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Origin and history

The Abbey of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne was founded in 855, founded by Raoul (or Rodulfe) of Turenne, Archbishop of Bourges, on the family lands known as Bellus Locus. Formed at the Abbey of Solignac, he set up twelve monks and provided the monastery with Roman relics (Saint Prime, Saint Felician, Saint Félicité), attracting pilgrims and gifts. The Viscounts of Turenne and King Eudes confirm these donations, allowing the abbey to prosper thanks to its domains and its spiritual role.

In the 11th century, the abbey suffered internal and external conflicts, particularly with the lords of Castelnau. Hugues de Castelnau, a lay abbot, dispossessed his property before placing it under Cluny's authority in 1076, marking a period of stability. The reconstruction began: the choir, the transept and the nave were erected before 1130, followed by the western facade and the bell tower (14th century). The Abbey, a stage on the road to Compostela, embodies the influence of the artistic currents of Quercy, Limousin and Auvergne.

The end of union with Cluny in 1213 revived tensions with the Viscounts of Turenne and the local bourgeois. The Wars of Religion (XVI century) turned the abbey into a Protestant temple (1569–86), looted and masked by constructions. The monks, exiled, returned only in 1586, but the monastic buildings, destroyed, were only raised in the seventeenth century by the Maurists (1683–99). The French Revolution reduced the abbey to its church, classified as a historical monument in 1862.

The Romanesque tympanum of the southern porch, a sculptural masterpiece, represents the Parousia (the second coming of Christ) according to Matthew's Gospel. The triumphant Christ, surrounded by angels and apostles, dominates monsters symbolizing fallen kingdoms or the forces of evil. This vision, less apocalyptic than in Moissac, underscores the victory over Death. The capitular hall, the only claustral vestige with its Romanesque capitals, has served as a sacristy since 1903.

Restorations of the 19th and 20th centuries (Baudot's Anatole, Chain architect) saved the building after the collapse of the vaults in 1808. The clearance of the bedside and the consolidation of the structures preserve its authenticity. Today, the abbey, surrounded by narrow alleys, bears witness to its monastic past and its role in medieval pilgrimages, while sheltering a liturgical treasure and Maurist remains.

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