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Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols dans l'Indre

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine religieux
Abbaye
Eglise romane
Indre

Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols

    9 Rue de l'Abbaye
    36130 Déols
Property of the municipality; private property
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Déols
Crédit photo : Travail personnel - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Haut Moyen Âge
Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2 septembre 917
Foundation of the Abbey
1107
Visit of Pope Pascal II
30 mai 1187
Miracle of the Virgin
1211
Falling of the bell tower
1567
Fire by Protestants
1629
Secularization
1862
Historical Monument
1924–1926
Archaeological excavations
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Round: ranking by list of 1862; Vestiges of the ancient abbey comprising the remains of the old left collateral with a face of arcades with capitals garnishing the pillars and buried bases; Remnants of the wall with Romanesque window on the return of the north goutrot wall: ranking by decree of 6 November 1929; Parts belonging to the Orphelinate and comprising a span of the capitular hall, the spans of another hall, the walls of a enclosure and an intact building (Box 1345, 1347): classification by order of 18 August 1938; Cadastral plots containing remains (cf. H 1344 bis, 1344, 1341, 1345, 1346): classification by decree of 16 February 1951; All architectural remains in elevation or basement as well as the soils of Notre Dame Abbey, excluding those parts classified as historical monuments, included in the former Abbatial Enclosure, as represented on the plan annexed to the Order, and appearing in the cadastre, section BC N°1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 612, 614, 665, 666, 692, 702, 703, 709, 710; Section BE No 137, 138, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 157, 158, 252, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 335, 336, 338, 363, 364; section BH No 242, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452 and non-cadastre public domain: registration by order of 12 October 2015

Key figures

Ebbes le Noble - Founder of the Abbey Lord of Deols, inspired by Cluny
Bernon de Cluny - First Abbé (917–927) Also Abbé de Cluny, Reformer
Pascal II - Pope (1099–118) Consecration altars in 1107, confirms privileges
Richard Cœur de Lion - Duke of Aquitaine, King of England Save the abbey after the miracle
Henri II de Bourbon-Condé - Secularizing Prince Obtained the end of the abbey in 1629
Prosper Mérimée - Inspector of Historic Monuments Save the bell tower in 1843
Jean Hubert - Archaeologist and historian Directs excavations and returns plan (1924–1926)

Origin and history

The Abbey of Notre-Dame de Déols, founded on 2 September 917 by Ebbes le Noble, lord of Deols, is inspired by the Abbey of Cluny. Placed under the direct authority of the pope, she quickly became one of the richest in France thanks to donations of land, parishes and priories. Its climax in the 12th–14th centuries is reflected in the construction of a monumental abbey church of 113 meters long, now almost disappeared.

In the 16th century, the regime of the beginning and the wars of Religion (fire of 1567 by Protestants) marked its decline. Secularized in 1629 by Henri II de Bourbon-Condé, his buildings serve as a stone quarry. Only remains remain such as the bell tower, the crypt, the capitular hall and Romanesque elements, classified as historical monuments in 1862. Archaeological excavations (1924–26) restored his plan.

The abbey was a place of spiritual and political power, welcoming popes like Pascal II (1107) and Alexander III (1162–1163). His "miracle of 1187" — a miraculous bleeding of a statue of the Virgin — would have prevented his destruction by Richard the Lion Heart. The Notre-Dame-des-Miracles chapel, built after this event, disappeared in 1833. Today, his Romanesque sculptures are preserved at the Bertrand Museum in Châteauroux.

Architecturally, the abbey mixes aquitaine, angeline and francilian influences, reflecting the political changes of the Berry (duchy of Aquitaine, then royal domain). Its remains, including a conical bell tower, illustrate the transition between Romanesque and Gothic. Prosper Mérimée and Jean Hubert contributed to its preservation and study in the 19th century.

Monastic life declined after the 16th century: in 1629 the remaining twelve monks were dispersed, and the buildings became a quarry. In the 19th century, some of the ruins housed an orphanage. Modern excavations revealed capitals of the 12th century and confirmed the size of the building, comparable to the great Clunisian abbeys.

The abbey also symbolizes tensions between royal and ecclesiastical power, as evidenced by conflicts with the archdiocese of Bourges or forced secularization. Its history, documented by the Chronicle of Deols, makes it a key monument to understand medieval monasticism in Berry.

External links