Genlis

Title

Genlis

Also Known As

Ganliacum, Genliacum, Genlys, Jenly, Saincte Elizabeth de Genly

Dates

Founded in 1221; transferred to the Premonstratensians 15th century

Dedication

Elizabeth

Affiliation

Cuissy

Medieval Diocese

Noyon

Circary

Flanders

History

Founded in the 1220s by Aubert de Hangest and Elisabeth, lord and lady of Genlis, Genlis was first a hospital and then a house of Victorine sisters. In 1421, following a period of economic struggle, Genlis was given to the Premonstratensian order and refounded as a men's priory. The first brothers came from Rouez.

In 1496, Genlis was elevated to an abbey. The monastery was rebuilt 1778-1787, shortly before its suppression in 1790.

The abbey's church was soon demolished. The rest of the monastic complex became first a sugar factory and then a private house, which was destroyed in World War One.

Heads of Community

Priors

J. de Thoisy, 1421-?
Pierre Grégoire, ca. 1453-1459
Pierre II Maillot, 1459-1476
Jacques I Languier, 1476-1490

Abbots

Jacques II Le Pelletier, 1496-1525
Jean de Hangest, 1525
Charles de Hangest
Philippe de Rouvroy Saint-Simon, fl. ca. 1544

Status

Priory, then abbey

Archival Sources

Laon, Archives départementales de l'Aisne

8 Fi 1549 (n.d.; plan)

8 Fi 1550 (View, 1880)

8 Fi 1675 (View, 1790s)

H 1086-1106 (15th-18th c.; Finding Aid)

Nancy, Bibliothèque Stanislas

MS 1755 (992, vol. 8), 423-456

Bibliography

Begue, Pierrette. “L’abbaye de Genlis a Villequier-Aumont.” Mémoires de la Fédération des Sociétés d’histoire et d’archéologie de l’Aisne 28 (1983): 143–60. http://memchau.free.fr/articles-sha/abbaye_genlis_1983_t28.pdf.

Image Credit

View of Genlis, 18th c. AD Aisne.

Files

Collection

Flanders

Citation

“Genlis,” A Premonstratensian Atlas, accessed October 16, 2026, https://yvonneseale.org/atlas/items/show/340.

Geolocation