The abbey of Montivilliers was founded at the end of the 7th century, around 684 by St Philibert. It is located in Normandy, west of Rouen.
Named Monasterium Villare, it would then give its name to the city built around it. The abbey was part of a wave of religious establishments building in Normandy including its most famous neighbor the abbey of Jumieges. Montivilliers was destroyed by the Vikings invasions but after the invaders settled in Normandy and converted to Christianity, their leaders recreated it.
So in 1035, the then Duke of Normandy, Robert the Magnificent re-established the community of nuns. The first abbess was his aunt Beatrix who pushed strongly to get a complete independence for the abbey. This meant that Montivilliers was directly under the supervision of the pope and no one else could interfere in its management. The pope being far away in Rome, that left the abbess with a lot of power and freedom.
Beatrix developed the abbey for the next 30 years with large endowments from the succeeding Dukes. She was followed by Elisabeth who would remain abbess until 1116. Under her strong lead major construction campaigns were undertaken. She initiated a second wave of construction in the beginning of the 12th century, leaving behind the prime example of Benedictine architecture in Normandy from the period of William the Conqueror. The abbey is properous up until the Hundred Years' war. It is then seized by the English troops in 1419 but definitely liberated by the French in 1449.
The economical power of the abbey came from its location close to the port of Harfleur which was a major trade center towards Paris. By the 16th century activity in the port had declined sharply due to silting. The king of France, Francis I decided in 1517 to establish a new port, Le Havre, which was further from Montivilliers and reduced the power of the abbey. Its decline went up to the French revolution at the end of the 18th century when it was closed and sold. Fortunately it was not destroyed and was later bought back by the city of Montivilliers. An ambitious restoration program which was completed in 2000 gave back to the abbey its splendor. Besides the church, it now houses exhibition rooms and the cloister has regained its elegance.
The plan of the abbey is a traditional one: western building mass with two towers, large un-vaulted nave, projecting transept, lantern tower and gradated tower. The older parts are located in the choir and in the base of the western mass which dates from the end of the 11th century.
The nave of which only the south wall remains is from the early 12th century. In the mid 12th century, around 1140, vaulting with crossed ogives was experimented and was among the first attempts at this technique in Normandy, perhaps under the influence of English models, such as Durham cathedral.
The balance of the whole edifice was broken by the reconstruction of the north side aisle in gothic style in 15th and 16th century. The choir itself underwent major changes in the 17th century.
A interesting sculpted decoration in slight relief is on the arch of the chapel in the south transept crossing. It shows animal themes and human figures like biblical characters, warriors, abbot saints. The dating and interpretation of this decoration still remains a mystery.
