Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The cloister of the Psalette, attaining to the Cathedral of Saint-Gatien de Tours, was built between the 3rd quarter of the 15th century and the 1st quarter of the 16th century, under the impulse of Archbishop Jean de Bernard. This late Gothic monument, classified in 1889, owes its name to the nearby music school where the psalms resonated. It housed the canons, whose assembly (the chapter) animated a scriptorium and a library among the richest in France, dispersed in 1793 during the revolutionary dissolution.

The architecture of the cloister is distinguished by its spiral staircase, attributed to Bastien François (1524), conceived as a miniature replica of that of the castle of Blois, commanded by François I. The wings were built in stages: the west wing and the first north span as early as 1460 for the canon Segaler, the north wing from 1508, and the wing was completed in 1526. A street piercing in 1802 partially destroyed the west wing and the capitular hall, while later restorations (notably by Gustave Guérin around 1870) altered its appearance.

The cloister gained literary fame thanks to Honoré de Balzac, who decorated it with his novel Le Curé de Tours (1832). A symbol of ecclesiastical patronage and medieval intellectual life, he also illustrated revolutionary upheavals: the dissolution of the chapter in 1793 marked the end of its religious role, before its preservation as a historical monument. Today run by the National Monuments Centre, it bears witness to the flamboyant Gothic art and the tourangelle history.

The materials and techniques used reflect this hinged period: roof stone for towers, flat vaults for stairs, and screw stairs (outwork or in-work) to connect floors. The north tower, completed in 1507 by Pierre de Valencia and the Francis brothers, contrasts with the south tower, completed between 1534 and 1547 by Pierregadier, showing the evolution of styles between Gothic and Renaissance.

The site, located 7 rue de la Psalette (Indre-et-Loire), is open to visit. Its exact address and its ranking among the first protected historical monuments in 1889 underline its heritage importance, between medieval heritage, modern transformations and artistic inspiration.

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