Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Trinité, Fécamp
This vast and austerely
beautiful church owes its scale to
a casket containing the Holy Blood
of Christ, said to have been
washed ashore in the trunk of a
fig tree in the 1st century. The
abbey built on the spot in the early
13th century attracted streams of
pilgrims. Le Précieux Sang is still
venerated today
(see p78)
.
Top 10 Religious
Figures
St Ouen
Credited with reviving
Christian zeal in the Rouen
region, as a result of which
several abbeys were founded.
St Philibert
Gascon court favourite and
protégé of St Ouen. Founded
Jumièges in the 7th century.
Hambye
Lord of the Manor Guillaume
Paynel founded the abbey in
1145. Always a small community,
its fortunes declined over the
years, and in 1784 it was declared
defunct. In the 19th century, the
buildings were quarried for stone;
only in the 20th were the noble
ruins we see today saved from
further destruction
(see p98)
.
St Wandrille
The nobleman founder (in
649) of the eponymous abbey.
Known as God's True Athlete
for his remarkable physique.
St Aubert
Bishop of Avranches, to
whom, legend has it, the
Archangel Gabriel appeared in
708, ordering him to build a
chapel on Mont St-Michel.
Lanfranc
Influential Italian lawyer-
monk (1005-1089). Became
William the Conqueror's
Archbishop at Canterbury.
La Trappe
Founded in 1140, La Trappe
was one of the Cistercian
monasteries which adopted the
Strict Observance - silence,
prayer, abstinence, manual labour
- introduced by Abbé de Rancé in
the 1660s. Thereafter, they were
known as Trappist monasteries;
there is another at Briquebec
(see
p100)
.
d
Soligny-la-Trappe
•
Map F5, H5
St Anselm
Philosopher-monk (1033-
1109) who joined Lanfranc at
Bec and succeeded him as
Archbishop of Canterbury.
Joan of Arc
Teenage soldier (1412-31)
whose “voices” told her to
save France from the English.
Captured and burnt at the
stake. Canonized in 1920.
Guillaume de la
Tremblaye
Benedictine monk at Bec,
who was a master architect
and sculptor (1644-1715).
Abbot de Rancé
Nobleman who renounced
his former life and founded
the Trappists in 1664.
St Therèse Martin
Deeply spiritual young nun
(1873-97) whose shrine at
Lisieux is venerated.
Abbaye St-Georges, St-Martin-de-Boscherville
For more on Joan of Arc
See p23
47
