In the vibrant and often tumultuous 13th-century Church, tensions between local ecclesiastical powers and papal authority could sometimes erupt into open conflict. Few episodes illustrate this better than the remarkable and violent resistance to the construction of the Basilica of Saint-Urbain in Troyes, France, where a determined abbess and her nuns delayed a papal project for decades — an extraordinary episode combining piety, politics, family pride, and even armed intervention.
Jacques Pantaléon: From Cobbler’s Son to Pope
Painting show Urban IV meeting with Thomas Aquinas, by Taddeo di Bartolo (1362–1422)
The Basilica of Saint-Urbain owes its origin to the exceptional life and ambition of Jacques Pantaléon. Born into a humble family — his father was a cobbler in Troyes — Jacques rose through the Church’s ranks with remarkable speed. After studying theology and canon law, he held prestigious posts: Archdeacon of Laon, papal ambassador, Bishop of Verdun, and eventually Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1261, he was elected Pope under the name Urban IV.
Urban IV never forgot his modest beginnings. Deeply attached to his native city, he decided to build a grand basilica on the site of his family’s former shop, dedicating it to Saint Urban, a third-century pope and his personal patron saint. The project symbolised both spiritual devotion and personal legacy, seeking to link his papacy to Troyes in an enduring way.
Thanks to substantial financial resources — stemming both from papal revenues and donations — the construction advanced swiftly. Between 1262 and 1286, much of the building was completed. The first master builder was Jean Langlois, a respected bourgeois of Troyes, who worked on the project from 1262 to 1266. According to architectural historian Eugène Lefèvre-Pontalis, Langlois designed a structure that heralded the soaring verticality of 14th-century Gothic architecture.
However, Langlois’s work was cut short when he departed for Cyprus as a crusader. Responsibility for the project then passed to the pope’s nephew, Anchero Pantaléon, Cardinal of Santa Prassede, who continued to promote the basilica’s construction after Urban IV’s death in 1264 at Perugia. His successor, Pope Clement IV, supported the initiative and sought to place the new basilica directly under the jurisdiction of the Holy See — bypassing local ecclesiastical authorities.
It was this decision that provoked fierce and unprecedented opposition.
Ode de Pougy: An Abbess in Revolt
A nun and soldiers in this 14th-century illustration – British Library MS Royal 14 E III fol. 98v
At the heart of the resistance stood Ode de Pougy, the formidable abbess of Notre-Dame-aux-Nonnains, one of the oldest and most prestigious women’s abbeys in Troyes. A member of the noble House of Pougy, Ode was linked to powerful families such as the Counts of Arcis, Ramerupt, and Pougy — some of the most influential lords of Champagne after the Count of Champagne himself. She was also related to Manassès II, Bishop of Troyes from 1181 to 1190.
Notre-Dame-aux-Nonnains held immense local authority, wielding considerable legal and spiritual power within the city. Traditionally, it exerted jurisdiction over much of the ecclesiastical life of Troyes. The prospect of a new collegiate church, exempt from her authority and directly dependent on Rome, posed an existential threat to Ode’s prestige and the influence of her abbey.
While her predecessor, Isabelle de Chasteau-Villain, had initially accepted Pope Urban IV’s request to build the new church in 1262, Ode de Pougy had no intention of tolerating the infringement upon her domain.
Her response was swift and brutal.
The Assault on the Construction Site
Interior of Basilique Saint-Urbain de Troyes – photo by Fab5669 / Wikimedia Commons
In 1266, Ode de Pougy ordered armed men to devastate the construction site of Saint-Urbain. The vandals smashed doors, broke the master altar, mutilated capitals, damaged columns, and seized construction materials. The violence was no mere symbolic protest: it was a determined attempt to halt the project physically.
The builders tried to repair the damage, installing new doors — but these too were broken down shortly afterwards. The sabotage escalated: during the summer of 1266, a suspicious fire ravaged the construction site. The blaze destroyed the wooden framework of the choir and caused the collapse of the upper parts of the structure. Fortunately, the transept was less affected, as its roof had not yet been completed.
