Cerisy Abbey

[1][2] The abbey was founded in 1032 by the Duke of Normandy Robert the Magnificent on the site of an older monastery destroyed by the Normans during their invasion.

[3] In the 12th century, Cerisy extended its powers over the former Merovingian abbeys of Deux-Jumeaux and Saint-Fromond and founded priories at Saint-Marcouf, Barnavast and Vauville.

At that time, a common devotion to the cause of the Roman Church united the Normans of England, France, Southern Italy, and Greece.

In 1178, Pope Alexander III confirmed with a special bull the privileges of the abbey of Cerisy, which reached the height of its glory during the end of the 12th century.

The abbey eventually consisted of forty-eight parishes and eight priories, including two in England (at Monk Sherborne and Peterborough[citation needed]).

Depending on the Holy See, Cerisy maintained close relations with the monasteries of Mont-Saint-Michel, Saint-Ouen, Jumièges, Bec-Hellouin, Fécamp and of course Caen.