Abbesses of the Order and Abbey of Fontevrault
Author: Schoonebeek, Adriaan, ca. 1660-1714
Image Title: Abbesses of the Order and Abbey of Fontevrault
Description: This etched print features an abbess of one of the “Fontevrist” abbeys in France. The monastery of Fontevrault was founded by Robert d’Arbrissel (1045 – 1116 CE) around 1100 CE. It was a “double” monastery, containing separate convents for both monks and nuns, the earliest of the three orders to adopt this form of life. The government was in the hands of the abbess. At Fontevrault both nuns and monks followed the Benedictine Rule. The Order’s original rule dealt with four points: silence, good works, food, and clothing, and contained the injunction that the abbess should never be chosen from among those who had been brought up at Fontevrault, but that she should be one who had had experience of the world.
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