Menat Abbey (french: Abbaye de Menat) is an abbey located in the village of Menat, Puy-de-Dôme, in the heart of the Sioule valley. It is one of the oldest monastic foundations in Auvergne.

History

Ruined, it was rebuilt and reformed at the end of the 7th century by Meneleus of Menat, who came from Anjou to flee his parents who wanted to arrange a marriage for him. Later attached to the powerful

Cluny Abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...

, it became one of the centers of monastic reform in Auvergne. Many parishes depended on the monastery and it received income from them, including tithes. Its dependencies included Notre-Dame in

Montluçon Montluçon (; oc, Montleçon ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ...

, Saint-Sulpice in Villebret, Abbaye Notre-Dame de Bellaigue in Virlet and Saint-Bonnet in

Sussat Sussat (; oc, Suçat) is a commune in the Allier department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. The romanesque church of Saint Bonnet was, in the Middle Ages, under the patronage of the powerful Benedictine abbey of Menat. Populatio ...

. The wealthy priory had a large church in the Romanesque period. It was subsequently fortified to face the bands of brigands who pillaged and destroyed the country. The abbey became

in commendam In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...

in 1628. On the eve of the French Revolution, it was in full decline and on the verge of ruin. It was sold as national property in the Revolution and the church was desecrated. In 1802, the abbey church was returned to worship and became the parish church of Menat. The classification as a historical monument took place in 1977. It was supplemented by an inscription in 2015.

Description

The monastic complex includes a Romanesque abbey, a cloister and convent buildings. The monastery was fortified, as can still be seen from the west turret. Sold during the Revolution, the abbey suffered a lot of destruction. The fortified apse was razed and replaced by a more modest and simple apse. The cloister rested on the church to the south, the abbey dwelling to the west, the kitchen and refectory to the north, the

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

(with the dormitory on the first floor) to the east. The south, east and north galleries of the cloister have disappeared; only the west gallery remains attached to the abbey dwelling. The building housing the chapter hall collapsed in the second half of the 18th century. The refectory, a large rectangular room with

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

decor built in the fourteenth century, lost its roof, and its southern wall collapsed in 1987. But the remains of the painted decoration and the carved vaults can still be seen. The abbey church preserves a magnificent carved

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, a Romanesque portal and another multi-lobed portal. In the nave, a capital, used as a baptismal font, represents the legend of Ménélée, the patron saint of the monastery. A paleontological museum has been set up in part of the abbey. On the first floor, there are 15th century murals, including a Roman calendar.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Menat Abbey Former Christian monasteries in France Cluniac monasteries in France