1In this short note, I would like to present some evidence for the abbey of Saint-Sulpice-la-Forêt, near Rennes, which is to be found in English sources.1 It is pleasing to be able to refer here to Hubert Guillotel’s article, « Les premiers temps de l’abbaye de St-Sulpice la Forêt »2, a piece typical of Guillotel’s scholarship as an untangling of diverse primary sources, which proceeds to illuminate with great clarity a topic hitherto quite obscure.

2The abbey of Saint-Sulpice was founded c. 1115, and had enjoyed several decades of rapid growth by the time the English estates were acquired.3 Records concerning the abbey from the mid twelfth century to the mid thirteenth century survive in English archives because, over this 100 year period, the abbey had substantial possessions in the south-east of England, including the conventual priory of Lillechurch or Higham (Kent). Higham priory was founded between 1149 and 1151. It seems to have been founded initially as an independent establishment for the benefit of Mary, the daughter of King Stephen, with a party of nuns who were recruited from Saint-Sulpice. It was not until around 1156, when Mary departed Higham to become abbess of Romsey (Hampshire), that Higham, having lost its raison-d’être as the residence of a king’s daughter, became formally dependent upon the abbey of Saint-Sulpice as a conventual priory.

3At the other end of our period, in 1259 the nuns of Saint-Sulpice surrendered the last of their English possessions. Higham priory was independent once more, but, with the loss of royal patronage and intensely narrowed horizons, it was destined instead for a future of obscurity and penury.

4 There is thus a period of almost exactly 100 years in which the abbey in Brittany and the priory in Kent were formally linked. Against this background, it is to be expected that the abbesses of Saint-Sulpice, as the ultimate heads of Higham priory, should leave their mark in the priory’s records, and in the records of the houses’ royal patrons.

5The most important English source concerning the abbesses of Saint-Sulpice is a prayer from Higham priory for the commemoration of benefactors, written c. 1470, partly in French and partly in English.4 The prayer includes a simple list of the names of successive heads of the house whose souls are to be prayed for.

6The list begins with the names of abbesses (« labesse Marie, labesse Amor… »), followed immediately by a longer list of the names of prioresses (« la priorisse Alis, la priorisse Eunice… »). Comparison with other sources, and what is known of the history of the two houses, indicates that the former are abbesses of Saint-Sulpice, and the latter are prioresses of Higham. The abbesses appear to be those in office from the foundation of Saint-Sulpice down to Joanna II, who was abbess from 1254 to c. 12705. The prioresses, in contrast, begin with Alicia, who was already prioress in 1243/4,6 and continue apparently down to the mid fifteenth century, the date of the prayer. There is, therefore, a period of ‘overlap’ in the mid thirteenth century. Specifically, it is likely that the overlap begins with the abbess, Amicia, and the prioress, Alicia, who were in office in 1238, when a formal settlement between the two houses gave the priory convent increased autonomy, including the right to choose the prioress for themselves. From circa 1259 onwards, the abbey no longer had any possessions or any further interests in England. The prioress of Higham thereafter was the head of the house, and no future abbesses of Saint-Sulpice were commemorated. This evidence helps to confirm the fasti of the abbesses and prioresses named in the prayer, but it can also supplement the evidence for the abbesses of Saint-Sulpice from the archives of the mother house itself.

7In this context, it is important to consider the Higham prayer in relation to the necrology of Saint-Sulpice.7 A necrology existed at Saint-Sulpice, with obits dating back to the spiritual founder of the house, Ralph de la Fûtaye (d. August 1129). Since most of the abbesses are named in the necrology, it is possible that the Higham prayer is not independent evidence for their existence. Instead, it may be that the list of abbesses in the Higham prayer was derived from the necrology of the mother house, perhaps an extract was copied there and taken to Higham.

8 The necrology is problematical as a source, however, because the manuscript is no longer extant, and its contents have come down to us as extracts noted by scholars.8 Therefore, the apparent absence of an abbess from the necrology, based on these extracts, is not conclusive. It is, however, persuasive, since extracts from the necrology are cited prominently in, for example, the list of abbesses in Gallia Christiana.

