REDON, ABBEY OF

A former Benedictine monastery in the Diocese of Vannes, department of Ille et Vilane, France. It was founded in 823 or 832 by St. Convoyon (d. 868), who became first abbot, on land ceded by a Breton lord, Ratuili. Destroyed by the Normans in 869, it was restored in the 10th century under Abbot Catwallon, who extended its property holdings. Involved in Breton political strife, it was pillaged anew by Duke John of Brittany. In the 13th century, it was refurbished, and in the 14th century it became the center of a small city walled by Abbot Jean de Tréal and was considered by Bretons a sanctuary of national independence. At the request of Duke Francis I (d.1450) martin v made Redon an episcopal see, a status it retained only briefly. It became the object of favors of louis xi, who visited it c. 1461. Reforms were attempted under a succession of commendatory abbots (see commendation) such as Cardinal Salviati, Bp. Arthur d'Epinay, who rebuilt extensively and introduced monks of the Congregation of Brittany in 1620, and Cardinal richelieu, who established maurists at Redon in 1628 and continued repairs. Three Choiseul-Praslin abbots governed the monastery in the 17th century, and two cardinals de la Tour d'Auvergne, from 1681 to 1722. The church, which has a notable romanesque tower and 13th-century choir and ambulatory chapels, now serves as a parish church. The abbey was suppressed in 1790, and the cloisters today are used as a school under the direction of the eudists.

Bibliography: g. heer, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 8:1066. l. h. cottineau, Répertoire topobibliographique des abbayes et prieurés, 2 v. (Mâcon 1935–39) 2:2422–23. h. leclercq, Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie, ed. f. cabrol, h. leclercq and h. i. marrou, 15 v. (Paris 1907–53) 14.2:2176–78. a. m. de courson de la villeneuve, ed., Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Redon en Bretagne (Paris 1863).

[g. e. gingras]