Beaugerais Abbey (or Baugerais Abbey) is a former Cistercian abbey, located in what is now the commune of Loché-sur-Indrois, in the Indre-et-Loire department of France.
Founded in the mid-11th century by a hermit supported by the Augustinians of Sainte-Barbe-en-Auge Abbey (Mézidon-Canon, Calvados), it soon came under the control of the Cistercians of Louroux Abbey; Two centuries of wealth followed, thanks to numerous donations from lords and wealthy landowners, but Beaugerais was located in an area where abbeys and priories were already numerous, leading to a number of "neighborhood conflicts". From the first half of the 14th century onwards, the situation changed dramatically: donations stopped, the abbey had to contribute financially to the Hundred Years' War, the buildings were looted and possibly partially destroyed by the English in the 1360s, or at least the buildings were extensively refurbished and a new abbey church built. A century later, Beaugerais Abbey came under the in commendam regime, one of its most famous abbots being Michel de Marolles in the 17th century. The abbey recovered temporarily, and its buildings were rebuilt, but the number of monks declined inexorably. By the time of the French Revolution, only two monks remained. The abbey was sold as bien national in 1792 and most of the buildings destroyed less than ten years later.
In the 21st century, all that remains of the Beaugerais buildings is the nave of the first abbey church, with one of its bays removed. The choir and transept have disappeared, as have a few sections of wall attributable to a second abbey church, and a very small part of the cloister. These remains are listed as a monument historique.
Location In modern geographic terms, Beaugerais Abbey is located in the south-western part of the vast territory of the Loché-sur-Indrois commune, 4.5 km south-south-west of the main town and 1.5 km north-east of the communal boundary with Saint-Cyran-du-Jambot in the neighboring Indre department, these distances being indicated "as the crow flies".
The abbey is set slightly above the Beaugerais stream, on the edge of the Beaugerais woods, the last outcrop of the Loches forest. At the time of the establishment's foundation, the forest was much more present in the immediate vicinity of Beaugerais, but it was cleared on the initiative of the monks; the abbey was then directly served by the road from Montrésor to Châtillon-sur-Indre, still visible on the Napoleonic cadastre, which put its isolation into perspective. In the 21st century, this road has been reduced to a simple footpath, with access to the site via a dead-end road branching off the road from Loché-sur-Indrois to Châtillon-sur-Indre. This road was probably used by pilgrims traveling from northern France to Santiago de Compostela via Orléans and Limoges.
History
Toponymy The name Beaugerais could be an evolution of the Gallic balcos, designating the muddy, vegetation-trodden lodging of a wild animal; it could also be derived from the anthroponym Bauger, common in the region. The same Beaugerais toponym is found in Argy and Arpheuilles, in the Indre department, where it refers to former possessions of the Cistercian abbey of Loché.
Foundation In the early 1150s, a man named Serlon and a few companions settled on the edge of the Loches forest, perhaps on the banks of the Beaugerais stream. The proximity of a pilgrimage route may have been a factor in their choice of this location, as the hermits occasionally served as guides for travelers crossing the forest in exchange for alms. As early as 1153, this settlement was confirmed by donations made by four local knights leaving for the Holy Land after the Second Crusade, Renaud de Sennevières, Ulric de Châtillon, Archambaud d'Argy and Guillaume de Montrésor - and by some forty other local notables; Barthélémy, perhaps the parish priest of Loché, was also involved in this foundation. Shortly afterwards, Augustinian canons from Sainte-Barbe-en-Auge (Mézidon-Canon) reinforced the hermitage, which was transformed into a monastery, as confirmed by a charter from Henry II of England, who refers to the site as Baugeseyum.
By 1172, the spiritual and material situation of the new monastery appeared to be precarious, both because of dissensions among the monks over the direction to be taken by their community, and because of the limited means at their disposal. The Cistercians of Louroux were called in to help Beaugerais. It was a true refoundation, which took place at an undefined date between 1177 and 1189, probably accompanied by a transfer of the abbey site to new buildings a little further away from the stream, affiliation to the Cistercian order having perhaps been the condition imposed for the abbey's material recovery. A charter establishing the monks' new rights was drawn up after the fact, and solemnly signed by Henry II, King of England, who ruled the western half of France at the time. The abbey church may have been consecrated in 1184, as was its high altar; it is possible, however, that at this date, construction of the abbey church had not yet been completed, but that its choir had been built and the consecration of its altar made it possible to celebrate services there. On this occasion, the church would have been endowed with relics of Saint Eusice from Selles-en-Berry, Saint Julien of Le Mans and Saint Ours from Loches, as well as Thomas Becket and the True Cross.
Initial prosperity
The number of monks originally present is not specified. However, the Carta Caritatis ("charter of charity") drawn up under the leadership of Étienne Harding clearly states that any new foundation, in order to qualify as an "abbey", must be served, in addition to the abbot, by twelve monks (not counting the lay brothers).
