Mont Saint Michel: History, Architecture, and Conservation

Introduction

For centuries, Mont Saint Michel has beckoned travelers and the faithful from around the world. The small, rocky island off the coast of Normandy rises from the Couesnon River. Until 1879, the island was connected to the coast only via a natural land bridge, which was submerged when the Couesnon River was at high tide, cutting the island off from the mainland. This feature further highlighted the splendor of the island's most prominent architectural feature — the Benedictine Abbey, which rises like a castle toward the sky.

This paper examines the history and architectural character of this unique structure. The first part looks at the history of how the structure was built and how the abbey and the island have been used over the centuries. This section traces how Mont Saint Michel evolved from a cultural stronghold to an abbey, a dungeon, and finally the World Heritage Site it is today.

The second part examines the architecture and design of Mont Saint Michel, looking at the village structures as well as the abbey itself. It studies how the design of the structures evolved and changed, especially since the eleventh century, and details how the structure progressed from its original Romanesque design to exhibit the Gothic characteristics that the abbey is famous for today. It further addresses the various additions the Mont Saint Michel structures have incorporated, as well as the geographical modifications made to the island to accommodate its massive architectural forms.

Toward the end, the paper also looks at the conservation problems that have arisen as a result of centuries of construction, and the efforts being made to safeguard this World Heritage Site.

History of Mont Saint Michel

Mont Saint Michel spent centuries passing between the political and military control of different groups. From the sixth to the seventh centuries, the tidal island eventually known as Mont Saint Michel was considered an Armorican stronghold. When the Roman conquerors departed southern France in 459 AD, the island came under the control of the Romano-Bretons, who then fled when the Franks took the island (Adams 22).

During this period, the tidal island was known as Mont Tombe. This name was most likely a reference to the island's isolation during high tide. Some historians also theorize that the name referred to the many people — pilgrims, monks, and shepherds — who died en route to the island. Many people and animals found themselves trapped in the quicksand-like bog and were drowned as the tide came in.

The structure of Mont Saint Michel that is familiar today took shape in the early seventh century, an effort spearheaded by Saint Aubert, who was then bishop of Avranches, located just across the Couesnon River. Local legends state that Saint Michael appeared to the bishop with instructions for the building of a church on the rocky outcropping. Considering the logistical difficulties of such a feat, it is not surprising that Saint Aubert did not immediately comply — until, according to legend, Saint Michael reappeared and burned a hole into the bishop's skull. The island was officially dedicated to Saint Michael in 708.

While Mont Saint Michel is often ascribed religious importance, it also held significant political and military value at various points in history. In 933, Norman invaders embarked on a new conquest beginning with the annexation of the Cotentine Peninsula. Because of its location between Normandy and Brittany, the island of Mont Saint Michel became a strategic staging point for the conquest of Brittany and, eventually, the successful conquest of England in 1066 (Adams 57). The success of the Norman conquest is reflected in the elements of Norman architecture and design found throughout the Mont Saint Michel structures, as it was Norman royals and nobles who financed the expensive construction of the monastery for the Benedictine monks.

During the Norman conquests, the Mont Saint Michel and the Benedictine monastery also began to assume great religious importance. In 966, the Duke of Normandy placed the Benedictine monks in charge of construction on the island, an effort that would continue for the next six centuries. In the eleventh century, Benedictine Abbot Hildebert II spearheaded the construction of a structure built atop the island's rocks. By 1520, Hildebert II's vision had been realized in the monastery and church that continue to characterize Mont Saint Michel to this day (Samway 445).

In addition to building the abbey atop a rocky outcropping, the monks also built Mont Saint Michel's reputation by capitalizing on the legends of Saint Michael and Saint Aubert. Their efforts were successful, and Mont Saint Michel became one of the holiest pilgrimage sites in the Christian world.

The island also gained acclaim for its impregnability as a fortress. It was impervious to Viking raiders, and English warriors repeatedly attempted to seize control of the island during three long sieges connected to the Hundred Years' War, all of which failed due to the heroic efforts of the Normans and the fortifications of the abbey. Today, evidence of these failed assaults can be seen in the monastery walls, as well as the bombardment weaponry the English left behind (Decenaux 47). Mont Saint Michel thus remained firmly in Norman territory.

The wealth and fame of the Benedictine Abbey grew even further after the Hundred Years' War. It inspired the creation of allied abbeys in places such as Cornwall, England. However, the advent of the Reformation and the rise of Protestantism brought a decline in Catholic fervor. Mont Saint Michel's popularity as a pilgrimage site dropped accordingly, and by the eighteenth century, hardly any monks remained living in the abbey.

During this same period, Mont Saint Michel was again important for political and military reasons. The Benedictine monastery was officially closed, and the structure was used as a prison during the French Revolution — characterized by writers as a French Alcatraz (Samway 447). Ironically, in addition to high-profile political prisoners, the pilgrimage site once renowned throughout the Catholic world was now used to house clergy who were critical of the new republican government.

By the late nineteenth century, however, Mont Saint Michel and the Benedictine Abbey were regarded as matters of national importance to French culture. Having assumed a mythic popularity through a combination of religious significance, spectacular architecture, and heroic resistance to repeated English assaults, the campaign for the monastery's declaration as a historic monument gained popular support with the help of influential figures such as Victor Hugo. In 1863, Mont Saint Michel was officially designated a national treasure of France by Napoleon Bonaparte (Decenaux 121).

The Mont Saint Michel and the Benedictine monastery subsequently underwent major restoration work. The goal was to rebuild structures damaged in repeated fires and bombardments, as well as to restore the lofty abbey spaces that had been converted into dungeon cells during the French Revolution. It was not until 1969, however, that the monks returned, and Mont Saint Michel once again became a functioning Benedictine abbey.

In 1979, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Mont Saint Michel a World Heritage Site. This designation recognized the island's cultural, historical, and architectural importance, as well as the combination of its natural beauty and the human ingenuity that went into the construction of its structures (Samway 446).

While the monastery continues to serve as a residence for Benedictine monks today, Mont Saint Michel is now also an important tourist venue. An estimated 1.8 million tourists visit the island every year, though few bother to climb the steep steps to the abbey. Mont Saint Michel is the third most-visited site in France, surpassed only by the Eiffel Tower and the Château de Versailles.

Conclusion

In summary, Mont Saint Michel reflects both the political and cultural history of France. The splendor of the monastery structure indicates the overreaching influence of the Catholic Church from the tenth to the sixteenth centuries. Historians argue that the construction of such an imposing structure was an attempt to exert Church control over the Crusades. The ties between royal, political, and religious institutions — as seen in the ducal and royal patronage of the monastery — further illustrate the collusion between these two institutions in medieval times.

The architecture of the abbey also illustrates how medieval society was arranged in a hierarchy. There were three levels in the monastery: the poor pilgrims worshipped at the first level, dignitaries gathered in the grander salles of the second level, and the clergy occupied the top. The centuries-long construction of Mont Saint Michel also allowed for the incorporation of pre-Romanesque, Romanesque, and various Gothic elements into its grand design. For these historical, cultural, and aesthetic reasons, Mont Saint Michel must be safeguarded before it sinks into the sands of the river and is lost to time.

Works Cited

Adams, Henry. Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres. New York: Putnam, 1980.

Decenaux, Marc. The Mont-Saint-Michel Stone by Stone. Paris: Editions Ouest-France, 1999.

Samway, Patrick. "Mont Saint Michel in Danger." America. May 5, 1999: 445–449.