Despite these setbacks, construction resumed between 1267 and 1270, focusing mainly on finishing the two porches and the high parts of the transept.
But Ode’s campaign of obstruction was not over.
Armed Intervention Against the Papal Legate
Decoration at the top of the indulgence letter from Pope Urban IV to the Abbey of Herkenrode – Wikimedia Commons
In 1268, the Pope dispatched the Archbishop of Tyre, accompanied by the Bishop of Auxerre, to bless the cemetery of the new church — an important symbolic act signalling the church’s spiritual autonomy.
Ode de Pougy viewed this act as a fresh affront. She once again mobilised force. As the two bishops prepared for the blessing ceremony, they were confronted by armed men, and the ceremony was violently disrupted. Even more dramatically, Ode herself led a procession of her nuns and twenty-eight lay supporters into the church, provoking a scandalous commotion. The prelates were driven out before they could complete their duties.
Such defiance was intolerable to the papacy. An official investigation was launched, led by the Archdeacon of Luxeuil and the Dean of Saint-Étienne of Troyes. Their inquiry concluded that Ode de Pougy had grossly violated ecclesiastical law.
In March 1269, Pope Clement IV excommunicated Ode de Pougy, along with many of her accomplices.
The Aftermath
Ode remained abbess until 1272, when she was finally replaced by Isabelle II. The excommunication hung over the Abbey of Notre-Dame-aux-Nonnains for years, and was only lifted in 1283 by Pope Martin IV after lengthy negotiations and acts of submission.
Meanwhile, the construction of Saint-Urbain continued, though progress was slow. Financial difficulties, political instability, and the damage caused by earlier attacks meant that the basilica was not fully completed until the late 14th century. It was finally consecrated in 1389 — over a century after Urban IV’s original vision.
Today, the Basilica of Saint-Urbain stands as a striking example of Gothic architecture in Champagne — and as a silent witness to one of the most remarkable episodes of ecclesiastical resistance in medieval France, when an abbess, her nuns, and her armed followers dared to defy the authority of Rome.
Dr Lorris Chevalier, who has a Ph.D. in medieval literature, is a historical advisor for movies, including The Last Duel and Napoleon. Click here to view his website.
By Lorris Chevalier
In the vibrant and often tumultuous 13th-century Church, tensions between local ecclesiastical powers and papal authority could sometimes erupt into open conflict. Few episodes illustrate this better than the remarkable and violent resistance to the construction of the Basilica of Saint-Urbain in Troyes, France, where a determined abbess and her nuns delayed a papal project for decades — an extraordinary episode combining piety, politics, family pride, and even armed intervention.
Jacques Pantaléon: From Cobbler’s Son to Pope
The Basilica of Saint-Urbain owes its origin to the exceptional life and ambition of Jacques Pantaléon. Born into a humble family — his father was a cobbler in Troyes — Jacques rose through the Church’s ranks with remarkable speed. After studying theology and canon law, he held prestigious posts: Archdeacon of Laon, papal ambassador, Bishop of Verdun, and eventually Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1261, he was elected Pope under the name Urban IV.
Urban IV never forgot his modest beginnings. Deeply attached to his native city, he decided to build a grand basilica on the site of his family’s former shop, dedicating it to Saint Urban, a third-century pope and his personal patron saint. The project symbolised both spiritual devotion and personal legacy, seeking to link his papacy to Troyes in an enduring way.
Thanks to substantial financial resources — stemming both from papal revenues and donations — the construction advanced swiftly. Between 1262 and 1286, much of the building was completed. The first master builder was Jean Langlois, a respected bourgeois of Troyes, who worked on the project from 1262 to 1266. According to architectural historian Eugène Lefèvre-Pontalis, Langlois designed a structure that heralded the soaring verticality of 14th-century Gothic architecture.
However, Langlois’s work was cut short when he departed for Cyprus as a crusader. Responsibility for the project then passed to the pope’s nephew, Anchero Pantaléon, Cardinal of Santa Prassede, who continued to promote the basilica’s construction after Urban IV’s death in 1264 at Perugia. His successor, Pope Clement IV, supported the initiative and sought to place the new basilica directly under the jurisdiction of the Holy See — bypassing local ecclesiastical authorities.
