Sauvecanne (Silvacane), Abbey of
SAUVECANNE (SILVACANE), ABBEY OF
Former French Cistercian abbey, Archdiocese of Aix. It was founded by the cistercians of morimond in 1147 at the request of Abp. Pons de Lubières (1132–57) of Aix. After two centuries of prosperity, it lost its independence and under the administration of commendatory abbots, declined rapidly. A bull of Pope Eugene IV (1443) suppressed the abbey and transferred its goods and revenues to the cathedral chapter of Aix. The surviving church, constructed between 1175 and 1230, is a fine example of Cistercian Gothic. Much of the monastery, once a structure of remarkable beauty, is in ruins.
Bibliography: e. de saint-jean, ed., Histoire del'abbaye cistercienne de Silvacane en Provence (Aix 1891). u. chevalier, Répertoire des sources historiques du moyen-âge. Topobiobibliographie, 2 v. (Paris 1894–1903) 2:2963–64. l. h. cottineau, Répertoire topobibliographique des abbayes et prieurés, 2 v. (Mâcon 1935–39) 2:3037–38.
[l. j. lekai]