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Origin and history

The former lay abbey called La Tour, located in Morlanne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), is a rectangular building built in the 3rd quarter of the 15th century and redesigned in the 16th century. Its pebble wall apparatus arranged in fish edges, its snout windows, and its stair tower with bevelled openings reflect a typical architecture of the Bearnais seigneurial houses. The building, devoid of dungeon but endowed with murderous holes and bolt holes evoking a possible hoarding, was the residence of the lay abbot of Morlanne – a noble who perceived part of the ecclesiastical tithe and was entitled to presentation to the cure. Its location near the church, consistent with local usage, symbolized this privilege.

The stylistic features of the Tower, such as the arches in accolade or the old chimneys, recall the transformations made by Odet d'Aydie, Count of Comminges, at Morlanne Castle after his acquisition of the seigneury in 1469. Inside, a secular mural dating from the late 15th century (drawing scene) and carved details (coussièges, ornaments) testify to its status as an aristocratic manor. The family of Domec (or domesticer in Bearnais), small local lords with the right of employers over the church, owned it until the 17th century. Jacob de Martin, ancestor established in the mid-17th century, founded the nobility of this lineage, while Daniel de Martin attempted unsuccessfully in 1698 to integrate the States of Béarn.

In the 19th century, Albert de Domec bought and quickly sold Morlanne Castle and the Abbey. It will house a mill in the 20th century before becoming communal property. Ranked among the Historical Monuments in 2000, the Tower retains remains of its wing is destroyed, as well as defensive elements (murder) suggesting a period of transition between peace and local tensions. His history illustrates the links between secular power, ecclesiastical rights and seigneurial architecture in Béarn.

The term lay abbey here refers to a nobiliary home associated with religious prerogatives, without monastic vocation. The domesticers, like the Domecs, embodied this class of local lords exercising control over the parishes. The building, although modified (blocked openings, irregularities of southern windows), remains a rare example of this hybrid heritage, mixing residential, symbolic and potentially defensive functions.

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