Abbey of Notre-Dame de Sauvelade
Abbaye de Sauvelade / Silva Lata / Saubalade / Seuvalada
(Sauvelade, Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
The abbey was founded in 1127 by Gaston IV of Béarn, together with his wife Thalesa and his son Centulle. At that time, the monastery was entrusted to the order of Saint Benedict. The name of its first abbot, Élie, is mentioned as early as 1129. The founders also endowed it with lands, other goods and rents.
In 1286, during the reign of Abbot Vitalis, the monastery was affiliated to the Cistercian Order and became dependent on the abbey of Planselve (Gimont, Gers). Thanks to its location on the Pilgrim's Way of St. James, the monastery acquired a certain importance and economic stability, until it fell into decline in the 14th century. During the Wars of Religion in 1569, the monastery was militarily occupied, which led to the destruction of most of its buildings, leaving only the church. Subsequently, the remains were sold to a private individual along with its lands.
In 1630, a new community arrived and restored the church and built new outbuildings. In 1663, Abbot Jacques de Boyer and his companion were killed at the site of Capbis while working to recover properties that the abbey had lost during the war and occupation. Monastic activity was definitively lost after the Revolution, when the monastery was once again taken over by private individuals. The church was later restored and is now used as a parish, while other parts of the monastery are in public ownership.
Affiliation of Sauvelade
According to Originum Cisterciensium (L. Janauschek, 1877)
- BACQUÈS, Henri (1879). Souvenirs du Béarn, notes archéologiques, historiques et physiologiques. París: Dentu
- BEAUNIER, Dom (1910). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 3: Auch, Bordeaux. Abbaye de Ligugé
- DUBORD, Abbé (1876). Les abbayes cisterciennes filles de Gimont. Revue de Gascogne, núm. XVII
- JANAUSCHEK, Leopoldus (1877). Originum Cisterciensium. Vol. 1. Viena
- MARCA, Pierre de (1640). Histoire de Bearn. París: J. Camusat
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1715). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 1. París: Coignard
Sauvelade is located south of Orthez and west of Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department