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Longpont

Longpont is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is around 13 km southwest of Soissons, and around 75 km northeast of Paris. As at 2018 it has a population of 255. The former Cistercian Longpont Abbey is situated in the commune. It existed from 1131 to 1793, being founded by monks from the abbey of Clairvaux, at the behest of Jocelin of Soissons. There is now a hotel on the site, located in the old Cistercian inn. The roofless abbey church can be visited, along with the better-preserved buildings around the cloister. The original buildings suffered war damage in 1918.

Its monks included Petrus Cantor and John de Montmirail. John was the son of André de Montmirail, Lord of Montmirail and Ferté-Gaucher, and Hildiarde d'Oisy, daughter of Simon d'Oisy, Castellan of Cambrai. He was given a religious upbringing by his mother, and was well educated. He became the first Lord of Condé.

While young, he embraced a military career and was presented at the Royal Court, as constable of France, where he formed a lasting friendship with Philip Augustus (who later became King Philip II of France); he became, not only the friend and favorite of the King, but also later his advisor. On one occasion, John was even said to have saved Philip's life. The dissipations of court life led him to neglect the training of his youth; even his marriage with Helvide de Dampierre, sister of Guy II of Dampierre, failed to effect a change. King Philip II later decorated him with the title of Baron.

In his thirtieth year he met Jobert, Prior of St-Etienne de Montmirail, and experienced a conversion. He built a hospital for the sick of all kinds, but the objects of his predilection were the lepers, and those hopelessly afflicted. He wore a hair-shirt, frequently passing entire nights in prayer. After a while, he entered the Cistercian monastery of Longpont, after having distributed among the poor all his possessions not needed by his wife and family. He was abused for his decision by his former friends. Even members of his own family disapproved of his abandonment of honour and wealth for poverty and subjection. He died at Longpont on 29 September 1217.

On 8 January 2015 the town was locked down in the search for the suspects in the Charlie Hebdo shooting.



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