Tintern Abbey
Daughter monasteries
Kingswood Abbey ( 1139 ) Tinternparva Abbey ( 1200)
Tintern Abbey (Welsh Abaty Tyndyrn ) is a ruined abbey in the Welsh Wye Valley near the village of Tintern. The abbey was founded in 1131 by the Cistercians. She was the first Cistercian monastery in Wales and the second oldest in Britain. The monastery was dissolved in 1536. Since then, the abbey fell into disrepair until it was rediscovered in the late 18th century, the Age of Romanticism as a destination.
History
Tintern Abbey was founded on May 9, 1131 by the Anglo-Norman nobles and Lord of Chepstow Walter de Clare. He followed in the footsteps of his relative William Giffard, who had established as Bishop of Winchester three years before the first English Cistercian monastery in Waverley in Surrey. The monks of Tintern Abbey came from L' Aumône, a daughter house of Citeaux cloister, the origin of the Cistercian Order. The community grew quickly, already in 1139 a daughter house was founded ( Kingswood Abbey ) in Gloucestershire. 1200 or 1203 was followed by another establishment in Ireland ( Tinternparva Abbey ).
The first monastery building were completed in 1136. Of these buildings only a few remains are present, since the abbey was extended several times and rebuilt over the centuries. The main part of the preserved ruins today dates from the second half of the 13th century. At this time the monastery Tintern significant revenue had by land on both sides of the River Wye. In addition, Roger Bigod III. Came, Lord of Chepstow, as a patron of the monastery on. Through its financial support, the new monastery church was completed in 1301. The Gothic church was built in the Decorated style in a cross shape. The nave was provided with two side aisles, in the transverse arms chapels were housed. The Cloister and the accommodation of the monks were north of the church.
Mid-14th century was one of the few Welsh Tintern abbeys, which were not involved in the fighting of the English King Edward II to Queen Isabella, even though Edward had spent two nights in 1326 in the abandoned monastery. In contrast, Tintern suffered from the plague epidemic of 1349, which led to a significant decrease of the occupation of the monastery and the tenants of manors. Beginning of the 15th century, parts of the possessions destroyed during the uprising under Owain Glyndŵr. The monastery tried to compensate these financial losses by the entertainment of pilgrims. The abbey housed a statue of the Virgin Mary, was said to have miraculous powers.
After the establishment of the Anglican Church by Henry VIII, the Order was forced to dissolve the monastery. On September 3, 1536 Abbot Wyche surrendered last the monastery to the Crown. At this time, the community of the abbot, 12 monks and 35 staff was. Despite the small size Tintern was the wealthiest monastery in Wales. The valuables were handed over to the royal treasury, building the Earl of Worcester awarded. This could erode the lead roof, which the abbey was abandoned to decay.
Rediscovery of the monastery ruins
After the abandonment of the monastery came Tintern into oblivion. End of the 18th century, but the pristine regions of the UK have been popular destinations. The valley of the Wye was lauded by the Romantics for its picturesque landscape. After the pastor William Gilpin had published in 1782 the popular guide Observations on the River Wye, the ruins of Tintern were droves visited by tourists. The former owner of Tintern, the Duke of Beaufort, began with the careful preservation of the ruins.
1782 visited the English painter Thomas Gainsborough Tintern Abbey and made pencil sketches of the ruins on. But only after the landscape painter William Turner in 1792 visited the Abbey and had two years later exhibited his watercolors from her, the ivy-covered ruins become a popular motif for other painters were. 1793 William Wordsworth visited the plant. His impressions of the ruins, he formulated five years later in the poem Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting The Banks Of The Wye During A Tour. July 13, 1798 (in short: Tintern Abbey ), one of the most famous literary works of English Romanticism. Following the example of Tintern the cathedral was designed in 1843 by AWN Pugin in Enniscorthy.
1901 Tintern Abbey was recognized by the British Crown as a monument of national importance and bought for 15,000 pounds. It began extensive restoration work, which could be completed in 1928. It had to be removed for preservation of the masonry of the Efeubewuchs. Some outbuildings of the monastery foundations were uncovered, which give an insight into the structure and organization of the monastery. The accessible for visitors conditioning is now considered the best-preserved medieval church ruins in Wales. Since 1984 Tintern Abbey is managed by the Welsh conservation authority Cadw.