Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Abbey of Grandselve, or Grandis Silva, was founded in 1114 by Géraud de Salles under the Benedictine rule, before joining the Order of Cîteaux in 1144. Located in Gascogne, near Verdun-sur-Garonne, it depended on the diocese of Toulouse and became a major spiritual and economic centre of Midi. Its church, 100 meters long, was consecrated in 1253 after decades of construction. The abbey controlled a vast estate of 20,000 hectares, operating mills, tiles, vineyards, and possessing property in Toulouse, Paris, and Bordeaux, where it shipped 300 barrels of wine per year.

Grandselve founded several abbey girls, including Fontfroide (1144) and Santes Creus (1152), and participated in the creation of the bastides of Beaumont-de-Lomagne (1279) and Granada (1290). Protected by figures such as Richard Coeur de Lion or Philippe le Hardi, it declined from the 14th century, victim of wars (Cent Years, English companies) and the regime of commende. In 1791 the monks gave up, and the buildings were sold as national property before being demolished between 1793 and 1815.

Today, only the portery of the eighteenth century remains, from the capitals to the Ingres-Bourdelle Museum (Montauban), and seven reliquaries preserved in the church of Bouillac. The remains bear witness to its past influence, while local archives and studies (such as those of Mireille Mousnier) perpetuate its memory. The abbey illustrates the Cistercian influence in Occitania, mixing spiritual power, agricultural innovations, and urbanist role via the bastids.

External links