Perseigne Abbey

[4] The abbot Adam of Perseigne, author of a vast correspondence,[5] served as the link between the Roman papacy, Cistercian Burgundy and English royalty.

[6] The period of growth in the abbey's assets, which began in 1145 with the first donations from the founder William III and other donors mentioned in the foundation charter, without a precise date, was decisive for its development.

[3] These donations reflect the Count's desire to provide the abbey with sufficient assets to fully realise the Cistercian ideal and to establish a structuring centre for his possessions in the Saosnois.

[3] Personalities such as Richard the Lionheart and Robert I, Count of Alençon and Baron of the Saosnois from 1191, played a major role in this growth by donating new estates to the abbey.

Although this phenomenon was not widespread in the parish, it marked an economic change in the Cistercian way of operating, perhaps influenced by a shortage of convers, a concern noted at the General Chapter in 1274.