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Origin and history

The abbey of Dalon was founded in 1114 by Géraud de Salles under the Benedictine rule, thanks to a donation by the lords of Lastours and with the support of Eustorge, bishop of Limoges. Initially Benedictine, she adopted the Cistercian rule in 1162 after exchanges with Pontigny Abbey, becoming the third daughter of Pontigny. She was protected by Henry II Plantagenet, Alienor d'Aquitaine and Richard Cœur de Lion, and included among her monks the troubadour Bertran de Born, who died there around 1215.

In the Middle Ages, Dalon owned a dozen barns in Périgord and founded the Puybrun bastide in 1282. The abbey gradually declined, and its remains (capitular hall, chapels) were integrated into a seigneurial house in the seventeenth century. In 1784, Jean-Marc de Royère, bishop of Castres, became a trading abbot. Since the Revolution, the site, classified as Historical Monument in 1948, belongs to a private domain.

Dalon's architecture blends Romanesque (chapel) and Gothic (14th century capitals), while its capitular hall, with a central pillar, was preserved in later constructions. The monastery, located in a valley watered by the Dalon, follows the Cistercian tradition of implantation near sources. Today, only the house, the capitular room and the dovecote are protected.

The abbey played a major role in the region, founding several priories (Boeil, Bonlieu, Loc-Dieu) and participating in the swarming of the Cistercian order in Limousin and Périgord. Its history reflects the links between religious power, local nobility (such as the Lastours) and plantagenêt court, as well as monastic transformations between the 12th and 18th centuries.

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