Port Royal des Champs - Magny-les-Hameaux (Les Yvelines), France - Abbeys, Convents and Monasteries on Waymarking.com

[FR] Cet endroit fut le théâtre d’une intense vie religieuse, intellectuelle et politique du XIIIe siècle à nos jours. D’abord simple abbaye cistercienne féminine au cœur du bassin parisien, Port-Royal devient au XVIIe siècle l’un des hauts lieux de la réforme catholique puis l'un des symboles de la contestation politique et religieuse face à l’absolutisme royal et aux réformes théologiques et ecclésiologiques de l’Église tridentine.

Attirant ou repoussant, il fascine le monde intellectuel et religieux du XVIIe siècle.
Les Jésuites, par l'intermédiaire du roi Louis XIV, et après de multiples entraves et suppression de revenus financiers, font chasser les religieux de Port-Royal des Champs en 1709 et, en 1712 l'abbaye fut « rasée par la poudre » sur ordre du Conseil d'État sous l'autorité de Louis XIV7, l’abbaye et son domaine deviennent des lieux de mémoire et d’histoire, séduisant et inspirant visiteurs et intellectuels.

[EN] The abbey was established in 1204, but became famous when its discipline was reformed in 1609 by its abbess, Mother Marie Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661).

In 1625 most of the nuns moved to a new Port-Royal in Paris, which subsequently became Port-Royal de Paris (or, more commonly, Port-Royal) while the older one was known as Port-Royal des Champs ("Port-Royal of the fields").

At the original site, several schools were founded, which became known as the "Little Schools of Port-Royal" (Les Petites-Ecoles de Port-Royal). These schools became famous for the high quality of the education they gave. Playwright Jean Racine was a product of Port-Royal education. In 1634 Jean du Vergier de Hauranne, Abbé de Saint-Cyran, became spiritual director of the abbey; he was a companion of Jansenius and the implementer of Jansenism in France. From that point forward, the abbeys and schools of Port-Royal became intimately associated with that school of theology.

La logique, ou l'art de penser, the Logique de Port-Royal, was an important textbook on logic first published anonymously in 1662 by Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole, two prominent members of the Jansenist movement; Blaise Pascal likely contributed considerable portions of the text.

As a result of the Jesuit attacks on Jansenism, the schools of Port-Royal were regarded as tainted with heresy. Louis XIV wanting peace in the church, the elementary schools were forcibly closed by papal bull in 1660, following the formulary controversy. In 1661, the monastery was forbidden to accept novices, heralding its eventual dissolution. The abbey itself was abolished by a bull from Pope Clement XI in 1708, the remaining nuns forcibly removed in 1709, most of the buildings themselves razed in 1711. The chapel, containing Mère Angélique's tomb, as well as some buildings, still exist in the vast grounds of what eventually became Paris' leading maternity hospital, known as Port-Royal Hospital.

Full name of the abbey/monastery/convent: Port Royal des Champs Address: Les Granges de Port-Royal Magny-les-Hameaux, Religious affiliation: Cistertian Date founded/constructed: 1204 Web Site: [Web Link] Status of Use: Converted to Other Use

Visit Instructions:
Describe your visit, including the date, with as much detail as possible, AND contribute at least ONE PHOTO, original, different from those already in the gallery, if possible.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.