In the 12th century, the Plantagenets showed their support for religious houses through architectural patronage and donating magnificent items for the liturgy.
Henry II Plantagenet was raised by his mother Matilda to venerate the founder of the Order of Grandmont, Stephen of Muret. Once he become King of England, he financed the construction of Grandmont Abbey in Limousin (Haute-Vienne department) and founded seven other priories of the Order of Grandmont in his domains. These included Grandmont-Villiers in Villeloin-Coulangé (Indre-et-Loire) in 1157. A crook in Limousin enamel from the Tours priory is displayed in this exhibition.
Around 1170, Henry decided he wanted to be buried in Grandmont and had a site prepared there for his tomb. He also encouraged the cult of Stephen of Muret and petitioned the Pope to have him canonised. He later changed his mind as to his final resting place.
The King of England died at the Royal Fortress of Chinon in 1189 and, ironically, Stephen of Muret became Saint Stephen the very same year.
The only material evidence of the special relationship between the King of England and the Order of Grandmont is to be found in the items from the Abbey Treasury, dating from the late 12th and early 13th century, that have come down to us. Thanks to donations from Henry II and his son Richard the Lionheart, a magnificent altar was installed in the church in 1189. Two enamelled plaques from the altar have survived and are in the Cluny Museum. Of the seven reliquaries presented in tiers on this high altar, only one remains: the reliquary held in the church of Ambazac (a copy made in the 20th century is displayed in the exhibition). The monstrance reliquary of Arnac-la-Poste (displayed in the exhibition), and a two-barred cross preserved in Gorre church are also part of this treasure which was scattered during the French Revolution.
Today, almost nothing remains of the monastery that Henry II paid to have built. But the Society of Friends of Saint-Sylvestre and the Abbey of Grandmont (SASSAG) is hard at work to make people aware of the site and preserve remains unearthed during archaeological digs.
Illustration
Two bishops carrying the reliquary of Saint Stephen of Muret
The Mirror of Grandmont (Speculum Grandimontis)
Late 12th / early 13th century
Haute-Vienne Departmental Archives
SEM 68, f°75