The Bèze Abbey (), was a monastery founded in 629 AD in Burgundy, France. It was destroyed several times during the next three centuries by Frankish warlords, Saracens, Normans and Hungarians. At the end of the 10th century the abbey was re-founded and entered a golden age for the next two centuries. By the 13th century the spiritual life of the abbey had declined and the monks were mainly concerned with temporal matters. The abbey lost most of its monks during the Hundred Years' War and the Black Death of the 14th century. In 1429 it was fortified with stone walls, a moat and towers, two of which have survived. The abbey was again devastated by feuds in 1513, by the French Wars of Religion (1562–98) and by the Thirty Years' War (1618–48).
In 1662 a final revival began when the monastery came under the Congregation of Saint Maur. Most of the surviving buildings date from the reconstruction by this congregation in the 18th century. At the start of the French Revolution in 1789 the monastery was dissolved and the property taken over by the state. It was sold, and the church and main buildings demolished so the stone could be used for building. The owners of the property added an orangerie and laid out a park in the 19th century. Today the private owners have made the grounds and buildings open for visitors for a small fee.
Foundation
The Abbey of Saint-Pierre & Saint-Paul in Bèze, Côte-d'Or, was the fourth of the Merovingian abbeys of the diocese of Langres, after Moûtiers-Saint-Jean, Saint-Bénigne and Saint-Seine. The abbey was founded by Amalgaire, Duke of Lower Burgundy, brother of Waldalenus, Duke of Upper Burgundy and father of Saint Donatus of Besançon. Amalgaire founded the abbey in the reign of Chlothar II (r. 613–629) in the autumn of 629. The abbey's location was called the "Fountain of Bèze", after a karst spring that is the source of the Bèze river. The Chronique de Bèze from the first 3rd of the 12th century, describes foundation of the abbey on an unoccupied site. The Chronicle says:
Amalgaire's wife Aquilina gave him two sons and one daughter, born between 595 and 605. His son Adalric would succeed him while his son Waldelene was educated as a monk at the Luxeuil Abbey under the Rule of Saint Columbanus. His daughter Adalsinde also became a nun. Waldelene became the first abbot at Bèze. Amalgaire also founded a monastery at Bregille on the right bank of the Doubs for his daughter Adalsinde, who became its first abbess. This monastery was given the existing Church of Saint Martin at Bregville. Amalgaire gave the Bèze Abbey a rich endowment of 31 domains with forests, vineyards and buildings, cultivators and winegrowers. He gave it vineyards in the Gevrey-Chambertin region that today are the source of the famous Chambertin-Clos de Bèze red Burgundy wine.
Merovingian period (629–714)
The monks of Bèze followed the Rule of Saint Columbanus, which Waldalène brought from Luxeuil Abbey. The first buildings were a rectangular stone structure surrounded by wood and earth outbuildings with thatched roofs. After the death of Amalgaire around 655 civil war raged in Burgundy and the country was ravaged by rival bands of Neustrian and Austrasian Franks. The reign of Chlothar III (r. 657–673), son of Clovis II (r. 639–657), had just started in Austrasia in late 657 when civil disturbances made Brégille untenable. Adalsinde and her brother Adalric begged her brother Waldelène and his monks to give her and her nuns refuge in Bèze, and in return transferred to him the priests of Saint Martin.
Bèze was also ruined, its property titles destroyed and its monks scattered. When peace was restored Waldalene made haste to repair the losses of his monastery. To proceed faster he used credit from the new Duke of Burgundy, Sichelm. A diploma was issued by Chlothar III in 658 or 664 that confirmed the donations made by Amalgaire. Duke Adalric lost his duchy some time between 658 and 664. The king entrusted the lord Gengoul with the protection of the abbey. The duke, or his son Adalrich, Duke of Alsace, was restored to possession of the monastery of Bèze by the royal precept of 665. Adalric abused his authority to ransack the abbey. Later Adalric deserted King Theuderic III of Neustria (r. 673–691) and joined his enemies, who chose Dagobert II (r. 676–679) as King of Austrasia.
The war between Theuderic of Neustria and Dagobert of Austrasia once more devastated Bèze. Waldalène had to rebuild the abbey from ruins. In 676 Theuderic, now victorious, gave Waldalène all of Adalric's property. Adalric settled permanently in Alsace after the troubles of 675–676. Waldalène died in 680. The abbey flourished under the three abbots that followed, Bercand or Bercang, around 680, Ferréol around 700 and Syranne around 720.
Carolingian period (714–990)
The Saracens, who had conquered Spain in 714, crossed the Pyrennees and devastated the south of France. They penetrated up the Rhône, the Saône and the Loire until finally defeated by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732. The Saracens sacked the abbey of Bèze around 730. Dom Jean Mabillon relates that they destroyed Autun, pulled down the Abbey of Bèze (monasterium Besuense), were repulsed from Sens when they attacked it in 732. The anthropologist considered that some of the present population of the region showed signs of Saracen descent.
Between 751 and 754 King Pepin the Short (r. 751–768) gave the abbey to his concubine, Angla or Anglais wife of Théodard, to be desecrated or dilapidated by her according to her caprice. Pepin also dismissed the bishop of Langres at this time, and replaced him by his brother Remi. After this the abbey was entrusted to the bishops of Langres, but due to the difficulties of the times it was only rebuilt under the Emperor Louis the Pious (r. 814–840), when Bishop Albéric restored the buildings and reintroduced discipline.
