The Abbey Saint-Michel de Frigolet stands below the hills known as the Montagnette …

… here’s a rather misty view I took yesterday after clambering to the top of the rocks. Frigolet takes its name from the Provencal word for thyme (ferigoulo) which is abundant in this environment.

The abbey began life as a monastery founded by Conrad, King of Arles in about 960. It’s been developed over the years and to my mind is very beautiful. Take a look:

You can’t normally see the two statues above, but a handy delivery truck arrived at the same time as me so I was able to sneak in for a quick look before the electric gates closed.

To begin with, the monastery was home to Benedictine monks, but it was subsequently occupied by several different orders until the French Revolution when something almost unbelievable happened in this place of peace and tranquility: The Siege of Frigolet.

(I didn’t take this snap, neither did I draw or paint it, but I did buy a card from the abbey shop).

Anyway, after the revolution, the government formed the National Assembly. Unfortunately, due to costs incurred in the fighting, and the excesses of the old royal family, there wasn’t much spare money. Amongst other measures, the Assembly decided to sell off all the monastery land in France to nobles and merchants, which meant a lot of people supported the dissolution.

Over at Frigolet, the monastery had become an abbey. Father Boulbon, the first abbott, refused to obey the government decree authorising the eviction of all religious communities and along with 36 other monks, locked himself in the church between 5 – 8 November, 1880.

Did you see all those crowds in the picture? Two thousand soldiers, along with artillery and cannons, AND the police, were sent to sort things out. Talk about overkill. To counteract this, thousands of local people turned up to support Father Boulbon but they were unarmed and passed the time singing a famous song of Catholic Provence, which was well-meant but didn’t really help. Gendarmes entered the church and escorted the monks from Frigolet, whilst the soldiers scattered the singing peasants.

Here are some images of the church today:

You’ll be pleased to learn that Father Boulbon was eventually allowed to return to Frigolet. There was another attempt to remove the order at the turn of the century but by that time, Father Boulbon had died, leaving behind a legacy of building a new faith in Saint Norbert.