Abbey of Saint-Evroul

Ouche Abbey or the Abbey of Saint-Evroul (Abbaye de Saint-Évroult; ) is a former Benedictine abbey in Normandy, located in the present commune of Saint-Évroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois, Orne, Normandy. It has been classified as a Monument historique since 1967 and is designated "classé".

Founding
The abbey was initially founded as a hermitage in the forest of Ouche by Évroult around 560; by 567 it had become established as an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter, with Évroult presiding over as abbot. However, the abbey does not appear in surviving documents until the reign of Charles the Simple, when it is mentioned c. 900 under the name "monasterio que vocatur Uticus." Beginning in the mid-10th century, the abbey fell into disuse for nearly a century due to the campaigns of the Frankish Duke Hugh the Great.

Reestablishment
Around the year 1050, the abbey was rebuilt by and his nephews, Robert and Hugh de Grandmesnil, with the assistance of both Bec Abbey and Jumièges Abbey. It remained under the patronage of both abbeys as well as the and  families throughout the period. The abbey church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saint Peter, and Évroult on 13 November 1099.

The abbey's most famous monk, Orderic Vitalis entered the abbey around this time, taking solemn vows in 1091; his Historia ecclesiastica (Orderic Vitalis) is an important source for the history of the Norman world, with the sixth volume including a history of the abbey. Under the abbacy of Roger du Sap, the number of monks increased from 80 to 115, and the abbey founded a priory, Prieuré Saint-Martin de Noyon-sur-Andelle of Noyon-sur-Andelle, in 1107. At this juncture, many of the monks are said to have "taken the path of the devil" and internal and external dissensions with bishops and temporal lords were frequent. Nevertheless, the abbey was at the peak of its splendour.

Decline
In 1113, Henry I visited the abbey while on campaign against the Seigneurie de Bellême. During his visit he granted a charter restoring certain rights to the abbey, however, by the 1120s, many of these rights were abandoned. The abbey and the town beside it were ravaged, first, by the lord of La Ferté-Frênel in 1119 and, second, by the lord of L'Aigle in 1136. The monastic enclave was rebuilt, starting in 1231, with the bulk of the work continuing into 1284. In 1258, during a visit by Eudes Rigaud, the Archbishop of Rouen, the number of monks had decreased to thirty-one, only nine of these being priests. In 1332, the church's tower collapsed and had to be rebuilt. Between 1388 and 1450, conflict again ravaged the abbey, the belligerents this time being English.

Commendatory abbots repeatedly attempted to grab hold of the abbey. Guillaume de Vergy was abbot in said capacity from 1392, but it was revoked by Benedict XIII in 1395. The last regular abbot only held his office in 1484. This placement of the abbacy in commendam stripped the abbey of its most important privileges. Compounding the loss, the Dissolution deprived Ouche Abbey of its English properties. Henry II authorized the felling of tree for timber to repair the abbey in 1556. In 1588, the lord of Échauffour burnt down the abbey as revenge against the Catholic League.

In 1628, Saint-Évroult adopted the reforms of the Congregation of Saint Maur, and from 1675 to 1778 Maurist priors expanded and repaired the abbey.

Closure
On 21 September 1789, the National Assembly declared all church property biens nationaux and the last monks and lay brothers left the abbey. In 1790, the town of Notre-Dame-du-Bois purchased the abbey in order to use the abbey church as the parish church, unfortunately, on 11 March 1802 the transept's tower collapsed, taking with it, the upper vaults and arcades. Subsequently, the buildings were quarried to fuel lime kilns.

Musical tradition
Normandy was the site of several important developments in the history of classical music in the 11th century. Fécamp Abbey and Saint-Évroult were centres of musical production and education. At Saint-Évroult, a tradition of singing had developed and the choir achieved fame in Normandy. After entering into a violent quarrel with William II of Normandy, Robert de Grantmesnil had been forced to flee to Rome in January 1061 and thence to the court of Robert Guiscard in Salerno, taking with him eleven of his monks, including his nephew Berengar. In his time, Saint-Évroult was famed for its musical programme and these eleven monks brought its musical traditions to the Abbazia benedettina di Sant'Eufemia in Calabria, a foundation of the Guiscards, of which Robert became abbot.

Library
Beginning with the abbacy of Theodoric, a large amount of copying was done at Saint-Évroult. Orderic Vitalis took a leading role in seeking out and copying manuscripts in abbeys in France and England. Although there were some significant donations, a large quantity of original works were produced during the 12th and 13th centuries. During the 14th century, the scriptorium's activity slowed and by the 15th century had come to a near halt, although some manuscripts were still being produced during the early 16th century. For a while, the monks focused on binding and cataloguing the collection, but this was followed by a period of indifference (with a brief intermission under the Maurists), resulting in the loss of many volumes. Dom Le Michel made the first complete catalogue c. 1640. Around fifty choice volumes were transferred to Saint-Ouen between 1660 and 1682, after which Bellaise wrote a good catalogue of the remaining 159 manuscripts. Unfortunately, the Revolution resulted in further losses.

In 1791, the inventory recorded that the collection had once comprised 4,034 volumes (including 356 manuscripts) and 754 bundles of legal documents. The collection included the Bible in five languages, the works of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, an illuminated 14th-century lectionary,  an 11th-century sacramentary,  and musical treatises by Guido of Arezzo.

Burials

 * Hugh de Grandmesnil and his wife Adelize

Illustrious Members

 * Lanfranc, prior of Bec and then of Saint-Évroult, before becoming abbot of Saint-Étienne de Caen and archbishop of Canterbury.
 * Robert de Grandmesnil, served as abbot of Saint-Évroult, before serving as abbot of Sant'Eufemia in Calabria. He had become a monk at Saint-Évroult before becoming its abbot.
 * Orderic Vitalis, monk of Saint-Évroult, writer of the Historia ecclesiastica.
 * Goffredo Malaterra, monk, preacher, and historian, was a monk there in his youth.
 * Serlon and Philippe the Baker, who became bishops of Séez.
 * Frilion or Foulques, who became abbot of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives.
 * Robert du Chalet, first abbot of Lyre.