A little history of Lonlay abbey
And also
The tops
The abbot church |
Ikmo-ned / CC-BY-SA
Guillaume Talvas, count of Bellême and lord of Domfront, founded the little church of Notre-Dame-sur-l'Eau, in Domfront (Orne) but he also founded Lonlay abbey at the same time, in 1025!
Tradition says he done this because he wanted to compensate for his crimes by making donations and religious foundations...
Embellished by lords and kings donations, the Benedictine abbey flourished until the beginning of the 15th century.
During the Hundred Years War, a fire destroyed the buildings. And that's not all... during wars of Religion, Protestants plundered Lonlay...
An old text says in March 1574, the abbey was "burnt at night"...
Monks rebuilt the church. But when the Revolution came, only 3 monks left here...