Grandselve Abbey

Grandselve was founded as a hermitage under the Benedictine rule in 1114 by Gerald of Sales, who placed it under the supervision of Cadouin Abbey.

He authorized the monks to build a church, gave them the lands, and required them to follow the rule as practiced at Cîteaux Abbey.

Over time, the monks began to detach themselves from their connection to Cadouin, and in 1135 Bishop Amelius, at the request of Pope Innocent II, reminded them of their required obedience.

[3] Grandselve joined the Cistercian movement as a daughter house of Clairvaux Abbey in 1145.

By the late fifteenth century, commendatory abbots further depleted the abbey's resources while neglecting maintenance and repair.