Les bibliothèques du Mont Saint-Michel et de Savigny (Manche) et la tradition annalistique normande : une approche comparative

Abstract

:If the annals of the abbey of Le Mont Saint-Michel have not lacked for scholarly attention, they have never before been examined in relation to an annalistic text written outside of the Benedictine network. The aim of this article is to fill this historiographical gap in part by comparing the annals of Le Mont with those of another important religious house in the diocese of Avranches, namely the Cistercian abbey of Savigny. In doing so, it will look at the place occupied by the annals of Savigny and Le Mont Saint-Michel in their respective libraries, at the dissemination of annalistic texts, and at the impact of documentary transfer. A comparative approach also allows for the annals to be situated within their wider historiographical context, and for the role played in their creation by abbots, notably Robert of Torigni, abbot of Le Mont (1154-1186), and Geoffrey of Bayeux, abbot of Savigny (1122-1138/9), to be better understood.