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Origin and history

Priory Saint-Michel de Castelnau-Pegayrols is a former priory located in the department of Aveyron in the Occitan region. Founded in the 12th century, it is linked to the abbey Saint-Victor of Marseille by a donation of 1071 made by Acred de Lévezou, lord of Castelnau, and his wife Arsinde. This family bond, reinforced by the abbots Bernard and Richard (brothers of Arsinde), favored the donations of wheeled churches, including that of Saint-Michel, confirmed in 1082 by charters.

The current building consists of two square wings, whose north wing, in Romanesque style, retains a 12th century gemini window. The east wing, very redesigned at the end of the 15th century, houses a large room with a fireplace decorated with coat of arms of the Castelnau family. This wing communicates with the rostrum of Saint-Michel Church, suggesting a simultaneous construction, perhaps under the impulse of a prior from this family. Carolingian sarcophagus discovered in the cemetery attest to an ancient occupation of the site.

In 1507, on a pastoral visit, Bishop François d'Estaing noted the transfer of parish service from Notre-Dame church to Saint-Michel church. The buildings of the priory then become the presbytery. The whole, including the church and the wings of the priory, is classified as a historical monument in two stages: the church in 1920 and the convent buildings in 1990. The site also retains traces of a fortified enclosure, some of which remains in the fence wall.

The priory illustrates the links between seigneurial power and religious power in the Middle Ages, with Romanesque and Gothic architectural influences. The coat of arms of the lords of Castelnau, present in the fireplace and chapel, underline their role in the history of the monument. Today, the site mixes medieval remains and subsequent transformations, offering a witness to the evolution of a rural priory in Occitanie.

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