The Tower of Saint Nicholas at the site of Bec Abbey

Bec Abbey (French: Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec) in Le Bec-Hellouin, Normandy, France, is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure département, in a valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Le Bec-Hellouin is a commune in the department of Eure in the region of Haute-Normandie in northern France. Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Benedictine refers to the Spirituality and Consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in Eure is a department in the north of France named after the Eure River. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Rouen (ʁwɑ̃ in French) is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital Le Havre is a city in the northwest region of France situated on the right bank of the mouth of the Seine River as it outlets into the Bay of the Seine

First foundation

It was founded in 1039 by Herluin, a Norman knight who in about 1031 left the court of Gilbert, Count of Brionne, to devote himself to a life of religion: the commune of Le Bec-Hellouin preserves his name. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. Gilbert or Giselbert "Crispin", (1000-1040 was a Norman noble Count of Eu, and Count of Brionne in northern France. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic.

With the arrival of Lanfranc of Pavia, Bec became a principal center of 11th century intellectual life. Lanfranc (c 1005 – 1089 was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by extraction Lanfranc, who was already famous for his lectures at Avranches, came to teach as prior and master of the monastic school, but left in 1062, to become abbot of Caen (and later Archbishop of Canterbury). Avranches is a commune in the Manche department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France. Caen (kɑ̃ is a commune in northwestern France. It is the Prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the He was followed as abbot by Anselm, also later an Archbishop of Canterbury. Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 &ndash April 21, 1109) was an Italian medieval Philosopher, theologian, and church official The fifth abbot, Theobald of Bec, also went on to Canterbury. Theobald ( Tedbald) (died 18 April 1161 was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161 The future Pope Alexander II and many bishops came from the school at Bec. Alexander II (died April 21, 1073) born Anselmo da Baggio, was Pope from 1061 to 1073

The followers of William the Conqueror sponsored Bec, enriching the abbey with extensive manors and other holdings in England. William I of England ( 1027 His reign which brought Norman culture to England had an enormous impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Bec also owned and managed St Neots Priory as well as a number of other British foundations, including Goldcliff Priory in Monmouthshire founded in 1113 by Robert de Chandos. St Neots Priory was a Benedictine monastery in what is now the town of St Neots in the English county of Cambridgeshire within the district of Goldcliff (Allteuryn is a small Hamlet and community Parish to the south east of the City of Newport in South Wales. Ancient county See also Monmouthshire (historic The ancient county of Monmouthshire was formed from the Welsh Marches by the Laws in Wales The village, now suburb, of Tooting Bec in London is named because the abbey owned the land. Tooting Bec is a place in the London Borough of Wandsworth in south London.

The Abbey was damaged during the Wars of Religion and left a ruin in the French Revolution but, notably, the 15th century St. Nicholas Tower of the medieval monastery is still standing. The French Wars of Religion (1562 to 1598 between French Catholics and Protestants ( Huguenots involved both civil infighting The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Saint Nicholas (Άγιος Νικόλαος, Agios Nikolaos, "victory of the people" is the common name for Nicholas of Myra, a Christian Saint [1]

The founder, Herluin, later achieved sainthood. His life (Vita Herluini) was written by Abbot Gilbert Crispin. Gilbert Crispin (1055?-1117 was a Christian author and Anglo-Norman monk appointed by Archbishop Lanfranc in 1085 to be the abbot proctor and servant of Westminster Archbishop Lanfranc also wrote a Chronicon Beccense of the life of Herluin, and of the first four abbots, which was published at Paris, 1648.

Second foundation

In 1948 the site was re-settled as the Abbaye de Notre-Dame du Bec by Benedictine monks led by Dom Grammont, who effected some restorations. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Bec-Helluin abbey is known for its links with Anglicanism and has been visited by successive archbishops of Canterbury. The abbey library contains the John Graham Bishop deposit of 5000 works concerning Anglicanism.

See also

• List of abbeys and priories
• Lanfranc
• Anselm of Canterbury
• Theobald of Bec
• Ivo of Chartres, who studied at Bec

External links

• (French) Abbaye de Notre-Dame du Bec: official website