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Saint-Lambert (Municipality, Yvelines, France)

by Ivan Sache

Presentation of Saint-Lambert and Port-Royal
Description of the flag

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Presentation of Saint-Lambert and Port-Royal

Saint-Lambert is a village located in the green valley of Chevreuse, south-west of Paris. In 1985, 19 municipalities joined the Parc Naturel Régional de la Haute Vallée de Chevreuse (Regional Natural Park of the Upper Valley of Chevreuse), in order to protect the area agasint anarchic urbanization.

The churchyard of Saint-Lambert, built near the Romanesque village church, is a tribute to human beings victims of intolerance.

A stone cross in the cemetery bears as its only sign A la personne humaine (To the human being). This cross was built in 1944 as a tribute to the victims of the wars of all conditions and religions.

The cemetery also hosts the common grave in which the remains of the victims of Louis XIV's religious intolerance were thrown.
The abbey of Porrois (Port-Royal), whose remains are now located in the municipality of Magny-les-Hameaux, was founded in the Middle Ages in a place where leeks (Latin, porrus; French, poireau) were grown. When placed under royal patronage, the name of the abbey was changed to Portus Regius, Port-Royal.

The women's Cistercian abbey of Port-Royal was created in 1204. A few centuries later, St. Bernard's strict rule was no longer in effect. The ten sisters and the six novices who lived in the abbey were more famous for society life than for piety and even celebrated the carnival. In 1602, mother Angélique Arnaud, officially aged 11 but really 5, was appointed abbess of Port-Royal. In 1609, she hardly recovered from a serious disease and decided to reestablish discipline in the abbey. She reimplemented cloistering and refused to meet her family elsewhere than in the parlor. Rule observance and meditation were favoured, attracting several novices.

In 1618, Angélique was sent by her order to reform the abbey of Maubuisson, north of Paris. Port-Royal was ruled by mother Agnès, Angélique's younger sister. Back to Port-Royal in 1628, Angélique decided to transfer the abbey in Paris to have more space and a more healthy environment. The abbey of Port-Royal, now a maternity hospital, was founded in Paris, as opposed to Port-Royal-des-Champs (in-the-Fields). Angélique appointed as conscience directors Jean Duvergier de Hauranne, abbot of Saint-Cyran, and Antoine Singlin. They were extremely austere and considered that only the divine grace could save the corrupted human being.

One of Angélique's brothers, also influenced by Saint-Cyran's ideas, decided to withdraw from society. With a few friends, he settled in a dependency of Port-Royal abbey in Paris. In 1637, they moved to Port-Royal-des-Champs, which had been abandoned by the nuns. They drained the marshes and built new buildings. They became rapidly famous as the messieurs de Port-Royal or solitaires de Port-Royal (recluses). N