Grande-Sauve Abbey or Sauve-Majeure Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery near the present village of La Sauve

La Sauve

La Sauve is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

 in the department of the Gironde

Gironde

For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...

, in a region once heavily forested. Although now in ruins, the remains of the abbey are still of great interest in terms of Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

, especially because of the many sculpted capitals

Capital (architecture)

In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...

 still surviving.

In 1998 the abbey ruins were included as part of the UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 world heritage site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 of the pilgrimage route

Way of St. James

The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....

 to St. James of Compostela.

History

On the spot known as Hauteville, halfway between the Garonne

Garonne

The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of .-Source:The Garonne's headwaters are to be found in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees, though three different locations have been proposed as the true source: the Uelh deth Garona at Plan de Beret , the Ratera-Saboredo...

 and the Dordogne

Dordogne

Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...

, Gerald of Sauve-Majeure

Gerald of Sauve-Majeure

Saint Gerald of Sauve-Majeure , also known, from his place of origin, as Gerald of Corbie, was a Benedictine abbot.-Life:...

 founded the abbey of Grande-Sauve in 1079, of which he was also the first abbot. Its name refers to the Silva Major, the great forest that then occupied the whole region known as the Vignoble de l'Entre-Deux-Mers ("vineyard between two seas"), which was a gift to Gerald from Duke William VIII of Aquitaine

William VIII of Aquitaine

William VIII , born Guy-Geoffrey , was duke of Gascony , and then duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitiers between 1058 and 1086, succeeding his brother William VII ....

.

With the support of the duke, the Pope and a large number of generous benefactors and protectors, including the kings of England, its patrons, and France, the abbey prospered and grew rapidly. It is sited on the route to Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...

 and served as a local point of departure for pilgrims. Abbot Gerald was buried there at his death in 1095 and Pope Celestine III

Pope Celestine III

Pope Celestine III , born Giacinto Bobone, was elected Pope on March 21, 1191, and reigned until his death. He was born into the noble Orsini family in Rome, though he was only a cardinal deacon before becoming Pope...

 canonised him in 1197. The present church was consecrated in 1231.

Grande-Sauve Abbey had a monastic life governed by the Rule of St. Benedict and based on that of Cluny

Cluny Abbey

Cluny Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was built in the Romanesque style, with three churches built in succession from the 10th to the early 12th centuries....

, although it did not belong to the Cluniac Order. In the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 it was a rich and powerful house and possessed 51 priories, including at Burwell

Burwell, Lincolnshire

Burwell is a small village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, lying on the A16 north of Spilsby. The village covers approximately 2200 acres .A village now, Burwell was a medieval market town....

 in England. Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...

 stayed there often. In wealth and power it rivalled the urban centre of Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

. However, the abbey's wealth attracted bandits, Basques and the Navarrese, who plundered it many times. The townspeople of La Sauve also rebelled often against the rich monks.

The abbey suffered damage during the Hundred Years' War

Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...

 (1337 to 1453) between France and England, and although it was repaired and fortified in the 16th century, at this period the abbey's privileges and influence were contested and its economic position threatened. From this time forward it found itself in a continuing decline.

The community later joined the Congrégation des Exempts and in 1667 became a member of the Congregation of St. Maur.

In 1665 a great storm caused severe damage to the roofs of the church, the dormitories and the refectory, as well as to the belltower, which collapsed at the end of the 17th century. In 1759 the structure of the church was seriously weakened by an earthquake.

Dissolution and after

During the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 the abbey's assets were confiscated and dispersed. The surviving buildings were used from 1793 as a prison. The church roof fell in in 1809, and for the next forty years the remains were used as a quarry for the village of La Sauve.

In 1837 the archbishop bought up the site and had a Jesuit college built there, which was later converted into a teachers' training college. But in 1910 the school was destroyed in a fire and the site was again abandoned. Between 1914 and 1918 the remaining buildings were used as a small military hospital.

In 1960 the site was acquired by the French government and the ruins made stable. The site is now open to the public under the management of the Centre des Monuments Historiques.