Martin-du-Canigou (also "Saint-Martin-du-Canigou" or just "Canigou", in Catalan Sant Martí del Canigó) is a monastery built in 1009 in the Pyrenees on Canigou mountain in present day southern France near the Spanish border. It was built by Guifred, Count of Cerdanya (Fr. Cerdagne), in atonement for the murder of his son and was populated by Benedictine monks. The monastery was abandoned by the monks in 1783-1785 and fell into disrepair.
In 1902, the bishop of Elne and Perpignan, because of his Catalan background, began to restore the ruins radically, work that was completed in 1932. Today it is occupied by the Catholic Community of the Beatitudes [1] [2].
Location
The monastery is located on the territory of the commune of Casteil, in the Pyrénées-Orientales département (42°31′41.32″N 2°24′03.21″E / 42.5281444°N 2.4008917°ECoordinates: 42°31′41.32″N 2°24′03.21″E / 42.5281444°N 2.4008917°E).
History
In 1049, Guifred, Count of Cerdanya, died at the monastery he had built. In 1051 a messenger set forth to visit religious houses throughout Europe to solicit prayers for his dead master. He brought a parchment upon which at each stop were added words of prayer and respect. This parchment has survived and scholars have used it to discover differences in culture between northern and southern Europe in a single given year. Some of the discoveries from this important document include that southern culture was more staid and bound by custom while the northern culture more free form and experimental in their writing styles, use of words and grammar.
The document is printed by Léopold Delisle, Rouleaux des Morts du IX au XV Siecle (1866).
External links
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- Website of the commune (French)
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