and Bishop Hugues d’Arcy of Autun. A 14th-century altarpiece within is dedicated to the
life of St. Thibault.
William W.Kibler/William W.Clark
Freigang, Christian, and Peter Kurmann. “L’église de l’ancien prieurè de Saint-Thibault-en-Auxois,
sa chronologie, ses restaurations, sa place dans l’architecture gothique.” Congrès archéologique
(Auxois-Châtillonnais) 144 (1986):271–90.
Gillerman, Dorothy. “The Portal of Saint-Thibault-en-Auxois: A Problem of Thirteenth Century
Burgundian Patronage and Founder Imagery.” Art Bulletin 68 (1986):567–80.
SAINT-VICTOR, ABBEY AND SCHOOL
OF
. Established in 1108 by William of Champeaux when he resigned as archdeacon of Paris
and retired from teaching in the cathedral school, this community of regular canons who
adopted the Rule of St. Augustine became one of the preeminent religious communities
of Paris in the 12th century. Generously supported as a royal abbey by the king,
associated with ecclesiastical reform, in the forefront of theological developments, and
home to a distinguished series of can ons who contributed to religious and intellectual
life, Saint-Victor left an indelible mark on the medieval church.
Although Abélard suggested that William had left the schools of Paris because
Abélard bested him in debate, a more accurate interpretation associates William’s move
with other instances of the decision by a cleric, or group of clerics, to reform a cathedral
chapter or to found a community of regular canons. When William withdrew from the
life of the cathedral chapter and schools, he moved to a chapel dedicated to St. Victor
located just outside the walls of Paris on the left bank of the Seine. He gathered there a
small group of students and others. In 1113, William went to Châlons as bishop. In the
same year, Louis VI made a significant gift of property and income to William’s nascent
community and school, now described by the king as the community of regular canons
that he intended to install in the church of Saint-Victor at Paris. In the same year, the
community elected its first abbot, Gilduin, who led the community astutely and guided it
to a leading place in French ecclesiastical life.
Construction of adequate buildings for the abbey began in the second decade of the
12th century. The necrology of the abbey indicates that one Hugh, canon of Halberstadt
and uncle of Hugh of Saint-Victor, joined the community at Paris and contributed to the
building of the church. Royal documents also show that Louis VI made major gifts
toward the erection of the church and cloister. The 12th-century buildings were pulled
down in the 16th century, and Francis I built a new church for the canons. That church
lasted until the 19th century, when, following the breakup of the Victorine order in the
French Revolution, the buildings were destroyed to make way for a modern metro
station. Unfortunately, no detailed descriptions of the church and other buildings exist;
the layout of the altars and some other details have been determined, however. Before its
destruction in the 19th century, the church was praised as having one of the grandest
collections of medieval stained glass in Paris.
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