Albéric was made Bishop of Langres by Louis the Pious around 820. The Chronicle of Bèze relates that Albéric was afflicted by a violent colic that made him despair of his life. An old man appeared to him in a dream and told him he would recover if he promised to reestablish the monastery. He made the promise and regained his health. Albéric gave Bèze the church of Saint Laurent in Beurey in 830. Louis the Pious visited Langres in 830 with his son Lothair and held a provincial council. This council and other synods seem to have resulted in the general reform that reestablished the common life of the canons and caused all the monasteries to restore their original rules. At Albéric's request Louis issued a charter that confirmed all the property of the abbey. Albéric repaired the church of Saint-Mammès at the abbey. Alberic died in 839 and his body was taken to Bèze on 22 December 839.
On 6 October 883 Geilon, bishop of Langres, gave the abbey of Bèze the relics of Saint Prudent de Narbonne, which he had brought back from a chapel in Narbonne after his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. In 887, when marauding Normans approached the monks of Bèze transported the body of Saint Prudent to Saint-Etienne de Dijon. When the invasion was over the monks rebuilt the ruins of the abbey and asked for the saint's body from Dijon. The canons of Dijon at first refused, then at the command of Bishop Gauthier of Langres pretended to comply, but in fact gave the monks the body of Saint Silvin. Eventually the ruse was discovered, and the body of Saint Prudent was carried with great ceremony from Dijon to Bèze in 931.
The abbey was destroyed twice during the Hungarian invasions of Europe. It was burned in July 936 when the Hungarians came from Burgundy, and again the next year when the Hungarians had spread through France, Burgundy and Aquitaine, plundering and ravaging everywhere. The Hungarians caused so much damage to the monastery that it could not be restored for eleven years.
Golden age (990–1200)
At the end of the 10th century Bruno de Roucy, Bishop of Langres, asked Majolus of Cluny to send monks to rebuild the abbeys of the Langres diocese. Among them was William of Volpiano, who became abbot of Saint-Bénigne at Dijon, and was also abbot of Bèze from 990 until his death in 1031. William introduced the customs of Cluny to both abbeys. The Rule of Saint Benedict is first mentioned in the Chronicle of Beze when it comes to the William, an Italian who became abbot in 990. Unlike Saint-Bénigne, the properties of the abbey were concentrated in the immediate vicinity, towards Champlitte and the Saône. Thanks to William's reforms Bèze attracted gifts from local nobles such as the Fouvents, descendants of the counts of Atuyer, the Beaumonts and Montsaugeons towards Langres and the Beaujeus on the Saône. The property included serfs. For example, in the 11th century the abbey received the serf Arnulf and "one half of the sons or daughters of the said Arnulf" for the benefit of Sir Henri de Ferté's soul.
Raoul le Blanc, Viscount of Dijon, became a monk at Saint-Bénigne, then was made grand-prior of Bèze under abbot William and played a major role in the restoration of the abbey. Raoul dedicated his immense fortune to entirely rebuilding the abbey, including executing two ossuaries in the chapel of the Virgin and replacing the remains of the old destroyed tombs. He rebuilt the church on a larger scale, and it was dedicated in 1016 or 1018 in a ceremony arranged by Lambert de Vignory, Brunon's successor as bishop in a ceremony attended by many bishops and clergy from various provinces of France. In 1018 the lord of Fouvent founded the priory of Saint-Sépulcre beside his castle, subordinate to Bèze abbey.
Ulger or Olger 1, former prior of Beze, was abbot from 1031 to 1052. He died on return from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. In October 1050 Pope Leo IX visited Langres, where he settled a dispute between the Bèze monks and the Langres canons over tithes from one of the monks' vineyards. He said that "By the authority of the Holy Fathers who preceded me in the see of Rome, it was permitted that no church founded in honour of St Peter, the prince of the Apostles, should pay a rent of tithes to another church." This silenced the canons. In 1066 a solemn assembly of bishops, abbots and local lords was held at the abbey of Bèze to settle difference between the abbot of Saint-Benigne and the officers of Robert, Duke of Burgundy. In 1083 Ponce, lord of the Château de Beaujeu, gave the abbey a chapel built in honour of Saint Vallier with lands and various rights.
Étienne de Joinville(fr) was the son and grandson of counts on his father's side, and grandson of Arnoul, count of Reynel on his mother's side. He served as a soldier before becoming a monk. He was a monk at the Priory of Saint-Oyan-de-Bar and then at Cluny, where his uncle Widon was Grand Prior. He was appointed prior at Sainte-Germaine de Bar-sur-Aube, then of Bar-sur-Seine. In 1088 he was chosen as abbot of Bèze by bishop Robert. Under the abbot Étienne de Jonvelle (c. 1088–1124) the grants multiplied, particularly in the form of restitution of churches. Humbert de Fouvent, who had been killed in the service of the Bishop of Langres around 1085–87, was buried at Bèze. His widow gave the abbey the chapel of his castle, the church of Lavoncourt and two silver cyphes. In 1093 Irmuin de Seveux gave the abbey the churches of Saint-Denis and Saint-Laurent. Pope Paschal II stayed at the abbey in 1107. He was accompanied by Henry of Poitou, then Abbot of Saint-Jean-d'Angély.
Étienne doubled the size of the abbey's domain by restitution and donations, and expanded the abbey buildings, extending the church to the river. There are still remains of an axial chapel from the early 12th century. This is all that is left of Étienne's buildings. The chapels would have extended towards the Bèze river from the apse of the church. Under Étienne's rule the number of monks grew to about 50 living in the abbey and another 50 in subordinate priories.