| Port-royal |
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| history of catholicism in france | |
| jansenism | |
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Port-Royal was a Cistercian Convent in the Vallée De Chevreuse southwest of Paris that launched a number of culturally important institutions. It was established in 1204 , but became famous as an educational institution when its discipline was reformed in 1602 by its Abbess Jacqueline Arnauld . The Arnauld family became its patrons and the convent's subsequent history was directed by a number of the holders of that name. In 1625 most of the nuns moved to a new Port-Royal in Paris, which subsequently became ''Port-Royal de Paris'' while the older one was known as ''Port-Royal des Champs'' ("Port-Royal of the fields"). At the original site, several schools were founded, which became known as the "Little Schools of Port-Royal" (''Les Petites-Ecoles de Port-Royal''). These schools became famous for the high quality of the education they gave. In 1634 , Jean Du Vergier De Hauranne became director of the convent; he was a follower of Jansenism and from that point forward the convents and schools of Port-Royal became intimately associated with that school of theology. The atmosphere of serious study and Jansenist piety attracted a number of prominent cultural figures to the school. The Playwright Jean Racine and the Theologian and Mathematician Blaise Pascal were products of Port-Royal educations, and Pascal defended the schools publicly against the Jesuits in the Jansenist controversies within the Roman Catholic Church . Perhaps even more striking, several important persons of the court were close to Jansenism, such as the duke of Luynes or the duke of Liancourt . Members of the Arnauld family have managed to have important jobs such as Simon Arnauld De Pomponne , minister of Louis XIV . However, as a result of the Jansenist purges in Catholicism, the schools of Port-Royal were regarded as tainted with Heresy . In 1679 , the convent was forbidden to accept novices, heralding its eventual dissolution. The convent itself was decreed abolished by a Bull from Pope Clement XI in 1708 , the remaining nuns were forcibly removed in 1709 , and the buildings themselves razed in 1710 . A celebrated history of Port-Royal and its influence was written by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve in 1859 . The remains of the convent of Port-Royal can still be seen in Chevreuse valley. SEE ALSO |
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