9It is significant in this regard that two abbesses, Nina/Niva and Joanna I, are absent from both the necrology (extracts) and the commemoration prayer. On the other hand, the English prayer names four abbesses whose names were apparently missing from the necrology; Aanor, Mabilia, Eustacia and Joanna II. At least, their entries in the necrology have not come down to us. The existence of these abbesses is attested from other sources, with varying degrees of certainty, but their appearance here provides valuable confirmation of their names and their place in the sequence of abbesses.

10The sequence of abbesses can be reconstructed based almost entirely on extracts from the necrology and the cartulary of Saint-Sulpice. There are considerable gaps in this record, however, and the identity and even existence of some early abbesses are uncertain. Hence the information to be derived from the English sources is a valuable supplement. On the other hand, the English evidence is not comprehensive either. For instance, Nina or Niva, apparently the second abbess, is well-attested in the abbey’s archives, with the earliest dated reference being 1161 and the latest 1181.9 Nevertheless her name is absent from the Higham priory prayer and from the English sources.

11For the remainder of this note, I will discuss the evidence for each of the abbesses named in the Higham priory prayer. The names in italic are the names of abbesses as they appear in the prayer, and the names in bold are the abbesses known from other sources. A short appendix lists these in summary form.

L’abbesse Marie

12Maria (c. 1117-1159) is the first abbess of Saint-Sulpice for whom there is any evidence. She occurs first in 1124, and appears in several of the abbey’s early (but mostly undated) documents.10 This is not surprising since this was a period of rapid expansion of the abbey’s possessions. Her death is recorded in the necrology as May 1159.11

13This is categorically not Mary, the daughter of King Stephen, who first occurs c.1148 and was abbess of Romsey from 1156 to 1160. Commemoration of Mary would be expected at Higham priory, and in fact she is named elsewhere in the commemoration prayer, apart from the lists of abbesses and prioresses. The text contains a passage, written first in French, naming the royal founders and patrons; King Stephen, Queen Matilda, Mary « the abbess », King John and King Edward. The same prayer is later repeated in English, in more detail; King Stephen, Queen Matilda, « and dame Mary her dowgter that was Abbas of this place », King John and King Henry (III). It appears to be simple coincidence that the first recorded abbess of Saint-Sulpice was a Maria.

14Maria appears to have been succeeded by Nina or Niva, who was abbess from 1156 at least until 1181.12 As noted above, the name of Nina/Niva is missing from both the Higham priory prayer and (apparently) the abbey’s necrology, and there is no obvious explanation why this should be.

L’abbesse Amor

15This name adds substance to the existence of an Abbess Aanor (c.1181 – c.1190).

16There is some evidence for an abbess of Saint-Sulpice of a similar name, but it is rather circumstantial. An Aanor, styled abbess of Saint-Sulpice, attested a charter concerning patronage of the priory of Sainte-Croix de Vitré by the Vitré family, c. 1172 x 1184. The transaction does not appear to be connected with Saint-Sulpice, since the priory belonged to Marmoutier, and Aanor may have attested in a personal capacity.13

17Amor/Aanor might be identified with « Agnoria », the daughter of Stephen, count of Penthièvre (and hence paternal aunt of Duke Conan IV), and wife of Oliver II de Dinan, who is mentioned by Le Baud as having become abbess of Saint-Sulpice in her widowhood.14

18The reference in the prayer to « Amor » is therefore a valuable contribution to the evidence for Abbess Aanor, who was closely connected to both the ducal family (by birth) and the powerful baronial families of Dinan and Vitré (by marriage), and who held office at a crucial time in relations between the duchy, with its capital at Rennes, and the Plantagenets, Henry II and his son, Duke Geoffrey.

19It is surprising, then, that there do not appear to be any records of Abbess Aanor from the archives of Saint-Sulpice. In fact, there are several contemporary records of an abbess identified only as « A ».15 This is ambiguous, as the next abbess recorded is Amelina. It appears that this ambiguity has obscured the existence of Abbess Aanor, because Abbess A. could always be identified with Amelina. However, it is reasonable to suppose that A. is not Amelina, at least not always, because Amelina, prioress of Saint-Sulpice, occurs in one text along with Abbess A.16 It is probable that Amelina the prioress was promoted to abbess as successor to Aanor. The apparent absence of Aanor from the cartulary, therefore, may be explained by a practice of naming her in documents only by her initial.

