Fontevrault (Fons Ebraldi), a town in the French department of Maine-et-Loire, 8 miles SE. of Saumur, with a total population of 2571. The place owes its origin to a celebrated abbey founded by Robert d'Arbrissel, a Breton monk, in 1099, as the residence of a monastic society composed of both nuns and monks. The society followed the rule of Benedict, but was governed by an abbess, not by an abbot. The order of Fontevault, which received the papal sanction in 1106 and 1113, soon spread through France and into Spain, and acquired great riches. The abbesses belonged for the most part to illustrious families, and were subject only to the pope. At the outbreak of the French Revolution there were fifty-seven priories of the order in France, which, however, were then abolished. The 12th-century church contains sepulchral monuments to several English sovereigns and princes, including Henry II., his queen,
Eleanor of Guienne, Richard Cœur-de-Lion, and Isabella, the queen of John. Since 1804 the old monastic buildings and courtyards have been used as one of the central prisons of France, accommodating about 2000 convicts. See Fontevault et ses Monuments, by Edouard (2 vols. Marseilles, 1874).
Fonthill Abbey.
See BECKFORD.