Logo Musée du Patrimoine

All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

Priory of Notz-l'Abbe à Martizay dans l'Indre

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine religieux
Prieuré
Indre

Priory of Notz-l'Abbe

    37 Notz l'Abbé
    36220 Martizay
Ownership of a private company
Crédit photo : DoucF - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
vers 1228
Foundation of the Priory and construction of the chapel
vers 1500
Making wall paintings
1791
Sale as a national good
XIXe siècle
Processing into cells
10 février 1987
Classification of wall paintings
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Former chapel including the murals it contains (Box 1962 AI 244): classification by order of 10 February 1987

Key figures

Moines délégués par Saint-Savin - Resident Priors (XIIIth–XVIth centuries) Managed the priory for the mother abbey.
Prieurs commendataires - Leaders absent (from 17th century) Mark the decline of monastic life.
Abbé de Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe - Guardian Authority Supervised the priory until the Revolution.

Origin and history

The Priory of Notz-l'Abbé was founded in the 13th century thanks to donations to the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe. Until the 16th century, it was led by monks delegated by the abbot of Saint Savin, serving as a spiritual relay for the mother abbey. The chapel Saint-Antoine, built shortly after 1228, illustrates this founding period, with murals dated around 1500, depicting religious scenes such as Christ in majesty or Saint-Georges terrorizing the dragon.

In the 17th century, the priory became a beginning, where priors no longer resided, marking a decline in its active role. The French Revolution accelerated its transformation: sold as a national good in 1791, the site lost its religious vocation. In the 19th century, the chapel was converted into a cellar, with architectural modifications (overhanging the walls, demolition of the bell tower), while retaining its painted decorations, classified since 1987.

The murals, executed around 1500, are a rare testimony of medieval religious art in Berry. They combine symbolic motifs (tetramorphic, martyrs) with popular representations such as St.Christophus, dated the 15th century. The site, now privately owned, thus retains a double memory: that of a Benedictine place of worship and that of an artistic heritage preserved despite historical upheavals.

External links