Merlande Priory
The Priory Merlande is a former, the Abbey of Our Lady of Chancelade under notified Priory . It is located in the church today La Chapelle-Gonaguet in the Dordogne in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France .
geography
The Merlande Priory, in French Prieuré de Merlande , also known on maps as Abbaye de Merlande , is located at 164 meters above sea level in a small dry valley cut into the chalk limestone of the Lower Canton , about 1500 meters northeast of the town center of La Chapelle-Gonaguet. There is a never-ending spring in the immediate vicinity .
The priory can be reached via several municipal roads. The easiest access, however, is via the D 2 from Chancelade to Bussac , which passes just one kilometer east of the priory. The signposted junction to the left is one kilometer after crossing the hamlet of Peychey . The GR 36 long-distance hiking trail also leads past the Priorat .
history
In 1140, the Bishop of Périgueux Geoffroi I. de Cauzé (1138–1142) bequeathed the lands near Merlande to the Abbey of Chancelade . Three years later in 1143, the second abbot of Chancelade decided Élie Audoin (Élie de La Garde), at this point John the Baptist consecrated chapel to be erected. It forms the choir of the current building and was decorated with 11 capitals , the triumphal arch at the portal in the southwest with two. The capitals mainly show animal motifs and vegetal decor and are exquisitely worked - they were probably originally polychrome.
The chapel had been transformed into a priory very quickly, which is why two more domed yokes had been added on the southwest side .
The priory was partially destroyed in 1172 by English soldiers under the leadership of Henry II and his son Richard the Lionheart on their siege against Bourg du Puy-Saint-Front (in what is now Périgueux ). The chapel was then rebuilt very quickly and the front part of the nave was replaced with a barrel vault .
During the Huguenot Wars , the priory was devastated twice by the Protestants. The abbot François de Brianson therefore decided to have the priory fortified. A tower reinforced with machiculi was added to the northeast corner and a lounge for the defenders was added to the Romanesque chapel, which was accessible via a staircase attached to the facade wall of the chapel. In addition, loopholes were made in the walls of the chapel . In addition to other defensive systems, all buildings were also surrounded by trenches .
The prior's rectangular house was built in the 16th century and stood on the south side at right angles to the church. It was flanked by a round tower on its southwest corner. To the west and south it was framed by a walled moat.
During the French Revolution , the last prior had to flee and drowned in one of the trenches. The priory was looted, only the chapel was spared. Residential buildings and workshops were razed to the ground. Finally, in 1791, the lands belonging to the priory were sold.
In the Concordat of 1801 , the chapel lost its status and was left to its fate without a roof.
Protective measures and repairs
The priory was recognized as a monument historique on August 3, 1892 , the property consisting of the cadastral numbers 169, 170, 171, 183, 184, 186, 190, 192, 381 to 384, 396 and 398 then on March 19, 2002 under the Reference PA00082483 inscribed in the directory.
Between 1945 and 1948 the masonry work on the chapel was restored by the responsible service of the Monuments historiques. In 1962 the former residence building of the prior was rebuilt with one of its towers. The adjacent pantry was restored in 1996.
Photo gallery
overall view
Southwest facade
Second domed yoke
Choir
Choir capital
literature
- Frédérique-Anne Costantini: Les vies du prieuré de Merlande . In: Le Festin . No. 106 , 2018, p. 92-97 .
- Charles Durand: Notice historique et descriptive du prieuré de Merlande . In: Bulletin de la Société historique et archéologique du Périgord . 1874, p. 192-206 .
- Jean Secret: Périgord roman . éditions Zodiaque (collection la nuit des temps no 27), La Pierre-qui-Vire, 1979, p. 279-282 .
Web links
- Entry of the Merlande Priory in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Évelyne Bermond-Picot and Gérard Leconte: Les Abbayes et Prieurés du Périgord . In: Collection le Patrimoine revit . éditions GLI, 2017, ISBN 978-2-9535284-5-9 , p. 34-35 .
Coordinates: 45 ° 14 '25.6 " N , 0 ° 38' 6.7" E