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Origin and history

The priory of Saint-Pierre de Glanot, located in the hamlet of Glanot at Mont-Saint-Jean (Côte-d'Or), is a Benedictine priory founded in the 12th century under the dependence of Cluny Abbey. It is mentioned as early as 1162 in the archives of the Abbey of Labussière. His Prioral Church, dedicated to St Peter, also served as a parish church until the 15th century. It housed twelve altars and several funeral chapels, including those of the lords of Mont-Saint-Jean such as Antoinette de Bauffremont (†1488) or Claude Beauvoir de Chastellux (†1453), Marshal de France. A miraculous source dedicated to Saint Maur, known as a healer, fed the priory through a vaulted canal.

In the 13th century, the priory was in ruins: the church was without a roof, the windows were missing, and the monks lived in precarious conditions. Despite this, Glanot retains presentation rights for six local churches, generating income. In 1267, the abbot of Cluny inspected the premises. In the 16th century, a dovecote was built, and Antoine de Luxembourg financed glass windows for the church. The priory declined after the Revolution: sold as national property in 1791, its buildings were partially demolished, and the church, already ruined in 1816, saw its furniture dispersed.

Today, there are only remains of the Romanesque church (behind the north side, arm of the transept, chapel) and the 17th century dovecote, classified as Historical Monument in 1987. The capitals of the 12th century, the missing seigneurial tombs, and a statue of Saint Maur (transferred to the museum of Autun) bear witness to his past. The site illustrates Burgundy's clunisian architecture and the links between seigneurial and religious power in the Middle Ages.

The priory derived his income from seigneurial royalties (froment, wine, sheep) and parish rights. Its decline accelerated after the Revolution: the church, enclaved in private property, was abandoned. In 1833, a dispute between the commune and the owners, accused of demolishing parts of the building and stealing its furniture. The last notable elements, such as a bas-relief of the tomb of Antoinette de Bauffremont, were dispersed in the 19th century.

The spatial organization of the priory reflected its importance: the large church dominated the hamlet of Glanot, near the morvandelle forest. The terraces set up around the site and the sacred source underline its role both religious, economic (semes, alms) and social (noble burials). Today's remains, though fragmentary, allow us to study architectural evolution between the 12th and 17th centuries, marked by clunisian influence and then post-medieval transformations.

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