Abbey of St Vincent, Laon

[1][2][3][4] In November 882, after the monks had been decimated by the Viking invaders, the abbey was sacked, pillaged, burned and ruined.

In 925, Bishop Adelhelm took advantage of a visit by King Rudolf and obtained privileges from him for the new church to be built.

[6] A little later, the church outside the city was plundered once again by Hugh the Great during his unsuccessful siege of Laon in the battle against Louis IV.

In 1359 during the Hundred Years War the troops of Edward III of England attacked a poorly fortified part of the town called la Villette and set fire to the abbey, destroying its rich library.

Geoffroy de Billy, later député aux états-généraux for the region of Blois from 1576 to 1577,[8] became abbot of Saint-Vincent and also of abbey of Saint-Jean, Amiens.

Many of the buildings were dismantled and the materials sold off, and others were destroyed later in the 19th century, leaving the abbot's lodging as the only surviving structure.