PORT-ROYAL

:''For other uses of the term, see Port Royal (disambiguation).''
'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 when its discipline was reformed in 1609 by its abbess Marie Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661). 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 spiritual director of the convent; he was a companion of Jansenius and the implementor of Jansenism in France. 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 movement, including theologian and mathematician Blaise Pascal. Pascal defended the schools publicly against the Jesuits in the Jansenist controversies within the Roman Catholic Church, writing his Provincial Letters in 1657. 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. Additionally playwright Jean Racine was a product of Port-Royal education.
However, as a result of the Catholic attacks on Jansenism, the schools of Port-Royal were regarded as tainted with heresy. The schools were forcibly dispersed by bull in 1660. In 1661, the convent was forbidden to accept novices, heralding its eventual dissolution. The convent itself was decreed abolished by a papal 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.

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See also

See also

★ Antoine Arnauld.

★ Marie Angelique Arnauld.

★ Port-Royal Logic.