Donation to Santo Domingo 1221 (≈ 1221)
The bishop ceded church and hospital to the Dominicans.
1345
Fire of the convent
Fire of the convent 1345 (≈ 1345)
Partial destruction of monastic buildings.
1374
Rent of the Polignac family
Rent of the Polignac family 1374 (≈ 1374)
Donor funding for reconstruction.
1930
Partial restoration
Partial restoration 1930 (≈ 1930)
Work on the damaged south span.
26 décembre 1949
Historical Monument
Historical Monument 26 décembre 1949 (≈ 1949)
Official protection by the French State.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Chapter Hall: Order of 26 December 1949
Key figures
Saint-Dominique - Founder of the Dominican Order
Recipient of the initial donation in 1221.
Famille Polignac - Patrons and donors
Finances reconstruction in 1374.
Jean Gras - Dominican Religious and Master of Work
Directs and finances construction.
Origin and history
The Saint-Laurent Chapter Hall, located at Puy-en-Velay in Haute-Loire, is a religious building built during the second half of the 14th century. It is part of the former Convent of the Preachers Brothers (Dominican), founded after the donation of the St. Lawrence Church and its neighbouring hospital by the bishop of Puy in Santo Domingo in 1221. The site suffered a major fire in 1345, destroying much of the convent. Thanks to a perpetual rent offered by the Polignac family in 1374, the reconstruction of the sacristy, the capitular hall and the bell tower was undertaken.
The present chapter hall was raised under the direction of Jean Gras, a Dominican religious, who almost entirely financed the construction. Its architecture follows the monastic tradition: it opens onto the cloister and plays at the church, with a nave of two spans flanked by collaterals. It has a pentagonal, terrace-covered reamping with high windows. The diamond frescoes, dating from the 14th to 15th centuries, still adorn the dogive cross, although partially restored in 1930. These twenty paintings were partly destroyed during the Wars of Religion.
Classified as a Historical Monument by decree of 26 December 1949, the capital hall is now owned by the commune of Puy-en-Velay. Its state of conservation and its decorations make it a rare testimony of medieval monastic art in Auvergne. The traces of the frescoes and the Gothic structure reflect both the piety of donors, such as the Polignac family, and the influence of beggars in the region at the end of the Middle Ages.
