Abbaye du Breuil-Benoît
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A Mediaeval Cistercian Abbey Church... and a Miraculous Return.
Having left for the Crusades, he feared that he would never return... Guillaume de Marcilly, a valiant Christian fallen into the hands of the unbelieving Saracens. Faith and cunning helped him to regain his freedom. Upon his return, he built a great abbey church for the monastery that his father had helped to found. This church was dedicated in 1224, but the Crusader died before its completion. Today, you will not see the transept, which was demolished subsequent to the sale of the estate during the Revolution. However, the church remains the symbol of an unhoped-for return. With an impressive Gothic nave, it is the only abbey church to remain standing, whereas all the other abbey churches, masterpieces of mediaeval Norman Cistercian architecture, have fallen. Isn't that Breuil's finest miracle ? A sober and sublime structure, magnificently preserved from harm over the centuries.
Not far away, with a pretty triangular fronton and graceful clamps of brick and stone, the abbot's lodge has all the elegance of a Louis XIII château. While its history deviates from the monastic ideal, the visitor must admit that it is pleasant to behold.
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