The abbey benefited from numerous donations (farms, land) from local lords, and its possessions extended far beyond the present-day Indre-et-Loire department, as it controlled estates in the Indre berrichonne. However, the abbeys of Landais (in Frédille) and (in Poulaines), other Cistercian foundations in the Indre region, seemed concerned by the presence of this newcomer; under the terms of an agreement signed as early as 1171, they ensured that Beaugerais' possessions could no longer extend in their direction, and in exchange undertook not to expand towards Beaugerais, without however calling into question the donations made in the past. As the Chartreuse du Liget, also created at Henry II's instigation, the Abbey of Saint-Sauveur de Villeloin, founded in the 9th century, and the Grandmont priory of Villiers, a contemporary of Beaugerais, were already blocking access to the territories to the north, donations to Beaugerais were mainly concentrated to the west and in the Indre valley, to the southwest. The figure "Beaugerais dependencies circa 1630", although based on data from the modern era, shows how Beaugerais territories fit into the existing monastic network. In addition to its numerous territorial possessions, the abbey also acquired a substantial library, much of which was found in Caen before the end of the 11th century by Geoffroy de Breteuil, prior of Beaugerais from Sainte-Barbe-en-Auge, who died in 1194. Correspondence between Geoffroy de Breteuil and Jean, the first abbot of Beaugerais, provides valuable information on the early history of the abbey.
Throughout the 13th century, donations to the abbey continued to be made by lords from Berry and Touraine, but it is difficult to draw up an accurate, detailed inventory at any given date, as Beaugerais ceded part of its holdings in return for rent.
Financial difficulties and conflicts From the beginning of the 14th century, donations to the abbey began to dwindle, and abbots had to insist on recovering the sums owed to the abbey for, among other things, the upkeep and refurbishment of the buildings. Some abbots, such as Denis at the beginning of the 14th century, were so insistent (with threats of excommunication, exaggerated demands) that a letter from Philip the Fair was needed to encourage them to use "softer" methods. Around the middle of the 14th century, donations to the abbey ceased for good, as the monastery had to pay taxes to the kingdom to finance the Hundred Years' War. Beaugerais suffered directly from the consequences of this conflict, its buildings being devastated - their partial destruction, mentioned in chronicles of the period, cannot be attested to by available archaeological sources - and the monks certainly forced to take refuge in one of the abbey's possessions at Beaulieu-lès-Loches. In a charter dated August 23, 1438, King Charles VII granted Beaugerais the right to build fortifications to protect the abbey; in the complete absence of remains, it is not known whether this authorization was followed by action, even though other letters from Charles VII appoint Jean de Prie as captain of the fortress.
In 1333, a document listing the financial resources of all Cistercian abbeys in the kingdom of France, by virtue of their contribution to the decime, revealed that Beaugerais was one of a group of around twenty male abbeys (out of almost two hundred) whose tax payments amounted to just one hundred sous per annum, placing it among the poorest of the French Bernardine establishments.
The abbey's financial situation in the 15th century was a real cause for concern: around 1450, faced with major building repairs, it was only able to contribute 30 sous to a request for financial aid from the abbot general of Cîteaux, and was repeatedly exempted from various taxes and contributions. From this time on - and the situation would persist over the centuries - conflicts arose between the monks of the abbey and the secular clergy of the parish of Loché, each anxious to preserve their prerogatives in the areas of processions, feasts, burials, but above all with regard to the taxes to be levied.
The most recent studies (1998-1999) and the re-reading of ancient texts suggest that the first church, whose nave has survived into the 21st century, was disused at a relatively early date (14th or 15th century) and refurbished on several levels with the construction of floors; the installation of a stone sink shows that its new use was domestic. In place of the transept and nave, another, larger abbey church was built, the layout of which is unknown; it has almost completely disappeared. The reasons for this transfer of the place of worship have yet to be defined, as the dilapidated state of the original building does not seem to be a valid reason. Moreover, no formal link has been established between the restructuring and any damage caused by the Hundred Years' War.
According to an ancient tradition, the abbey church was the tomb of Jean II Le Meingre, known as or , who died in 1421. Jacques-Xavier Carré de Busserolle even states that, "according to tradition", the tomb was destroyed in 1789 and the bones buried in a pit. Most authors agree, however, that Boucicaut was buried in the Basilica of Saint-Martin in Tours, where his tomb is described in the choir's axial chapel. Other historians support a third theory, that the body was buried in the Basilica of Saint-Martin after the heart had been removed and deposited in Beaugerais.
Commendation regime
Like almost all abbeys at the same time, towards the end of the Middle Age, the Beaugerais abbey came under the commende regime, probably in 1473. This new regime was generally unfavorable to abbeys whose commendatory abbots, whether religious or lay, used part of the community's income for their own purposes; as they were not resident on site, they generally delegated to the prior the task of de facto administration of the abbey.