The name refers to two convents closely identified with Jansenism. Port-Royal des Champs, situated south-west of Paris, had been founded in 1204. When Jacqueline Arnauld, (Mère Angélique) became abbess in 1602 (aged II) the convent was in a state of moral disorder. After her conversion in 1608 she began the process of reform, enforcing poverty and strict enclosure. In 1626, because of the unhealthy nature of the site, the nuns moved to the Faubourg Saint-Jacques—Port-Royal de Paris, where Saint-Cyran became a director of conscience in 1635. From 1637 the much admired ‘Petites Écoles’ for boys were set up at several sites by a group of mostly lay solitaires; Racine was a pupil here. In 1646 shortage of space in Paris led to a renewal of conventual life in Port-Royal des Champs.
Around this time, however, Jesuit animosity and controversy over the five allegedly heretical propositions of Jansenius's Augustinus brought nuns and solitaires considerable persecution. A first attempt to make the nuns sign a formulary condemning Jansenius was unsuccessful in 1655. With few exceptions they continued to resist, and in 1665 the recalcitrant nuns from Paris were herded into Port-Royal des Champs. In 1668 the Paris house ceased to be associated with Jansenism and Clement IX proclaimed a ‘Peace of the Church’ which Port-Royal enjoyed for ten years. In 1679 persecution was resumed, and in 1709 the remaining nuns were forcibly removed. Two years later Port-Royal des Champs was razed to the ground on the orders of Louis XIV. The unique history of this convent inspired Sainte-Beuve's great five-volume work Port-Royal (1840-59).
[John Cruickshank]
