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Origin and history

The Abbey of St. Enimie found its origins in the sixth century, when St.Ilère, bishop of Gevaudan, founded a first monastery in Burlatis. This site quickly fell into disuse, and although the life of Saint Enimia (VIIth century) mentioned its presence, no document confirmed monastic activity until the tenth century. The ruins were then abandoned until their restoration in 951 by Bishop Stephen of Mende, who entrusted the monastery to the order of Saint-Benoît under the direction of Dalmace, monk of the Velay. The latter obtained the seigneurial independence of the site, transforming the territory into a rescue (land free of secular suzerainety), which gave its name to the causse of Sauveterre.

In the 12th century, the monastery, now under the dependence of the Abbey of Saint-Chaffre-en-Velay, experienced a boom linked to the pilgrimage around the relics of Saint Enimie. Benedictine monks develop an active spiritual life there, and the site becomes a place of regional influence, its prior sitting in the particular states of Gevaudan. In the 15th century, the monastery may have been raised to the rank of abbey, with François Alamand as the first owner. In 1491 DInnocent VIII, the latter, apostolic prothonotary, obtained the right to cancel the alienations of monastic goods, thereby consolidating his heritage.

The French Revolution marked the end of the abbey: secularized in 1790 by Bishop Jean-Arnaud de Castellane, it was sold as a national good and then partially destroyed. Today, only the former refectory (the vaulted room of the 12th century) and the Romanesque chapel Sainte-Madeleine remain, classified as historical monuments in 1932. The local legend attributes the foundation of the site to Saint Enimie, a Merovingian princess cured of leprosy by the waters of the Gorges du Tarn, although the current buildings do not date back beyond the 12th century.

Architecturally, the remains form a squared ensemble, with a remodeled southern wing (15th century route) and a long vaulted room in a cot with committed columns, typical of Provencal Romanesque art. A small Romanesque chapel, backed by the rampart, completes the whole. These elements illustrate the past importance of the monastery, both a spiritual centre, a place of pilgrimage and a symbol of ecclesiastical power in medieval Gevaudan.

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