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Origin and history

The priory of Fontaines-les-Nonnes, located in Douy-la-Ramee (Seine-et-Marne), was founded in 1124 by Pétronille, abbess of Fontevrault, and Burchard, bishop of Meaux, under the authority of Fontevrault. This double monastery, composed of a convent of women and a convent of separated men, prospered thanks to the donations of the Counts of Champagne and the local lords. Its development was marked by works of charity and a rigorous organization, inspired by the Benedictine rule, where the nuns (sisters of choirs and converses) lived cloistered under the authority of a prioress.

In the 13th century, the priory suffered a major fire in 1215, requiring a reconstruction financed by Guillaume II des Barres, hero of the Battle of Bouvines. Wars (Cent Years, Jacquerie, religious conflicts) and climate crises (famines, epidemics) weakened settlement in the 14th and 16th centuries. Despite successive reconstructions, especially after 1450 under the impulse of Marie de Bretagne, abbess of Fontevraud, the priory declined in the face of looting and the wars of Religion.

The French Revolution rang the glass of Fontaines-les-Nonnes. In 1792, the 32 nuns and 3 priests were expelled, buildings devastated and property sold as national property. Only a chapel (classified as a Historic Monument in 1931 for its tombstones, including that of Guillaume des Barres) and a farm remained. The estate, bought in 1795 by the Samson family, later became the "Parc de Fontaine", where some remains (such as the "Bois des Dames") recall its monastic past.

The Priory was a major spiritual and economic center in the Multien, possessing lands, mills, and seigneurial rights. His organization reflected the factional rule: women held authority there, while men (priests or conversants) provided spiritual and material needs. The nuns, often from the nobility, lived in a strict fence, rhythmic by prayer, work and charity. The archives mention 86 priores from 1182 to 1792, including Louise-Adélaïde des Laurens de Montserein, the last holder.

Architecturally, the priory consisted of two distinct enclosures (that of the nuns to the south, larger, and that of the fathers to the north), a Sainte-Marie church, claustral buildings, a hotel, and agricultural outbuildings. The excavations and cadastral plans of the 19th century reveal traces of the foundations, while the chapel of Saint John, still standing, houses medieval funeral slabs. The site, today private, retains a fragmentary memory of this religious and feudal heritage.

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