History of the priory

A place steeped in history classified as a historic monument

The Order of Grandmont

The Order of Grandmont is an Eremitic order (hermit) founded by Étienne de Thiers, son of the Viscount Etienne II of Thiers and Candide (or Blanche).

Étienne was born in 1046 and he was entrusted at 12 to the dean of the Paris chapter.

When he is appointed bishop of Bénévent in Italy, Etienne follows him. On his return, a few years later, after having lived with Moines Calabrais, Étienne abdicated in favor of his uncle Guillaume and settled at the foot of the Monts d'Ambazac, 20 km from Limoges, in the Duchy of Aquitaine. He then founded the Muret hermitage, around 1076.

This period is marked by the creation of several monastic reform communities: thus, in 1084, Bruno founded the Chartreuse and in 1098 Robert de Molesmes founded the abbey of Cîteaux.

Etienne died around 1124 and his death caused the exodus of his faithful to the Grandmont plateau a few kilometers away. The church built on this place will become the mother abbey and the plateau will give its name to the order, the order of Grandmont.

The latter will then extend throughout the Middle Ages, and the Mother Abbey will order around 160 those divided mainly into the Great South of France, some in Spain and England, notably thanks to the marriage of Aliénor d'Aquitaine with Henry II of England.

The Order of Grandmont is distinguished by its rules, known as the most austere in the Middle Ages. They walk barefoot, only live on donations, do not eat meat and do not heat.

Many disciplinary crises will shake up order during the centuries of existence of this one, which will require the intervention of the popes. Despite several reforms, more and more monks are leaving the order of Grandmont to head towards less austere orders. The workforce came as much to miss and in 1772, the order was dissolved. The Saint-Michel priory was then attached to the bishopric of Lodève and the last two monks will leave in 1785.

An unknown order

A unique priory

Few things remain in the order of Grandmont. Ermites, not taking writings, and disappeared in 1772, there are few who still remember these strict and austere monks.

And yet, very close to Lodève, the priory of Saint-Michel de Grandmont remains. It is the last monastery out of the 160 that the Order of Grandmont had to have been kept in its entirety. He is the only complete example of simple and stripped of great architecture, in the spirit of the monks of this little -known order.

A refined architecture

The austere domain

Grandmontaine architecture reflects the spirit of the monks of this order: few decorative elements, a large part of the naked walls, without sculpture or frescoes.

If the priory is of modest dimension as a whole, its church, the first element built in the 12th century, is distinguished by its proportions: almost 28 meters long, 6.70 meters wide and 11 meters high! It consists of a single nave and a vaulted apse in oven ass surmounting three deep and equal openings, the triplet.

The highlight of the visit

The Dolmen of Red Coste

It is the flagship point of the visit to the megalithic park. He owes his name to Occitan, Coste-row meaning "red coast" due to the red color of the tumulus stone. Popularly called "fairy cave", this Neolithic vestige was classified as a historic monument in 1887, one of the first in the region.

Old 2500 years before Jesus Christ, this dolmen is renowned for its particularities: its shape, which reminds us of a fungus, and its central oven-shaped opening.

Legend has it that the monks would have used this dolmen to provide care. The point of view is also exceptional, the gaze opening onto the Salagou valley and Mont Liausson opposite, and the inactive volcano of the Brandou in the back ...