Editing Abbey (section)

== Reforms at the Abbey of Cluny ==
[[File:Cluny Gala Arts et Metiers exterieur 01.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Abbey of Cluny in lights]]

The [[Abbey of Cluny]] was founded by [[William I, Duke of Aquitaine]] in 910 AD at [[Cluny]], [[Saône-et-Loire]], [[France]]. The Abbey was built in the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style. The Abbey was noted for its strict observance of the [[Rule of Saint Benedict]]. However, reforms resulted in many departures from this precedent. The [[Cluniac Reforms]] brought focus to the traditions of monastic life, encouraging art and the caring of the poor. The reforms quickly spread by the founding of new abbey complexes and by adoption of the reforms by existing abbeys. By the twelfth century, the Abbey of Cluny was the head of an order consisting of 314 monasteries.<ref name=Alston>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04073a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Congregation of Cluny|website=www.newadvent.org|access-date=28 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706160053/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04073a.htm|archive-date=6 July 2017}}</ref>

The church at the Abbey was commenced in 1089 AD by [[Hugh of Cluny]], the sixth abbot. It was finished and consecrated by [[Pope Innocent II]] around 1132 AD. The church was regarded as one of the wonders of the [[Middle Ages]]. At {{convert|555|ft}} in length, it was the largest church in [[Christendom]] until the completion of [[St Peter's Basilica]] at Rome. The church consisted of five naves, a [[narthex]] (ante-church) which was added in 1220 AD, and several towers. Together with the conventual buildings, it covered an area of twenty-five acres.

In the [[Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution]] in 1790 AD, the Abbey church was bought by the town and almost entirely destroyed.<ref name=Alston/> As of 2025, however, fragments of the original Abbey still stand and archaeological excavations have intermittently been conducted over the past century, yielding a massively important and rich source of information.

=== English Cluniac houses ===
[[File:Paisley Abbey Interior East.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Interior facing east, Paisley Abbey]]
The first English house of the Cluniac order was built at [[Lewes]], [[Sussex]]. It was founded by [[William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey]] in about 1077 AD. All but one of the [[Cluniac houses in Britain]] were known as [[Priory|priories]], symbolizing their subordination to the [[Abbot of Cluny]]. All the Cluniac houses in England and Scotland were French colonies, governed by French priors who travelled to the [[Abbey of Cluny]] to consult or be consulted (unless the abbot of Cluny chose to come to Britain, which happened rarely). The priory at [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]] was an exception. In 1245 AD it was raised to the status of an abbey, answerable only to the Pope.