The Abbey at Fontevraud

For those of us who are interested in the Plantagenets the abbey complex is disappointing. After the French Revolution the monastery was summarily dissolved and the buildings converted to a prison. It remained as such for fully three quarters of the 20th century. Since 1975 it has become a cultural centre and appears to be used for art installations.Some parts of the medieval building survive and the church has been much restored but is denuded of any decoration that must have once graced its interior. The effigy covers of the tombs of Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard I and Isabella of Angouleme, the wife of King John and mother of Henry III somehow survived and are on display, neatly arranged in the abbey church.

The abbey was founded by Robert d"Arbrissel in 1101. He was an influential man and the abbey attracted ample funds and other abbbeys sprang from it. The abbey had two wings, one for men and one for women, but Robert decided that the head should always be a woman and the position of abbess always attracted influential women. One was Matilda of Anjou, sister of Geoffrey and aunt of Henry II and this marked the beginning of Angevin patronage. Eleanor of Aquitaine spent her last years living there, even though she was still politically active while her son Richard was on Crusade. She was buried there, as was her husband Henry II.

Upon Richard's untimely death in 1199 his brains and entrails were buried at the abbey of Charroux where Charlemagne was reputed to have been buried. His heart was sent to Rouen to be buried along side the remains of his elder brother Henry and the rest of the body was sent to Fontevraud.
Isabella of Angouleme was the second wife of King John who divorced his first wife (also Isabella) to make the politically convenient match. Isabella of Angouleme bore at least five of John's children, including the future Henry III. After John's death in 1216 she married Hugh of Lusignan and had a further 11 children. She was probably born in 1187 and was about 60 years old when she died at Fontevraud in 1246, where she spent her last years.

Also buried here was Henry and Eleanor's daughter Joan, once Queen of Scicily and subsequently Countess of Toulouse. She died at Fontevraud at a youngish age in 1199 possibly during childbirth. Her tomb did not survive the French Revolution.

Tomb effigies of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II

Tomb effigies of Isabella of Angouleme and Richard I

The Count of Toulouse, Raymond VII was also buried here.

The remains of all of these people did not survive the French Revolution. In 1790 the abbey was confiscated by the state and all of its assets were sold. The abbess and the nuns were expelled in 1792. It was turned into a prison in 1804 and remained so until 1963 when that designation ceased, although some life prisoners lingered until the last one died in 1985.

Fortunately four important tomb coverings have been preserved but the bones disappeared long ago, so it is impossible to say where exactly they were buried or even if anything is still there.