Abbaye Notre-Dame de Barbery, Medieval Cistercian abbey ruins in Barbery, France.
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Barbery is a ruined Cistercian monastery in a wooded valley. The surviving church wall stands beside a 14th-century rectangular building with buttresses, whose ground-floor vaults and columns were removed by a former owner. A single cloister gallery, rebuilt in the 18th century, now forms the ground floor of a brick barn, and the abbey gatehouse has been converted into a dwelling.
Robert Marmion, lord of Fontenay-le-Marmion, granted land to Savigny Abbey in 1140 for a daughter house; his son completed the donation around 1176, and the abbey was founded on 13 April 1176. It was moved to its present site in 1181. The abbey church was dedicated in 1247. Pillaged by Calvinists in 1563 and later held in commendam, it was reformed in 1639 and suppressed in 1790.
The name Barbery comes from an early settler or estate and reflects the rural character of the area. The scattered remains show how monks lived and worshiped here, with their traces still visible in the surrounding landscape today.
The site is best explored on foot, as the ruins are spread across open ground. Sturdy footwear and care on uneven terrain are recommended to safely view the various wall fragments.
A monk named Gervais wrote a rhyming bestiary in the 13th century describing 29 different animals. His work shows the scholarly activity that took place alongside spiritual life here.
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