It was this decision that provoked fierce and unprecedented opposition.
Ode de Pougy: An Abbess in Revolt
At the heart of the resistance stood Ode de Pougy, the formidable abbess of Notre-Dame-aux-Nonnains, one of the oldest and most prestigious women’s abbeys in Troyes. A member of the noble House of Pougy, Ode was linked to powerful families such as the Counts of Arcis, Ramerupt, and Pougy — some of the most influential lords of Champagne after the Count of Champagne himself. She was also related to Manassès II, Bishop of Troyes from 1181 to 1190.
Notre-Dame-aux-Nonnains held immense local authority, wielding considerable legal and spiritual power within the city. Traditionally, it exerted jurisdiction over much of the ecclesiastical life of Troyes. The prospect of a new collegiate church, exempt from her authority and directly dependent on Rome, posed an existential threat to Ode’s prestige and the influence of her abbey.
While her predecessor, Isabelle de Chasteau-Villain, had initially accepted Pope Urban IV’s request to build the new church in 1262, Ode de Pougy had no intention of tolerating the infringement upon her domain.
Her response was swift and brutal.
The Assault on the Construction Site
In 1266, Ode de Pougy ordered armed men to devastate the construction site of Saint-Urbain. The vandals smashed doors, broke the master altar, mutilated capitals, damaged columns, and seized construction materials. The violence was no mere symbolic protest: it was a determined attempt to halt the project physically.
The builders tried to repair the damage, installing new doors — but these too were broken down shortly afterwards. The sabotage escalated: during the summer of 1266, a suspicious fire ravaged the construction site. The blaze destroyed the wooden framework of the choir and caused the collapse of the upper parts of the structure. Fortunately, the transept was less affected, as its roof had not yet been completed.
Despite these setbacks, construction resumed between 1267 and 1270, focusing mainly on finishing the two porches and the high parts of the transept.
But Ode’s campaign of obstruction was not over.
Armed Intervention Against the Papal Legate
In 1268, the Pope dispatched the Archbishop of Tyre, accompanied by the Bishop of Auxerre, to bless the cemetery of the new church — an important symbolic act signalling the church’s spiritual autonomy.
Ode de Pougy viewed this act as a fresh affront. She once again mobilised force. As the two bishops prepared for the blessing ceremony, they were confronted by armed men, and the ceremony was violently disrupted. Even more dramatically, Ode herself led a procession of her nuns and twenty-eight lay supporters into the church, provoking a scandalous commotion. The prelates were driven out before they could complete their duties.
Such defiance was intolerable to the papacy. An official investigation was launched, led by the Archdeacon of Luxeuil and the Dean of Saint-Étienne of Troyes. Their inquiry concluded that Ode de Pougy had grossly violated ecclesiastical law.
In March 1269, Pope Clement IV excommunicated Ode de Pougy, along with many of her accomplices.
The Aftermath
Ode remained abbess until 1272, when she was finally replaced by Isabelle II. The excommunication hung over the Abbey of Notre-Dame-aux-Nonnains for years, and was only lifted in 1283 by Pope Martin IV after lengthy negotiations and acts of submission.
Meanwhile, the construction of Saint-Urbain continued, though progress was slow. Financial difficulties, political instability, and the damage caused by earlier attacks meant that the basilica was not fully completed until the late 14th century. It was finally consecrated in 1389 — over a century after Urban IV’s original vision.
Today, the Basilica of Saint-Urbain stands as a striking example of Gothic architecture in Champagne — and as a silent witness to one of the most remarkable episodes of ecclesiastical resistance in medieval France, when an abbess, her nuns, and her armed followers dared to defy the authority of Rome.
Dr Lorris Chevalier, who has a Ph.D. in medieval literature, is a historical advisor for movies, including The Last Duel and Napoleon. Click here to view his website.
Click here to read more from Lorris Chevalier
Top Image: The cathedral at Troyes – photo by Emmanuel DYAN / Wikimedia Commons
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