Fécamp Abbey 1.98

Fécamp Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime, Upper Normandy, France.The abbey was the first producer of Bénédictine, a herbal liqueur, based on brandy.First foundationIt was founded in 658 by Waningus, a Merovingian count, for nuns. Another convent he founded in 660, near the site of the Precious Relic, was destroyed by the Vikings in 842. Around the Ducal palace, the foundations of two chapels have been found.Second foundationAfter more Viking raids, Richard I of Normandy rebuilt the church. It was Richard II who invited Guillaume de Volpiano (Guglielmo da Volpiano) in 1001 to rekindle the life of the abbey, under Benedictine rules. These two Norman rulers, who were originally buried outside, were later interred in 1162 by Henry II of England within the southern transept of the gothic abbey church. Their remains were moved several times and reburied in several places, finally being placed in lead boxes and reburied again in the southern transept in 1956.In February 2016, French, Danish and Norwegian researchers opened the lead boxes in order to conduct DNA analysis of the remains. Radiocarbon dating of the remains showed that neither skeleton could be that of Richard I or Richard II. One skeleton dated from the third century BCE, the other from the eighth century AD, both long before the lifetimes of Richard I and Richard II.