According to tradition, the site of L’Absie was granted in 854 by Charles the Bald to the monks of the Abbey of Noirmoutier (Vendée), who had taken refuge there to escape Norman incursions. At that time, two churches stood at L’Absie. That first monastic establishment did not endure, either due to the same invasions or because the monks of Noirmoutier relocated elsewhere in search of a safer and more stable site.
It is believed that in 1095, Pierre de Bunt arrived at L’Absie, then in ruins. With the support of the bishop of Poitiers, Pierre II († 1115), he rebuilt a church and settled nearby as a hermit. Around this site, a community gradually formed until, in 1120, Gerald of Salles (c. 1050–1120) founded a monastery there, in the presence of several ecclesiastical authorities, including the bishop of Poitiers, Guillaume Gibert († 1140), and the abbot of Cadouin (Dordogne). Pierre de Bunt was appointed as the first abbot.
From its foundation through the 13th century, the abbey amassed a significant patrimony thanks to numerous donations. During the Hundred Years’ War, the site was almost completely destroyed. It was rebuilt in the second half of the 15th century. At the beginning of the 16th century, the monastery came under the authority of commendatory abbots. Shortly afterwards, during the Wars of Religion, it was occupied by the Huguenots; between 1575 and 1576, the monks were expelled and the site looted.
This marked the beginning of a new period of decline. An attempt to reform the abbey through incorporation into the Congregation of Saint-Maur was unsuccessful. In 1735, in the midst of this decline, the abbey was secularised, and its assets were entrusted to the chapter of La Rochelle. Apart from the church —now heavily altered— the other monastic buildings had fallen into ruin and were sold after the Revolution.
According to a drawing published in L’Abbaye de L’Absie-en-Gatine
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L’Absie is located between Poitiers and the Atlantic coast