Abbaye de la Boissière, Cistercian abbey in Noyant-Villages, France

Abbaye de la Boissière is a Cistercian monastery in Noyant-Villages featuring Romanesque architecture with thick stone walls, rounded arches, and a semi-circular apse with five 12th-century windows. The building demonstrates the solid, simple design typical of religious structures from that architectural period.

Founded in 1131 in the Marconne valley, it belonged to the Savigny congregation before joining the Cistercian order in 1147 and affiliating with Cîteaux. In 1190 Richard the Lionheart made a donation while preparing for the Third Crusade. The abbey church was consecrated on 26 May 1212 by Bishop Guillaume de Beaumont, and in 1241 Jean d'Alluye sold the abbey a piece of the True Cross for 533 livres tournois.

The chapel of the True Cross, built in 1246 at the edge of the monastic enclosure so pilgrims could venerate the relic, has a complex Angevin vault with liernes and tiercerons. The relic itself, bought by Jean d'Alluye for 533 livres tournois, was moved to Baugé in 1790 and is kept there today.

The former abbey is privately owned and stands at the southern edge of Dénezé-sous-le-Lude, about 22 km east of Baugé, on the bank of the Marconne stream. The site lies in a small valley; the surviving 12th-century choir and the Chapelle de la Vraie Croix are the main points to locate. The conventual buildings were rebuilt in the 18th century.

The Chapelle de la Vraie Croix, built in 1246 at the edge of the monastic enclosure so pilgrims could venerate the relic without entering, has a complex Angevin vault with liernes and tiercerons. The relic itself, bought by Jean d'Alluye for 533 livres tournois, was moved to Baugé in 1790 and is kept there today.