today, only a side wall of the church remains, scattered buildings (including a 14th century), a gallery of the re-used cloister, and a doorway transformed into a dwelling. Among the vestiges of furniture, a statue of St Benedict and a Virgin (1710–133) are preserved in the church of Barbery.

The archives of Calvados preserve 12th century founding documents, testifying to its historical importance. The site, listed as a historical monument in 2005, extends over the communes of Barbery and Bretteville-sur-Laize, in a wooded valley crossed by the Val-Clair Creek. His coat of arms, with gules sown with golden acorns, recalls his Cistercian heritage.

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