During the 17th century, the Solitaires were Frenchmen who chose to live a humble and ascetic life in retreat at Port-Royal-des-Champs. [1] One of the most typical movements of 17th century France, it was closely linked to Jansenism. [2]
Often from noble or bourgeois families, the Solitaires set up house at the monastery of Port-Royal des Champs, where nuns founded the monastery of Port-Royal de Paris then in the farm of Les Granges, on the nuns' return. [3] The Solitaires divided their life up between manual work (agriculture, gardening, drainage, etc.) and intellectual work, producing many works on theology, patristics, paedagogy and so on. They also founded Port-Royal's Petites écoles, which proved very innovative in its teaching methods. [4]