Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Priory Notre-Dame de La Charité-sur-Loire, founded in 1059 by a donation from Guillaume I, Count of Nevers, is part of the Clunisian network as one of his five "senior daughters". Its church, the second largest in France after Cluny III in the Middle Ages, symbolizes the influence of Benedictine order. The site, originally named Caritate in 1070, develops thanks to donations and possessions, while its bedside with radiant chapels and its west façade, decorated with Romanesque tympanos, testify to its liturgical and artistic importance.

In the 12th century, the priory underwent major changes, including the construction of an ambulance. Tympanes, such as the Assumption of the Virgin (1130–1135) or the Transfiguration (1132), illustrate a rare iconography and strong Marian devotion, typical of the Clunisian liturgy. The rich and powerful monastery, however, was marked by crises: conflicts with Cluny in the 13th century, destruction during the wars of the 14th to 16th centuries, and a devastating fire in 1559. Partial reconstructions, especially in the 17th century under the priors Colbert, partially preserve the building.

The French Revolution closed the priory in 1791. The church becomes parish, while the convent buildings, sold, are successively home to a faience factory, a shoe factory and a wine trade. These industrial occupations, although transforming the premises, avoid their destruction. Ranked a historic monument since 1840 thanks to Prosper Mérimée, the priory was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, as a path to Santiago de Compostela. Since 2001, it has been undergoing extensive restoration work.

Archaeological excavations, like those of 2015 on St. Croix Square, reveal traces of an earlier monastery (Seyr), dating back to the year 700 and destroyed by Viking raids. The church of St. Lawrence, dedicated to the relics, and the cloister, rebuilt after the 13th century fires, complete this ensemble. The priory, a spiritual and economic centre, even had a salt attic covering forty-one parishes. Its history reflects the religious, political and social dynamics of medieval and modern Burgundy.

Among the notable figures, dom Robert Mauvielle, claustral prior who died of the plague in 1628, embodies the monks' commitment to health crises. Commodore priors, such as Nicolas Colbert or Cardinal de Bernis (18th century), play a key role in reconstruction. The tympanum of the Transfiguration, introduced in the Clunisian liturgy by Peter the Venerable, and the stalls of the choir, installed under Jean de La Magdeleine de Ragny, underline the artistic and symbolic importance of the place.

Future

The Prieuré Notre-Dame is one of the 71 monuments as well as 7 portions of paths are inscribed since 1998 on the UNESCO World Heritage List under the official title of "Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in France".

It is on the way to Via Lemovicensis, the so-called "de Vézelay" or limousine road.

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