BY THE END of the twelfth century the congregation of Tiron extended into the Angevin Empire or trade area, an overly large and diverse region that gradually broke apart under King John and his successors. While Tiron Abbey lost effective control of the foundations in its Celtic periphery, it had a headquarters in Paris and retained centralized control over its French daughter abbeys through annual general chapters and recourse to the papacy to quash assertions of independence, in a way that mirrored the emerging French nation. In France and Britain, monasteries accumulated wealth through gifts of inalienable property exempt from feudal incidents and inheritance taxes (mortmain). Consequently they were targeted during periods of instability and underwent lengthy recuperation of their assets and properties. During the Wars of Scottish Independence 1296– 1357, the Hundred Years’ War 1337– 1453, the English Reformation 1536– 1547, the French Wars of Religion 1562– 1598, and the French Revolution 1789– 1799, religious foundations were bombarded, commandeered, looted, burned, and ultimately secularized. Many did not survive, and Tiron was no exception.

Despite its strong eremitical traditions, Tiron became considered part of the Benedictine order it had been founded to reform. After the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, papal bulls, confirmations, and communications often describe Tiron Abbey as Benedictine rather than Tironensian. Thus its distinctiveness became less apparent in France.

Over the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Tiron moved from the poverty and hospitality of its founder toward a more prosperous and exclusive lifestyle. Abbot John II of Chartres was a forceful administrator who regally imposed centralized control and discipline over Tiron and its daughter abbeys. He installed abbots duly elected by the chapter and conducted visitations. He rebuilt many buildings in the monastery, including the cloister and a large chapter room by the apse of the church, where he was buried. During his tenure 1290– 1297 Pignore de Vallea copied the Vita Bernardi by Geoffrey Grossus, probably supplemented with other materials about Tiron's saintly founder and foundation legend.