Cadouin, Abbey of

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CADOUIN, ABBEY OF

Former French Cistercian abbey, in the Diocese of Périgueux. It was founded in 1115 by Gerard of Sales, a disciple of robert of arbrissel. In 1119, however, it was acquired by the cistercians of Pontigny. It became famous as the shrine of Christ's Holy Shroud, deposited there by the Crusaders. Between 1123 and 1175, Cadouin founded Gondon, Bonnevaux, Ardorell, La Faise, and Saint-Marcel. The monastery was magnificently remodeled by the generosity of King Louis XI (d. 1483). Cadouin declined rapidly under commendatory abbots. It joined the Cistercian Strict Observance (see trappists) in 1643 and regained some of its earlier prosperity but declined again in the 18th century. The abbey was suppressed by the French Revolution (1791). Its remarkable Romanesque church and late Gothic cloister serve the local parish.

Bibliography: r. delagrange, Cadouin: Histoire d'une relique et d'un monastère (Bergerac 1912). j. sigala, Cadouin en Périgord (Bordeaux 1950). j. m. canivez, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912) 11:118122. l. h. cottineau, Répertoire topobibliographique des abbayes et prieurés, 2 v. (Mâcon 193539) 1:548550. r. gazeau, Catholicisme, 2:348349.

[l. j. lekai]