Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
Origin of the name Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
The abbey bears the name of Saint Maurice, leader of the Theban Legion, whose relics it keeps. Early texts call it « monasterium sanctorum Acaunensium », the monastery of the saints of Agaune, after the ancient name of the place.[1]
Founding of Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
The abbey grew out of the cult of the martyrs of the Theban Legion. Around 380-390, Bishop Theodul had their bones moved from Vérolliez to the foot of the cliff at Agaune. A first church rose at the end of the 4th century in a late antique necropolis, on the site of a mausoleum, and a community may already have been welcoming pilgrims. In May-June 515, Sigismund, the future king of the Burgundians, founded the abbey and richly endowed it. He introduced the perpetual praise, sung by several choirs of monks taking turns. Today the community is made up of Augustinian canons regular, about fifty members at the start of the 21st century. Directly subject to the Holy See, the abbey is a territorial abbey.[1]
History of Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
515. Inaugurated on 22 September in the presence of Avitus, Bishop of Vienne, the abbey has Hymnemodus as its first abbot. The perpetual praise lasts there until the 8th century.[1]
574. After the Lombard sack, the basilica is rebuilt with an apse enlarged to seven sides.[3]
around 765. Abbot Willicaire begins building a Carolingian basilica about 56 m long. The western crypt follows at the end of the 8th century under Abbot Althée.[3]
around 830. Louis the Pious reforms the abbey and replaces the monks with secular canons. Lay abbots govern it from 857.[1]
940. Devastated in 940 and 950, the church is rebuilt with an eastern choir featuring an ambulatory and radiating chapels.[3]
1017. After this date a new basilica over 65 m long is built.[3]
1128. Amadeus III of Savoy, the abbey's advocate, replaces the secular canons with Augustinian canons regular. A prior leads them, then an abbot from 1147.[1]
1148. Pope Eugene III consecrates the new church.[1]
1225. The relics of Saint Maurice and his companions leave the crypt for a shrine placed near the altar, at the initiative of Abbot Nantelme.[1]
1571. The abbot places the abbey under the protection of the Bishop of Sion and the Valais Diet.[1]
1627. Often hit by falling rocks and struck by a collapse in 1611, the church is rebuilt on its present north-south orientation.[1][3]
1693. A fire badly damages the abbey buildings, rebuilt in the early 18th century.[1]
1798. The Helvetic Republic forbids the abbey to receive novices and abolishes its seigneurial rights.[1]
1806. A new college opens in November under the abbey's authority.[1]
1840. The abbot receives the title of Bishop of Bethlehem, held until 1987.[1]
1893. Canon Pierre Bourban begins the excavations of the Martolet, which he continues until his death in 1920.[3]
1942. A rockfall destroys the bell tower and the narthex of the church.[1]
1944-1948. Revived by Abbot Louis Haller, new excavations led by Louis Blondel uncover the plan of the vanished buildings.[3]
1948. The church becomes a minor basilica. It is consecrated the following year.[1]
1959. The abbey joins the Confederation of Canons Regular of Saint Augustine. Ten years later the college admits girls.[1]
2015. A jubilee year marks 1'500 years since the founding. On 22 January Swissmint issues a silver commemorative coin of 20 francs.[4]
Historic sites in Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
Basilica. Built at the foot of the cliff, the abbey church has followed a north-south orientation since 1627. It holds the title of minor basilica.[1]
Treasury. It holds Merovingian and Carolingian pieces, two 12th-century shrines, those of Saint Maurice and Saint Sigismund, and a head reliquary of Saint Candidus from a local goldsmith's workshop. Together with the abbey, it draws pilgrims and tourists.[1][2]
College. Attested since the Middle Ages, the abbey's college has been linked to the State of Valais by an agreement since 1806. It has about 1'000 pupils at the start of the 21st century.[2][1]
Remains in Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
Martolet archaeological site. In the courtyard between the abbey and the cliff, excavations have uncovered the foundations of the successive basilicas, from the 4th-century chapel to the 11th-century church. They also yielded Merovingian sarcophagi (1901-1902), the western crypt (1906) and Roman inscriptions dedicated to Mercury, Jupiter and the Emperor Augustus, among others.[3]
Forecourt tombs. In 1974-1975 the restoration of the Maison du parvis revealed about twenty early Christian tombs spread over four rooms, with the epitaph of a monk named Rusticus from the mid-6th century. This burial complex seems to have been used until around the 10th century.[3]
Stones from Tarnaiae. A Roman milestone from the vicus of Massongex long served as a door lintel in the abbey's bell tower. The vestibule keeps an altar dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus from the same site.[5]
Legends of Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
The martyrdom of the Theban Legion. According to tradition, around 300 the soldiers of the Theban Legion led by Maurice refused to obey the orders of Emperor Maximian and were put to death for their Christian faith. Their cult lies at the origin of the abbey.[4]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, article sur l'abbaye de Saint-Maurice (n° 011411, version du 30.07.2015)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Saint-Maurice (commune) » (Gaëlle Bourguinet Eggs, version du 10.11.2021)
- Henri Michelet, « Saint-Maurice : aperçu sur le site archéologique du Martolet », Echos de Saint-Maurice, t. 84, 1988, p. 221-245
- Swissmint, « Abbaye de Saint-Maurice », dépliant de la pièce commémorative de 2015
- Commune de Massongex, « Histoire »
- geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées de l'enceinte de l'abbaye)
Other villages near Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
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