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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Nicolas de La Chaize-le-Vicomte was built between 1080 and 1099 on the initiative of Aimery IV de Thouars, a vicomte enriched after the battle of Hastings (1066). This lord raised a Benedictine priory and a monumental church, unique in its dimensions, to thank God for his fortune. The building, of Romanesque style and basilical plan, was consecrated on 6 and 7 December 1099 in the presence of Herbert II of Thouars (son of Aimery IV), Bishop Peter II of Poitiers, and Duke William IX of Aquitaine, who announced his departure there for the first crusade. A priory welcomed about ten monks for five centuries, until its decline after 1123.

The church went through a fasty period until the 12th century, marked by the visit of Pope Calixte II in 1120. However, after the death of Geoffroy III of Thouars, she was gradually abandoned by her protectors. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, the bell tower, the transept, the choir and the abside collapsed, probably because of a fire. In 1568, during the Wars of Religion, the church and the priory were looted by the Huguenots. Restorations took place in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the construction of the current bell tower in 1758 and the addition of a sacristy in 1806. Ranked a historic monument in 1908, it preserves remarkable remains such as vaulted corridors and Romanesque capitals.

Architecturally, the church was distinguished by its 60-metre-long basilical nave, its lower side, and a Latin cross plan today amputated. Built of local granite, it had a geometric elevation and angeline influences, as a possible tower-lantern above the cross. The fortifications added during the Hundred Years War (machicoulis tower, ramparts) testify to its defensive role. Despite the destruction, it remains a major example of vendean Romanesque art, linked to the history of the Viscounts of Thouars and the early Duchy of Aquitaine.

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