Abbaye aux Hommes - Caen (Normandie), France
N 49° 10.898 W 000° 22.318
30U E 691511 N 5450972
[FR] L'abbaye aux Hommes est une des deux grandes abbayes, avec l'abbaye aux Dames, fondées par Guillaume le Conquérant à Caen. [EN] The Abbey of Saint-Étienne is a former Benedictine monastery in the French city of Caen, Normandy.
Waymark Code: WMTGA2
Location: Normandie, France
Date Posted: 11/20/2016
Views: 11
Text taken from wikipedia and the Caen tourist office website.
[FR] Elle s'élève à l'ouest du centre-ville ancien et donna le nom de Bourg-l'Abbé au quartier qui l'entoure. L'église Saint-Étienne, l'ancienne abbatiale est devenue église paroissiale après la Révolution. Les bâtiments conventuels transformés en lycée au XIXe siècle abritent depuis les années 1960 l'hôtel de ville. L'abbaye offre un très bel ensemble architectural construit entre les XIe et XVIIIe siècles et l'impact de l'église Saint-Étienne de Caen est essentiel sur l'histoire de l'Art en Normandie et en Angleterre.
L'abbaye Saint-Étienne de Caen, SANCTS STEPHANUS CADOMEUSIG ou abbaye-aux-Homme est une abbaye bénédictine du diocèse de Bayeux, de la province ecclésiastique de Rouen.
C’est en rachat de l’irrégularité de son mariage avec Mathilde de Flandres, sa lointaine cousine, que Guillaume, duc de Normandie et futur Conquérant de l’Angleterre, fonda en 1063, l’Abbaye-aux-Hommes. Les travaux débutèrent en 1066, sous la direction de Lanfranc de Pavie, qui devint le premier abbé de cette prestigieuse abbaye bénédictine dédiée à Saint-Etienne.
En 1790, la révolution chassa les moines de leur monastère. En 1802, l’église abbatiale devint paroissiale, et, deux ans plus tard, les bâtiments conventuels furent affectés au lycée de garçons. L’été 1944, le lycée et l’église servirent de refuge aux Caennais et sortirent intacts des bombardements. En 1961, le lycée Malherbe quitta les lieux pour une nouvelle construction laissant ainsi la place aux services municipaux. En janvier 1965, l’ancienne Abbaye-aux-Hommes devint le siège de l’Hôtel de Ville de Caen, l’un des plus beaux de France encore aujourd’hui.
[EN] It was founded in 1063 by William the Conqueror and is one of the most important Romanesque buildings in Normandy.
The concurrent founding of the Abbey of Saint-Étienne to the West of the Caen Castle and the Abbey of Sainte-Trinité (Abbaye aux Dames) to its East seems to be a direct result of the reconciliation process of William, Duke of Normandy (soon after to become William I, King of England), and Pope Leo IX. William fell out with the pope when he married his cousin Matilda of Flanders after 1049 despite Leo's interdiction. Lanfranc of Pavia, Prior of Bec Abbey, who himself had initially expressed concerns regarding the marriage, acted on William's behalf to secure Leo's forgiveness. For this successful service, Lanfranc was made abbot of Saint-Étienne.
The abbey was to be built in Caen stone, and construction began in 1066. For many decades during the 11th century, there was a mutually fruitful competition between Saint-Étienne and its sister building Sainte-Trinité.
An important feature added to both churches in about 1120 was the ribbed vault, used for the first time in France. The two abbey churches are considered forerunners of the Gothic. The original Romanesque apse was replaced in 1166 by an early Gothic chevet, complete with rosette windows and flying buttresses. Nine towers and spires were added in the 13th century. The interior vaulting shows a similar progression, beginning with early sexpartite vaulting (using circular ribs) in the nave and progressing to quadripartite vaults (using pointed ribs) in the sanctuary.
The Benedictine abbey was suppressed during the French Revolution and the abbey church became a parish church.
From 1804 to 1961, the abbey buildings accommodated a prestigious high school, the Lycée Malherbe. During the Normandy Landings, inhabitants of Caen found refuge in the church; on the rooftop there was a red cross, made with blood on a sheet, to show that it was a hospital (to avoid bombings).
Full name of the abbey/monastery/convent: Abbaye Saint-Étienne de Caen
Address:
Esplanade Jean-Marie Louvel
Caen, France
Religious affiliation: Originally Benedictine
Date founded/constructed: 11th Century
Web Site: [Web Link]
Status of Use: Converted to Other Use
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