September 2020 Print

Montmajour Abbey

By Dr. France-Marie Hilgar

The Origins

The abbey was built on one of the three hills a few dozen feet above the Rhone Plain, just above two miles north-east of Arles. The three mountains emerged during the Middle Ages from a vast area of lakes and marshes formed from the gradual silting up of an inland sea plied by flat-bottom merchant ships during the days of the Roman Occupation. Although a few traces of what is presumed to have been a Roman settlement have been found here, Montmajour did not enter the pages of the history books until the 10th century. It was already known as Saint Peter’s island when a benefactress became its owner. It is well established that a small community of hermits had already settled there and that, although deserted and isolated in the middle of the marshes well-stocked with fish and game, the place was not inaccessible. In fact, the geographical location was attractive. Montmajour was a stopover on the road leading from the Roman road to a fortress. Until the 17th century, the rock on which Montmajour Abbey stands was surrounded by marshland. The meadows are still subject to flooding from time to time, a reminder of this specific geographical location.

In the second half of the 10th century, as soon as the eastern marshes of the area were freed from Saracen occupation, Provence began to enjoy a period of renewed economic prosperity which was strongly supported by the religious communities wishing to reform the morals of the nobility and the priesthood. The expansion of the tiny community was linked to this reforming movement. Before the end of the century, the monks who were bound by the Rule of St. Benedict acquired land and churches far removed from the “mountain.” Pope Leo VIII granted them the right to elect their own abbots. They were dependent directly on the Holy See and were not subject to the authority of the bishop.

Nave of St. Peter's Chapel

The Original Notre-Dame Church

It is presumed that it was started in the 11th century given the abbey’s power and authority over a number of priories and some 30 churches. A number of 11th century texts give information on the new building. Building work was completed in 1069. It probably already had a crypt. The only building still standing from the 11th century is St. Peter’s chapel. It is partly gouged out of the rock and is now the oldest part of the abbey. A stone-built nave including a row of arcading runs along a line of small caves. It is built in a natural cave high above the plain that was once a marshland. In 1976 the capitals of the Chapel were vandalized. Those which have survived are badly damaged. Typical of the Early Romanesque architecture, their decoration combines Corinthian capitals and geometrical designs. Another element is a pilaster standing against a wall at the entrance to the corridor leading to the square chamber behind the chevet. Outside, the flat-slabbed roof indicates that it was rebuilt in the late XIIth century. Four huge buttresses were erected at a later date, two in the 15th century and two more in 1740 when the flight of steps leading to the chapel was built.

Notre Dame church stands on the sheer north side of the mountain. The first part open to the public today is its crypt. The south side is dug out of the rock. It includes a nave, transept and chancel of the church above while the apses of the radiating chapels is included in a section beyond the chevet of the church. In the central rotunda is a Romanesque altar. A barrel-vaulted walkway leads from the church to the crypt.

Apse of the abbatial church (12th century)

Visitors enter the church by a staircase leading to the second bay in the nave. Notre-Dame church which has no side aisles is very bare. The ribbed barrel vaulting in the nave is reinforced with transverse arches supported on projecting pilasters, typical of Provence as is the half-dome apse and the two chapels opening onto the transept. The monks’ entrance in 1153 may be considered to mark the end of the first stage, which included the crypt and apse. The second stage, vaulting in the chancel, south arm of the transept and the nave, must have been undertaken between 1153 and 1182 when the north gallery in the cloisters was completed. The north wall of the cloisters forms the south wall of the nave. The vaulting in the transept crossing is in Gothic style. The Romanesque nave was to have been extended along another three bays. The project was never completed. In the 14th century the transept was extended. In the 15th century another two chapels were added. Each of them occupies the length of a bay.

The door into the cloisters leads off the south side of the nave into the church. The oldest section of the cloisters dates from the second half of the 12th century. In 1149 the first Chapter general was held, bringing together the entire Order including monks and priors. The cloisters lie between the south wall of the nave and the south arm of the transept in the church. Its four galleries have barrel vaulting and three bays. The bays overlook the garth by a series of small semicircular arches supported on twin colonnettes. In the north and south galleries there are four in each bay; in the east gallery there are three. On the garth side the arcading is interconnected by subbase arches supported by huge pilasters reinforced by buttresses. Differences in detail from one gallery to another indicate the order in which they were built.

The Decline of the Abbey in the Late Middle Ages

At the beginning of the 15th century the abbey entered a period of decline that was to worsen as the years passed. The commendatory abbot was no longer required to reside in the monastery but received an income. He was appointed by the pope and not necessarily a member of the Benedictine Order. Monastic life was in recession. Then there was trouble with the Order of Saint Antoine. They took up arms against Montmajour but were repulsed with the assistance of the people of Arles. Then the wars of Religion took place. The abbey had to take in soldiers. The monks looked for refuge in their community of Arles. When they returned two years later, they found it almost uninhabitable.

In the 17th century the Benedictine Order of Saint Maur took over. A concordat laid down the conditions under which the Maurist reform would be introduced. Comfortable pensions would be paid to the elders who refused to accept the Reform. In return the abbot was to pay 4,500 pounds a year toward food for the new monks and was to bear one half of the cost of the upkeep of the buildings. Turned into an order in 1621, St. Maur wanted to reform Benedictine monasteries by insuring a return to the veritable Rule of St. Benedict while at the same time encouraging intellectual pursuits. The first task of the reformed abbey was to set it on sound financial footing. The concordat of 1639 had left the monks with a very low income. In 1642 it signed a contract with the town of Arles. The land reclaimed from the marshes produced new revenues. The problems were aggravated by the hostility of the people of Arles who considered the monks as foreigners. A second concordat was signed in 1646. At the dawn of the 18th century their position finally appeared clear. And the Congregation was ready to erect new buildings. The plans were not drawn by a Maurist monk but were the work of Pierre Mignard. In 1703 the foundation stone of the building was laid. In 1719 the old Romanesque dormitory was turned into infirmaries. It was linked to the new monastery by means of a great arch. In 1726 a huge fire devastated the new buildings. It was duplicated in 1745.

The Modern Buildings

The first level included the wine cellars flanked by a gutter to fill large barrels. On the intermediate level there are various service rooms including the corn store and bake house with its huge oven. This is where a fire started in 1726. The story above is the real ground floor of the monastery. The upper two floors which are now in a very poor state of repair are identical. Unlike the ground floor they have a central corridor lit by two semicircular lights at the east and west ends with rows of cells: 44 in all. The building has vaulted roofs. The architect merely sought to roof each room as securely and easily as possible.

From the Revolution to the Present Day

The abbey was placed under the authority in 1790 and immediately despoiled. The monks were forced to leave, and the furniture, linen and ornaments were scattered. It was sold a year later to a lady described by a contemporary as an adventurer who earned a living by pillaging. The purchaser sold off everything that could be removed. Just as she was about to bring demolition workers from Marseilles the property was repossessed on grounds that she was unable to keep up the scheduled payments. The next person who bought it sold the mediaeval sections to various smaller owners and used the construction as a source of building stones. After the storm abated the town of Arles began to rebuild it. In 1872 a general restoration project began under the auspices of the Caisse Nationale des Monuments Historiques. From 1927 to now the aim has been to finally opening this superb example of Classical architecture to the public.