History
article | Reading time5 min
Do you know the eventful history of Charroux Abbey? Discover this powerful abbey located between Poitiers, Angoulême and Limoges!
The origins of the abbey
A powerful abbey
Charroux Abbey was founded in 783 by Count Roger de Limoges and his wife Euphrasie d'Auvergne. Surely you're more familiar with Charlemagne? This story begins during his reign...
In 989, the abbey hosted the first Council of the Peace of God. This was a decisive event for the protection of property and people in Christian lands.
The abbey's fame was also associated with the relic of the True Cross, a veritable treasure, which contributed to the influx of pilgrims and donations .
In the 11th century, the country's monasteries competed for subsidies . This is how the legend of Charroux' s abbey holding the relic of the Sainte Vertu (Holy Virtue) came to be. . Charlemagne is said to have received this gift on his journey to Jerusalem, and in turn donated it to the abbey.
The precious reliquary was miraculously recovered in the 11th century. The cult of the Holy Virtue brought in many donations and financed the majestic reconstruction, whose altar was blessed by Pope Urban II.
Still in the11th century, the abbey expanded with the construction of a new monumental church measuring 114 meters in length, followed in the 13th century by a huge Gothic portal featuring superb sculptures. Beautiful, flamboyant, inescapable, rich, renowned...
And then began a long decline!
© Pascal Lemaître - Centre des monuments nationaux
The decline
With the various wars and their instability, the abbey was plundered and ransacked several times.
Right from the start of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), in 1345, the abbey's treasure, which had been kept safe in Poitiers, was plundered! The abbey was fortified during this troubled period.
To make matters worse, a major fire broke out in 1422. This accidental fire destroyed a large part of the monastery.
Peace finally arrived! Jean Chaperon, elected abbot in 1444, began rebuilding the monastery (chapter house, cloister). The abbey still boasted a rich heritage that extended as far as England: 152 churches, 60 priories and 3 abbeys.
But this period of prosperity was short-lived: successive mismanagement and embezzlement by the abbots commendataires led to the abbey's bankruptcy and the ruin of many of its buildings.
At the end of the 16th century, the kingdom entered a new period of turmoil. The Wars of Religion (1562-1598) pitted Catholicism against Protestantism.
In 1569, the town and abbey were devastated and set on fire. The nave of the church partially collapsed, the refectory, dormitory, kitchen and library were damaged, some monks were murdered and others fled. Monastic life did not resume until 1580, when the church was declared beyond repair, the nave shortened and the rotunda repaired.
In 1634, the church was destroyed. Only a small part of the building, the rotunda, was restored for services.
The monastery's dilapidated state led to its closure in the 18th century. On September 28, 1760, King Louis XV declared the abbey closed, and in 1762, Pope Clement XIII decreed the suppression of the monastery and its property. The inhabitants of Charroux protested, but lost their case. The abbey's closure was confirmed in 1779.
At the time of the French Revolution, in 1796, the abbey became national property and was sold in five lots! The ruined church became a stone quarry and disappeared in the 19th century.
Base Aliénor
The abbey saved
The remains of the rotunda (including the lantern tower in the center), the cloister and the conventual buildings (including the chapter house) were bought by one man: Charles Loyzeau de Grandmaison (1740-1797). They were then preserved.
The sculptures on the triple Gothic portal were saved from destruction by the Société des antiquaires de l'Ouest.
It wasn't until 1835, when Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870), the inspector of historic monuments, contacted by historian Charles de Chergé, forbade demolition and ensured the protection of Charroux Abbey from 1846 onwards.
The heirs of Charles Loyzeau de Grandmaison resisted a plan by the municipality to demolish the lantern tower in order to enlarge the fairground in the 19th century.
In 1839, they donated the tower, convent buildings and cloister to the Ursuline Sisters of Chavagnes.
The lantern tower was included in the first list of historic monuments in 1840.
In 1846, protection was extended to the remains of the monastery.
Bequeathed to the State, Charroux Abbey became a national monument and was listed by decree on June 13, 1950.
© Centre des monuments nationaux - Sébastien Arnault