ive years after the death of FRANCOIS I, his son HENRI II resumed hostilities against CHARLES QUINT, in 1552. Despite the peace treaty of Cateau-Cambresis signed in 1559 by HENRI II and PHILIPPE II, the country was left economically weak and continued to suffer from internal wars, the religion wars. Like Guise and Laon, Saint-Michel sided against the Calvinists, who plundered the abbey in 1573. The hostilities dragged on for more than twenty years.
But the recovery of the country was underway.
RANCOIS DE GILLA, Lord of Villemer, who became, in 1577, the 36th abbot of Saint-Michel, was responsible for the reconstruction of the site. In contrast to his predecessors, he felt concerned by the monastery and tried to improve its situation. Steward to the DUKE OF GUISE, this influential man, negotiated the freeing of some assets, provided for the subsistence of seven priests, two apprentices and two servants and persuaded DOM NOEL LE BOSSU, doctor at the Sorbonne, to come and teach theology.
n 1597 JEAN-BAPTISTE DE MORNAT born near Venice, was entrusted by HENRI IV with the supervision of the Saint-Michel abbey and became its 37th abbot. The edict of Nantes put an end to the religious wars in 1598 and peace with Spain was established with the Vervins treaty.
From 1598 to his death in 1628, JEAN-BAPTISTE DE MORNAT had his residence in the Saint-Michel abbey and set himself the goal of rebuilding and bringing this institution to life again .
EAN-BAPTISTE DE MORNAT can be thought of as the second founding father of the abbey. He rebuilt the church by appealing to the Benedictine community and selecting good Italian architects. He renovated the abbatial buildings. He yielded profits from the abbey revenues and negotiated the lifting of rights on the transfer of the property. So he freed the house in Vaux-sous-Laon, the priory in Boulers near Chimay and succeeded in buying back some of the perpetual land leases. He even made some new acquisitions.
Cardinal de Richelieu
he abbey enjoyed a lucky period and the parish grew in size. The land was able to nourish its tenants and the labourers, rare independent peasants, grew richer. Forges expanded initiating the early industrialisation period.
In response to flagging moral standards and to weakening monastic life, the synod of Trente instructed the abbeys to group together into permanent and organised congregations. But the austere abbey of Saint-Michel was not able to attract the two great Benedictine abbeys of that period, Saint-Maur in the convent of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris or Saint-Vanne and Hydulphe, founded by DOM DIDIER DE LA COUR in 1604 in Verdun.
fter the death of JEAN-BAPTISTE DE MORNAT, the abbey fell into the hands of ALPHONSE-LOUIS DUPLESSIS DE RICHELIEU, brother of the famous Cardinal de RICHELIEU, and abbot of La Chaise-Dieu and Saint-Victor in Marseille. In 1634 the Cardinal de RICHELIEU led France into one of the most atrocious conflicts, the 30 years war (1618-1648) which was followed by the war of Succession. Misery spread again across the Thiérache. The districts of Saint-Michel, Hirson, La Capelle were overrun by the Spaniards in 1636 then retaken by the French. Until 1653 the countryside was ransacked by these continuous comings and goings. Famine set in and in 1649 the pest and newly levied taxes, to finance the military expeditions of the ROI-SOLEIL, hit the population hard.
ive years after the death of FRANCOIS I, his son HENRI II resumed hostilities against CHARLES QUINT, in 1552. Despite the peace treaty of Cateau-Cambresis signed in 1559 by HENRI II and PHILIPPE II, the country was left economically weak and continued to suffer from internal wars, the religion wars. Like Guise and Laon, Saint-Michel sided against the Calvinists, who plundered the abbey in 1573. The hostilities dragged on for more than twenty years.
n 1597 JEAN-BAPTISTE DE MORNAT born near Venice, was entrusted by HENRI IV with the supervision of the Saint-Michel abbey and became its 37th abbot. The edict of Nantes put an end to the religious wars in 1598 and peace with Spain was established with the Vervins treaty.
EAN-BAPTISTE DE MORNAT can be thought of as the second founding father of the abbey. He rebuilt the church by appealing to the Benedictine community and selecting good Italian architects. He renovated the abbatial buildings. He yielded profits from the abbey revenues and negotiated the lifting of rights on the transfer of the property. So he freed the house in Vaux-sous-Laon, the priory in Boulers near Chimay and succeeded in buying back some of the perpetual land leases. He even made some new acquisitions.
he abbey enjoyed a lucky period and the parish grew in size. The land was able to nourish its tenants and the labourers, rare independent peasants, grew richer. Forges expanded initiating the early industrialisation period.
fter the death of JEAN-BAPTISTE DE MORNAT, the abbey fell into the hands of ALPHONSE-LOUIS DUPLESSIS DE RICHELIEU, brother of the famous Cardinal de RICHELIEU, and abbot of La Chaise-Dieu and Saint-Victor in Marseille. In 1634 the Cardinal de RICHELIEU led France into one of the most atrocious conflicts, the 30 years war (1618-1648) which was followed by the war of Succession. Misery spread again across the Thiérache. The districts of Saint-Michel, Hirson, La Capelle were overrun by the Spaniards in 1636 then retaken by the French. Until 1653 the countryside was ransacked by these continuous comings and goings. Famine set in and in 1649 the pest and newly levied taxes, to finance the military expeditions of the ROI-SOLEIL, hit the population hard.
