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Origin and history

The Abbey of Montpeyroux is a former Cistercian abbey founded in 1126 by Foulques III de Jaligny, lord of Puy-Guillaume, who offered land to the monks of Bonnevaux. Originally led by Abbé Jean Juvenel, his abbey was consecrated in 1175 by Archbishop Ponce de Clermont, former monk of Clairvaux. The monastery prospered thanks to donations from local lords like Guy II of Auvergne and Guigues II of Forez, and became an economic center linked to the Credogne, navigable river and energy source for its mills.

In the Middle Ages, Montpeyroux played a major spiritual and material role in Auvergne, even affiliating the Benedictine abbey of Bellaigue to the Cistercian order in 1137. To protect herself from lusts, she placed herself under the supervision of Alphonse de Poitiers in 1251, a charter confirmed by Philip III and Philip the Bel. However, the troubles began in the 15th century: in 1485 Louis I of Montpensier drove the monks out, and the wars of Religion aggravated the destruction.

A devastating fire in 1685 razed much of the medieval buildings. The reconstruction, begun before the Revolution, introduced classical elements (individual rooms, amusement park) and a troubadour style tower in the 19th century. Despite its inscription in the Historical Monuments in 2000, the abbey, sold as a national property in 1790, retains few medieval remains: fragments of the eastern wing (dorths, capitular hall) and a western Gothic facade with three gates. Its radiant bedside, extinct, is known by 18th century representations.

Architecturally, Montpeyroux followed the traditional Cistercian plan, with a cloister south of the church. Built of granite, the abbey was 60 metres long, with a five-span nave and rudimentary warheads, reflecting an early mastery of Gothic. La Credogne, channeled near the monastery, fed mills and cloistered through a hydraulic system of which traces remain. Today, the town hall is studying its rehabilitation in a cultural place.

Daughter of Bonnevaux Abbey and mother of Bellaigue Abbey, Montpeyroux illustrates the Cistercian influence in Auvergne. His abbots, such as Jean Juvenel, and his protectors, such as Alphonse de Poitiers, marked his history. Modern studies (Matussière in 1850, Archimbaud/Bigay in 1943) and recent excavations (thesis of Bouvard, 2016) shed light on his past, between medieval spirituality and post-fire adaptations.

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