Institution

Cluny Abbey

910 · 10th century · Also known as Abbey of Cluny

Cluny Abbey was a Benedictine monastery at Cluny in Burgundy, founded in 910 by Duke William I of Aquitaine and placed directly under the pope, free from lay and episcopal control. Under abbots such as Odo, Odilo and Hugh it led a reform movement and headed hundreds of dependent houses across Europe. Its great church, the largest in Christendom until the new St Peter's in Rome, was largely demolished after the French Revolution.

Cluny Abbey
Image: Benjamin Smith · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 state histories

County of MâconDuchy of AquitaineDuchy of Burgundy

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Cluny Abbey. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cluny-abbey
MLA
“Cluny Abbey.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cluny-abbey. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Cluny Abbey.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cluny-abbey.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Cluny Abbey’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cluny-abbey (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