The Abbey of Maillezais was located on an island in the waterlogged Marais Poitevin. The area was extensively developed in the early part of the 13th century, when the abbeys of Maillezais, Nieul-sur-l'Autise, Saint-Michel-en-Herm, and the Absie St. Maixent joined together for the project. The monks dug canals to manage the water and create more arable land. In 1317, after the final suppression of the Albigensians in France, Pope John XXII restructured the allocation of French bishoprics, creating two new episcopal sees, each with a cathedral, out of the diocese of Poitiers. Pope John XXI raised the status of Maillezais to that of diocese, with Saint-Pierre Cathedral (formerly the abbey church) becoming the seat of the new Bishop of Maillezais. The abbot of Maillezais, Geoffroy Povereau, was appointed the first bishop. The cathedral became a center of intellectual pursuits, in the early 16th century François Rabelais taught at the abbey for five years