Day 23 – Abbaye de Fontevraud

It was Europe Day in France, which is a public holiday. Europe Day commemorates the end of the Second World War and is only commemorated as public holiday in a couple of other countries. The consequence is that everyone is on holiday and only a few cafés are open for business.

We had a late start and went for a walk to see if anything was happening. As it turned out in Saumur there was a significant ceremony involving the cavalry (tank regiment) which is based in Saumur. The local dignitaries were out in force and stayed a while to watch the ceremony. There were a few non-military people there but nothing like the crowds that go to Anzac services. Nonetheless, it was interesting to watch how another country does their ceremony.

In the afternoon we went Abbaye de Fontevraud which is otherwise know as the Royal Abbey. It had a lot of support from various French kings until the place was emptied after the Revolution in the eighteenth century. Henry the second is buried there as is Eleanor of Aquitaine.

The place is fascinating. It was a founded by a monk who came from a long line of priests (it seems that celibacy was optional back in the 12^th century). He considered women equal to men. One of founding contracts of the Abbey was that it would be run by women. So the power of the Abbey resided with the Abbesse. Robert d’Arbrissel, a Breton preacher, was a bit of a womaniser and in his own defense claimed that he slept with various nuns to test his ability to resist temptation (there is no information about whether he was able to resist or not).

The Abbey has changed over the years. Parts added, others destroyed. In the 19^th and 20^th century it was a prison containing around a two thousand prisoners. There are a series of panels showing how both the function as an abbey and as prison had similar power dynamics. It was fascinating as they really were very similar.

A number of the Abbesses were relatives of the various Kings of France who were major benefactors of the abbey. The grounds and buildings were quite lovely. As the state owns it they have spent a lot of time and money restoring it to the way it may have been when a functioning abbey, while at the same time it has been repurposed as a cultural and arts centre.

We had an enjoyable afternoon exploring the buildings and wandering the grounds.

That evening we went out to a restaurant we had been to on a prior visit. The service was good but we both thought the food was unimaginative. However, it was nice, on a cold wet night, to be able to walk to it, just five minutes along a lane.

Below is a collection of pictures from the day's adventures.