Abbey of Saint-Étienne de Vaux
Abbaye de Vaux / S Stephani de Vallibus / Valles
(Vaux-sur-Mer, Charente-Maritime)
The Abbey of Saint-Étienne de Vaux was founded with the active participation of the lords of Mortagne (Mortagne-sur-Gironde, southeast of here and also close to the coast). Around the year 1075, the brothers Pierre and Arnaud Gémon brought a community of monks from the Abbey of Maillezais (Vendée), led by Abbot Martin.
It is believed that the site of Vaux had already been home to an earlier monastic settlement, which likely disappeared due to the Norman invasions. The new — or reestablished — foundation was approved at a council held in Saintes and was dedicated to Saint Stephen, under the authority of Maillezais. By the late 11th century, the abbey already controlled the Priory of Saint-Sépulcre de Seuilly (Indre-et-Loire). The monastery suffered during the Hundred Years’ War (14th–15th centuries), although the exact effects are unknown, and was later severely damaged during the Wars of Religion, especially in 1584, when the site was left in ruins.
From the surviving remains of the church and adjoining buildings, worship resumed, though the abbey was never fully rebuilt. Nevertheless, it remained active until the French Revolution. The present church is a reduced remnant of a large building with three naves and a transept. Today, only the large central apse remains, now forming a small nave, along with part of the transept and an added chapel. The whole preserves valuable examples of medieval sculpture.
Floor plan of the preserved part of the church
- BEAUNIER, Dom (1910). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 3: Auch, Bordeaux. Abbaye de Ligugé
- EYGUN, François (1979). Saintogne romane. La nuit des temps, 33. Zodiaque
- GRASILIER, Théodore. (1871). Cartulaire de l’abbaye de Saint-Étienne de Vaux de l’ordre de Saint-Benoît. Niort: Clouzot
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1720). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 2. París: Typographia Regia
- TONNELLIER, Paul (1979). L'abbatiale Saint-Etienne de Vaux. Saintes: Delavaud
Vaux-sur-Mer lies near Royan, right at the mouth of the Gironde estuary