La Ferté Abbey (; ) was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1113 in La Ferté-sur-Grosne in the present commune of Saint-Ambreuil, Saône-et-Loire, France, the first of the four great daughter-houses of Cîteaux Abbey. It was dissolved in 1791.

History The abbey was founded in 1113 by Stephen Harding as the first daughter house of Cîteaux Abbey, the mother house of the Cistercian reform. Along with Morimond Abbey, Clairvaux Abbey and Pontigny Abbey it was one of the four primary abbeys of the Cistercian order to which all other Cistercian houses were affiliated. It stood on a wild site located between the forest of Bragny and the swampy land of the Grosne.

It benefitted greatly from the generosity of the entourage of the Dukes of Burgundy and of the local nobility, especially the family of Gros de Brancion, and rapidly gained wealth and importance.

In 1165-66 it was caught up in the conflicts between Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy, and Counts Gerard of Mâcon and William of Chalon.

The conventual buildings were reconstructed in the 13th century.

In 1362 the abbey was occupied by the roaming brigands known as the Tard-Venus. It was fortified in 1415, but this did not prevent it from being looted in 1562 und 1567. In 1570 it was set on fire by the Protestant troops of Gaspard de Coligny; the only buildings to survive were the church, the sacristy, the chapter house and an adjoining room. The abbot François de Beugre obtained permission in 1574 to sell lands in order to fund the rebuilding. The final works - the construction of the dormitory and the redecoration of the church - were completed in the early 17th century under his successor, Yves Sauvageot.

In 1682 the abbot Claude Petit refurbished the abbot's lodgings and the cloister, while the fortification wall was demolished and the defensive ditch filled in. Further works were undertaken by the abbot François Filzjean de Chemilly in about 1760, principally to the frontage of the abbot's residence, which bears his arms.

The last abbot, Antoine-Louis Desvignes de la Cerve, commissioned a scheme of interior redecoration from the local architect Rameau, for which he granted him a pension.

The abbey was dissolved in 1791 during the French Revolution, by which time the community numbered only 14 monks, and some of the outbuildings were occupied by the workers, some of them women, from the cotton factory which had been established elsewhere on the site. The buildings were sold as national assets and largely destroyed, including the abbey church.

Present

The only substantial survival of the premises is the 18th century abbot's house, now known as the Château de la Ferté, built on a slight elevation, with a two-storey central block of three bays, wings of four bays with mansard roofs and corner blocks of two bays. This building contains the original monastic refectory. It was listed as a monument historique in 1993. Château de la Ferté-sur-Grosne, ancienne abbaye cistercienne

Daughter houses La Ferté was the direct founder of five daughter houses:

Maizières Abbey in France (with its daughter house Sturzelbronn Abbey) Tiglieto Abbey in Italy (with its daughter houses Staffarda Abbey and Casanova Abbey) Lucedio Abbey in Italy (with its daughter houses Rivalta Scrivia Abbey, Chortaiton Abbey in Greece and the Abbey of St George, Jubin near Antioch in Turkey) Barona Abbey in Italy St Sergius's Abbey in the Lebanon

List of abbots

1113–1117 : Philibert 1117–1123 : Obizon 1123–1132 : Pierre I 1132–1171 : Barthélémy I 1171–1178 : Guillaume I 1178–1194 : Hervé de Faverney 1194–1199 : Bruno I 1198–1199 : Guillaume II 1199–1201 : Nicolas 1203–1205 : Eudes 1205–1206 : Pierre II 1206–1229 : Simon 1230–1232 : Boniface 1232–1233 : Vincent 1233–1234 : Guillaume III 1234–1239 : Robert 1239–1266 : Barthélémy II 1266–1276 : Jean I 1276–1285 : Gérard 1285–1297 : Rufin 1287–1317 : Pierre III de Montcalier 1317–1321 : Huges 1321–1341 : Jean II de Marcilly 1341–1346 : Bruno II 1346–1357 : Durand de Marcilly 1357–1371 : Claude I 1371–1385 : Pierre IV de Marcilly 1385–1392 : Guy de Saint-Romain 1392–1412 : Etienne I de La Chèze 1412–1416 : Guillaume IV 1416–1419 : Etienne II de Marcilly 1419–1439 : Jean III de Beaune 1439–1470 : Jean IV de Saint-Pierre 1470–1506 : Claude II de Dinteville 1506–1549 : Antoine I de Vienne 1549–1567 : René Dantoncour 1567–1569 : Elzéar de Rastel 1569–1574 : Louis de Breschard 1574–1600 : François I de Beugre 1600–1655 : Yves Sauvageot 1655–1677 : Pierre V Bouchu 1677–1710 : Claude III Petit 1710–1725 : Jean-Marie Vernois de Montjournal 1725–1733 : Jean-Charles Descriveux 1733–1761 : François II Filzjean de Chemilly 1761–1783 : François III Claude-Gaspard de Cannablin 1783–1791 : Antoine II Louis Desvignes de La Cerve

Notes

Sources and external links Abbaye de la Ferté Certosa di Firenze: La Ferté Cistercium: La Ferté Auberger, Jean-Baptiste, 2000: La Ferté, in: André Vauchez (ed.), Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. James Clarke & Co: Cambridge Peugniez, Bernard, nd: Routier cistercien (2nd edn), pp. 61–62. Editions Gaud: Moisenay