L’abbesse Emeline

20Amelina (c.1190 – 1210) does not appear as abbess in any documents, unless it is as « A. », but an Abbess Amelina appeared in the necrology. As noted above, she is probably to be identified with the prioress under Abbess Aanor. According to the antiquarian extracts, she is recorded in the necrology as Amelina « de Escosse » who died in 1210.17 Rather than modern Scotland, the toponym probably derives from Saint-Sulpice’s priory of Les Couëts (commune Bouguenais, arrondissement Nantes, Loire-Atlantique), which had the forms Scotia and (presumably the vernacular) Escoiz in the twelfth century.18

L’abbesse Olive

21There is a single known reference to an Abbess Oliva, in a charter of Pierre de Dinan, bishop of Rennes, dated « March 1213 ». Her death is recorded in the necrology as 6 March « 1214 ».19 She was thus abbess from 1210 at least until sometime in 1213.

L’abesse Mabile

22Abbess Mabilia (1213 – 1228x1235), like Nina, occurs in numerous documents,20 yet her death was not recorded in the necrology (according to the surviving extracts). Mabilia appears to have succeeded as abbess by 1213, as she attested a charter (undated) of Guy de Thouars (d. April 1213).21

23In addition to her name appearing in the Higham priory prayer, Mabilia is the first abbess of Saint-Sulpice named in dealings with the English estates. Evidently she was an active and enterprising abbess on all fronts. In particular, she promptly engaged in efforts to recover or consolidate the abbey’s English possessions. Mabilia obtained a charter of confirmation from the tenant and royal courtier, Richard fitz Aucher, concerning the abbey’s tenure of High Laver (Essex) in 1216 or 1217.22 At the same time, she successfully engaged in litigation over the church of Hoo (Kent) in which the tenant, Robert Bardolf, acknowledged the abbey’s right to advowson in the church.23

24Presumably it was the abbess of Saint-Sulpice, Mabilia or her successor, who sought and obtained a royal charter of confirmation. In 1232, Henry III issued a charter confirming the grants made by King Stephen, Queen Matilda and their son Eustace to Saint-Sulpice, namely, the church of Hoo and the manor and church of Lillechurch (Higham).24

L’abbesse Amice

25Amicia (1228x1235 –?1239) occurs only once in documents of Saint-Sulpice, in 1237, and a charter of Amicia, sometime abbess, is referred to later, in a document of 1261.25 Her death is recorded in the necrology as 24 January 1240.26

26The English evidence therefore adds a great deal more information about her, including an example of Abbess Amicia’s seal. Amicia can be seen following the trail blazed by her predecessor in pursuing the abbey’s rights in its English possessions through the English royal court. In 1235, Amicia was suing Matilda de Saint-Leger to recover some of the land at High Laver.27 Prior to this, from 1227, either Mabilia or Amicia, commenced proceedings to recover the rest of the High Laver land from Henry fitz Aucher, the heir of Richard. Amicia is first named in these proceedings in 1236, and the action was settled in favour of the abbey in 1237.28

27At the same time, Abbess Amicia must have been involved in negotiations in a matter that was of the greatest importance for the history of Higham priory. This was an agreement between the mother-house, Saint-Sulpice, and Higham priory, whereby the priory convent gained more autonomy to conduct its own affairs. The document confirming this settlement was dated at London on 23 November 1238. Three seals were attached to the document, one of which was the seal of Amicia, abbess of Saint-Sulpice.29

L’abbesse Eustace

28This Abbess Eustacia is known only from the Higham priory prayer. Abbess « E. » is mentioned in Gallia Christiana, as party to a settlement concerning houses near « Moizé » in 1239. I have not been able to find any other reference to this document, despite careful search of the documents concerning the abbey’s property at Mouazé (Ille et Vilaine).30 It is possible that a Eustacia was abbess for a short time, presumably as successor to Amicia from shortly before the latter’s death.

29The next abbess was named Joanna. This name is missing from the Higham priory prayer, but it is likely that there was some confusion at this point, as abbesses named Joanna occurred immediately before and after Abbess Yvonne/Yvette, perhaps leading to the first Joanna being erroneously omitted from the list.

