Montreuil Abbey

Montreuil Abbey, also known by the name Montreuil-les-Dames, was a significant Cistercian nunnery located in France. Its history spans several centuries, marked by periods of growth, relocation, and eventual suppression. The abbey's initial foundation was in 1136, established by Bartholomew, the Bishop of Laon. For a period, the community engaged in a wide range of activities, including traditional women's crafts like weaving and embroidery, alongside agricultural labor such as tilling fields and clearing forests.

Early Growth and Restrictions

Within a few years of its founding, Montreuil Abbey achieved considerable renown, with its community expanding to nearly three hundred nuns. The sheer size of this community proved challenging to manage. Consequently, within a century of its establishment, the Abbot of Clairvaux intervened, prohibiting the abbey from accepting more novices until the number of nuns was reduced to one hundred, a figure that was not to be exceeded in the future.

Relocation and the Holy Face

The abbey's original location in Montreuil-en-Thiérache (within the modern commune of Rocquigny in the Aisne department) faced destruction in 1636 due to prevalent warfare in the region. The nuns were forced to abandon their home. In 1655, they were granted a new site in Laon, taking over the former leper hospital of Saint Ladre and Saint Lazare. This new location became known as Montreuil-sous-Laon.

During the Middle Ages, Montreuil Abbey was a major pilgrimage destination due to its possession of the "Holy Face of Montreuil." This relic, believed by many to be a copy of the Veil of Veronica, was presented to Abbess Sybilla in 1249 by her brother, Jacques Pantaleon, who later became Pope Urban IV. The painting, of apparent Eastern origin, bore an inscription that puzzled scholars until Russian experts suggested it was Slavonic, meaning "the image of the Lord in a linen cloth."

Suppression and Later Use

Montreuil Abbey was ultimately suppressed in 1792 during the French Revolution. The former abbey premises were subsequently utilized as a workhouse, a lunatic asylum, and housing for refugees, undergoing considerable damage and alterations during this period. Following a significant refurbishment in the early 1990s, the buildings are now primarily used for residential purposes. The Sainte Face relic itself survived the revolution and was deposited in the treasury of Laon Cathedral in 1807, where it remains.