Foundation and prosperity

The prestigious history of the abbey of Franquevaux begins in the year 1141 at the "Castrum Belvedin," the castle of Beauvoisin, and finishes in 1791, at the French Revolution at the time of the sale of the national possessions seized by the nobles and by the clergy. In this period of the Middle Ages, the Counts of Toulouse ruled as undisputed masters over the Languedoc, the mediterranean region of France, more powerful than the Kings of Paris.

In 1141 a group of Cistercian monks required the hospitality of Pierre Lord of Belvedin after having crossed France on foot. They were missionaries from the young Cistercian order under the direction of Bernard de Fontaine (Saint Bernard ) of founding an abbey. The one at Franquevaux was the 18th child of the parent abbey of Morimond in Burgundy.

The Cistercian monks all have a profession and as clever craftsmen build and maintain the abbey assisted in this by the convert brothers and of all the local peasants in serfdom.

Saint Bernard prepares the rules of the Order of Templars which will move in strength to Saint Gilles, 20 km from Franquevaux. For 200 years this order will participate in the crusades to the Middle East. Franquevaux becomes the last stop before the embarkation harbour of Aigues-Morte, a city with an impressive fortification of which we recommend a visit.

Thanks to the influence of the abbot, the Counts of Toulouse grant them a free trade in their goods (Franquevaux - Vallée Franche). Many nobles gave them land (peasants included) and in spite of the formal interdiction of commerce, the abbey of Franquevaux quickly becomes a political and economical force of first rank in the region. Even Ildefonse, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona exempts the abbey of all dues and takes it under his protection.

The fall

It could not last eternally. The nomination of a "command" by the kings of France of the 15th century stroke a first blow to the integrity of Franquevaux. This one consists of the systematic nomination of abbots by the King who recompensed his nobles and dignitaries by imposing them an abbey who charged the religious community with important taxes.

Losing their spiritual and temporal guide, dispossessed of an important part of their incomes, the Benedictine and Cistercian abbeys rapidly went into decline.

However the community of Franquevaux remains integral and faithful to the Bernardine rule until the end. It suffered damage during the wars of religion and will operat wit many difficulties between the beginning of the 17th century and the French Revolution in spite of the mobilization of the order. Finally, its possessions sol, the monks hounded, the walls damaged, the abbey of Franquevaux will transform for two centuries into a nice small village which has a glorious past and where time seems to stand still.