Mont Saint-Michel: the abbey of the sea

Situated on a rocky island at the mouth of the Couesnon River, in the Bay of Saint-Michel, located between the French regions of Brittany and Normandy, a small abbey dedicated to the archangel Saint Michael (Saint-Michel) was built in the 10th century. Over the centuries, the abbey grew and became a fortress resembling a castle, surrounded by a wall and having its own village.

The abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, in Normandy, France.

In the 6th and 7th centuries, the island was used as a base by a Frankish tribe, which had a fortification there. However, at some point in the 7th century, the Franks left the island, but the neighboring lands were still occupied. Bishop Aubert of Avranches, who was active in the region, on one occasion in the year 708, reportedly had a divine vision in which he saw Saint Michael at the highest part of that island, called Mont Tombe. The bishop was initially incredulous, but in a second apparition, he accepted the revelation. The archangel supposedly ordered the cleric to build an oratory in his honor there. The oratory was built simply in 709, and the island's name was renamed Mont Saint-Michel.

However, the island was not immediately occupied by the Catholic Church and continued to serve as an observation and military post, mainly due to Viking invasions in the 9th century. But after the Viking attacks ceased, the island of Mont Saint-Michel became disputed by the counties of Brittany and Normandy during the 10th century, remaining under Breton jurisdiction for some time, then in 933 supporting William I Longsword (910-942), Duke of Normandy. Between 965 or 966, possession of the island was granted to the Benedictine Order, which founded a small monastery.

Drawing of what the monastery built by the Benedictines in the 10th century would have looked like. Paulo Gout, 1910.

Support for Normandy continued into the following century, when Duke William, the Conqueror (c.1028-1087) was supported in the conquest of England in 1066. After that, the monastery gained land and wealth, allowing its growth and prosperity, making it one of the main abbeys in northern France. Later in the 12th century, it began to be fortified, acquiring architectural features of the late Romanesque style and the beginning of the Gothic, in addition to serving as a base for the Hundred Years' War (1337-1422), resisting attacks by the English.

Once the period of medieval wars ceased, the abbey lost its military function and maintained only its religious one. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it underwent reforms that enlarged it, and even a village emerged. The walls and bastions that can be seen today were also built.

During the French Revolution (1789-1799), the island became a prison for political prisoners. This condition was maintained by the government of Napoleon Bonaparte, lasting until 1817. After that, the prison was suspended but returned to operation between 1830 and 1870, in addition to a hospital also being established on the island. a funcionar entre 1830 e 1870, além de terem estabelecido também um hospital na ilha.

The abbey in a drawing by Henri Charpentier, 1870.

At the end of the 19th century, the island became a tourist spot. However, with World War I (1914-1918), the island once again received a military garrison, and years later, in the context of World War II (1939-1945), Mont Saint-Michel was even occupied by the Nazi German army. After the wars, the island resumed its religious and tourist activity, also undergoing new works.

However, in addition to the architectural beauty of the abbey with its fortified appearance that reminds some of a castle on top of a hill, its walls and village are also beautiful. But the landscape also catches the eye; thus, Mont Saint-Michel is one of the main French tourist spots in Normandy.

However, a phenomenon that draws considerable attention is the strong tidal range. In that bay, the tide advances and recedes so dramatically that at low tide, it is possible to walk to the island, and pastures form in its surroundings. However, this oscillation was also amplified due to human intervention, in which works carried out in the 19th and 20th centuries created dikes, canals, and even filled in some sections. A condition such that today there is a bridge leading to the island.

The abbey during low tide.

Referências

Le Mont-Saint-Michel: Historie & Imaginarie. Paris: Éditions du Patrimónie, 1998.

MIGNON, Oliver. Le Mont-Saint-Michel: La baie, le village et l’abbaye. Lille: Ouest-France, 2015.