Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Around the year 733, the hermit Emilian, originally from Brittany, founded a religious community around a monolithic church dug into the rock, following the rule of Saint Augustin. This first monastery, ravaged by the Normans at the end of the 9th century, passed in 1080 under the control of a layman, Olivier, Viscount of Castillon, before being entrusted by the Archbishop of Bordeaux to canons living in a cloister. In 1110, the monks adopted the rule of Saint Benedict, marking the beginning of a major reconstruction.

In the 12th century, the religious built a church, cloisters and convent buildings (stores, cellars, refectory, dormitory), forming the dean. Today, only the south and west wings clearly remain, the east wing being integrated into later buildings. The site underwent a transformation in the 15th century, with the addition of triangular splinters and frontons on the façade. The abbey's house, on the other hand, was completely rebuilt in the 18th century, including a stone staircase with a wrought iron ramp dated 1744.

The ensemble retains remarkable architectural elements, such as a trilobed arched door connecting cloister and refectory, or Romanesque bays on the wall is adjacent to the capitular room. A triangular front door, framed by a trilobed arch, allowed access to the college. The west wall separated the cloister from the abbatial home. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1964, the site now includes protected parts: the former refectory, the capitular hall, the sacristy and the abbot's home.

The property, shared between an association and the municipality of Saint-Émilion, illustrates the evolution of a monastic place of life over more than ten centuries, mixing medieval, Gothic and classical heritages. Its history reflects the political and religious upheavals of the region, from the Norman invasions to the ecclesiastical reorganization of the Middle Ages.

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