30Joanna is reliably recorded as abbess during an episcopal visitation to the priory of Locmaria on 11 April 1244.31 According to Gallia Christiana, the death of Abbess Joanna « Bonamy » is recorded in the necrology as 29 September 1249. A second Joanna (de Keraer) is mentioned as being at the priory of Locmaria near Quimper on 2 March 1250.32 Without access to the full text of the necrology, no conclusion is possible. However, it is quite possible there was only one Abbess Joanna at this time, who succeeded Abbess E. by 1244 and died on 29 September 1249. The reference to Joanna visiting Locmaria, found in the list of abbesses in Gallia Christiana, appears to be a confusion with a later Joanna (see below). The epithet « Bonamy » could be derived from the cartulary, where a charter mentioning « I. abbatissa » is immediately followed by a charter (of 1345) which refers to « nostre bien amée l’abbasse de Sainct Sulpice ».33 Furthermore, it appears that Yvonna was named in the necrology as the tenth abbess of Saint-Sulpice, and this would fit with only one abbess named Joanna having oocurred at that time.

Jude

31The second-last abbess named in the Higham prayer, « Jude », is rather mysterious. At this point, the record of the abbesses of Saint-Sulpice from other sources is confused, with a succession of one or two abbesses named Joanna, as noted above, and an Yvonna, followed by yet another Joanna. Possibly one of these could have been corrupted to Jude, most likely Yvonna.

32Abbess Yvonna appears to be known by this name only from the necrology, where she was recorded as the tenth abbess, who died on 25 June 1254.34 It is probable that she should be identified with an abbess « I. » who is recorded in a charter of Jean I, duke of Brittany, dated 5 October 1253.35

33Jude is not exactly the same as Yvonna, although it is a plausible corruption of a similar female name, and the Higham priory prayer here at least confirms there was another abbess within the sequence of abbesses named Joanna.

Jon

34The interposition of Yvonna makes it possible to distinguish Joanna II (de Saulnier) (1254 – c.1270) from the earlier abbess/es named Joanna. There is also an abbess named Agnes listed in Gallia Christiana as occurring in 1258,36 but I have not found the source for this, and it may be a confusion with the Abbess Agnes who succeeded Joanna (see below).

35An Abbess Joanna issued a charter dated 5 November 1256 and conducted a visitation of the priory of Locmaria near Quimper in March 1260/1.37 Her death does not appear to have been recorded in the necrology, but there is such confusion over the abbesses named Joanna that one cannot be certain from the surviving extracts.

36The English records add more here, in particular showing a concerted campaign by an Abbess Joanna in 1259 to resolve the growing problem of the English estates. In 1259 Joanna was engaged in litigation in the English royal court over the advowson of the churches at Hoo, and the same year she travelled to Paris to obtain a charter of Henry III confirming an exchange involving these churches between the abbey of Saint-Sulpice and the bishop of Rochester.38 Also in 1259, Abbess Joanna transferred the High Laver lands to the abbey of Waltham Holy Cross (in Essex), along with large arrears of uncollected rent, for a payment of just 100 marks sterling.39

37There is no record of any formal breach with Higham priory, but the fact that Joanna was the last abbess of Saint-Sulpice whose name is recorded in the commemoration prayer at Higham speaks for itself. At Saint-Sulpice, Joanna was succeeded by Abbess Agnes (c. 1270 – 1285).40

38The evidence from the archives of Higham priory and records of the English royal court involving the priory’s estates adds a substantial amount to the evidence for the abbesses of Saint-Sulpice surviving from the abbey itself. The commemoration prayer of Higham priory aids in establishing the sequence of the abbesses, and it supplies names for two abbesses otherwise known only by their initials; Aanor and Eustacia. Other documents from the priory’s archive and the records of the English royal court furthermore supply precise and reliable dates for the abbesses Mabilia, Amicia and Joanna II. This evidence is valuable not just for the dry catalogue of names and dates, but even more for the activities of these thirteenth-century abbesses. It offers us a glimpse of the abbesses, presumably by their agents in England, actively pursuing litigation in the royal court, negotiating with landholders and other religious establishments, and seeking royal patronage. This in turn illustrates something of their policies for dealing with the problematical situation of possessing estates across the Channel.