Published 8 / 09 / 2021 Reading time: 5 min
Lately, every French person has found himself "cloistered" at home, according to an expression that we have heard a lot ... From Latin cloister which means enclosure, it is generally used to speak of “cloistered” monks and nuns, that is to say living only inside the enclosure of their abbeys ...
The cloister, a fascinating place in the minds of the public. Communication spaces, often imagined in a square, on the model of the patios of Roman villas, the cloisters are covered galleries which allow the religious to wander easily. Their opening to the sky offers a spiritual dimension conducive to meditation.
The Roanne region can be proud of having four cloisters, vestiges of the religious intensity that flourished there during the Middle Ages.
At the dawn of the European Heritage Days, we invite you to discover their particularities through this article. These 4 places will be open to the public free of charge on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September.
The Benedictine abbey
The cloister of Charlieu Abbey dates from the years 1460 - 1470. In the Romanesque period, there were two cloisters in Charlieu: a large one on the site of the current Gothic cloister and another, called the "Infirmes" on the site of the court of the prior hotel (the old infirmary must have been on the site where the hotel was built). He suffered a lot during the XIXe century: transformed into a dwelling or shed, warehouse, cellar, it has lost its north gallery and part of the west gallery. Only two original trilobed arches remain and most of the capitals (leaves, animals, figures) have been mutilated. It was restored in 1999/2000.
The Cordeliers convent
In Saint-Nizier-sous-Charlieu, at the Couvent des Cordeliers, the stripped-down architecture of the Gothic cloister, in a remarkable state of preservation, calls for contemplation. The friezes, in the cornice of the galleries, are adorned with foliage, as are the majority of the capitals (oak, acanthus, vines, etc.), while the capitals of the north gallery invite us to meditate on the vices and virtues. Here, figures with symbolic meaning are numerous, revealing all the verve of medieval sculpture: monkeys (lust), lions (anger - discord), dog (gluttony - laziness), parrot (chatter), snake with a human face ( duplicity, hypocrisy)… Dogs (loyalty, vigilance), owl (wisdom, philosophy), rooster and squirrel (work, foresight, economy), lamb (kindness, gentleness), porcupine (sobriety, justice), hare (prudence) , ermine (purity) ...
Integrated into a house and transformed into a pleasure garden at the end of the XNUMXth centurye century, it was sold in 1910 to a Parisian antique dealer and partly dismantled to adorn the tennis court of an American billionaire. It was narrowly saved by an emergency classification "Historic Monument".
Aerial view of the cloister of the Cordeliers convent © Lionel Lambert / ADT 42 © Evelyne Deveaux Cloister of the Cordeliers convent © Luc Olivier
The priory of Ambierle
The cloister courtyard of Ambierle has been available to visitors since its complete restoration in 1999 including the enhancement of the facades of the buildings which surround it and the reopening of the monumental door allowing access to the church. XVe in the XVIIIe century, this courtyard was reserved for the prior. The monks then reclaimed the place. The view on the roof of the priory in glazed polychrome tiles in Burgundy style is a delight.
Cloister of the priory of Ambierle © Trekking et Voyage Cloister of the Priory of Ambierle © Clovis Huet / RT
The priory of Pommiers
The construction of the cloister of the priory of Pommiers dates back to around the XVIe century. Its appearance is unique: located between the church and the priory, it has only two out of four galleries! Nevertheless, its presence gives pride of place to the courtyard decorated with a coping protected by its slate roof. The galleries illustrate the circulation function of a cloister giving access to the different activities: kitchen and refectory are on one side - to nourish the body, the scriptorium and the chapter house are on another wing - to nourish the spirit, cellar and hotels complete this square - to allow religious to welcome and have an opening on the world; the last side of the square is often located along the church.
Cloister of the priory of Pommiers © Gil Lebois / ADT42 Walk in the cloister © Madame Oreille / RT
It is a richness for the Roannais to have these remarkable cloister sets which complement each other admirably.
"How can we not adore the cloisters, those quiet, closed and cool places, invented, it seems, to give birth to thought while we walk slowly under the long melancholy arcades? " - The wandering life, Sicily.
Guy de Maupassant