Solignac Abbey, or the Abbey of Saint-Peter and Saint Paul of Solignac, is an abbey in
Solignac
Solignac (; oc, Solenhac) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France.
Geography
The village lies on the right bank of the Briance, which flows westward through the commune. It contains t ...
, near
Limoges, in Haute-Vienne.
It was founded around 631 AD by
Saint Eligius
Saint Eligius (also Eloy, Eloi or Loye; french: Éloi; 11 June 588 – 1 December 660 AD) is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and coin collectors. He is also the patron saint of veterinarians, the Royal Electrical and Mechani ...
(Éloi).
The present buildings date to the 12th century, but have been modified many times since then.
The abbey was dissolved during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
and the buildings were put to new uses, including a prison, boarding school, porcelain factory and seminary.
As of 2021 there were plans to restore it back to its original function as a monastery.
History of the abbey
Foundation
Solignac Abbey was founded by Saint Eligius of
Noyon
Noyon (; pcd, Noéyon; la, Noviomagus Veromanduorum, Noviomagus of the Veromandui, then ) is a commune in the Oise department, northern France.
Geography
Noyon lies on the river Oise, about northeast of Paris. The Oise Canal and the Cana ...
who asked King
Dagobert I
Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dyna ...
for the village of Solemniacum, (the land of Solignac) to found a monastery.
The abbey was founded in 631 or 632, on 22 November in the tenth year of Dagobert's reign.
The foundation is made in honour of the apostles Peter and Paul, the martyrs Pancrace and Denys and their companions, the saints and confessors Martin, Médard, Rémi and Germain.
The act of foundation is counter-signed by the bishops Adeodatus of Mâcon, Madegilosus of Tours, Chanoaldus of Laon, Maurin of Beauvais, Salapius of Nantes, Hildegarius of Sens and Loup of Limoges.
The abbey was not under the jurisdiction of the bishop, but was subordinated to the king.
The act gave the monks ownership of the abbey as long as they followed the rules of Saints
Benedict
Benedict may refer to:
People Names
*Benedict (given name), including a list of people with the given name
*Benedict (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Religious figures
* Pope Benedict I (died 579), head of the Catholic Chu ...
and
Columbanus.
According to legend, Saint Eligius mounted on a rock on the "heights" of Solignac (this rock is named after the rock Saint Éloi).
He threw a hammer from this rock, and founded the abbey where it fell.
Changes in status
Eligius admired
Luxeuil Abbey
Luxeuil Abbey (), the ''Abbaye Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul'', was one of the oldest and best-known monasteries in Burgundy, located in what is now the département of Haute-Saône in Franche-Comté, France.
History Columbanus
It was founded circa 5 ...
in Haute-Saône, founded by Saint Colombanus. He sent for monks from there, including the first abbot,
Saint Remacle
Saint Remaclus (Remaculus, Remacle, Rimagilus; died 673) was a Benedictine missionary bishop.
Life
Remaclus grew up at the Aquitanian ducal court and studied under Sulpitius the Pious, bishop of Bourges. In 625 he became a monk at Luxeuil Abbey ...
.
The original rule was that of Luxeuil, and was inspired by the prescriptions of Saint Columban and Saint Benedict.
A few years later Saint Remacle was appointed Bishop of
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
.
Saint Audoin (Ouen) wrote that the abbey quickly gained importance.
The abbey soon had one hundred and fifty monks.
Saint Audoin, a friend of Saint Eligius, in his ''Life'' of Eligius, describes a “fertile and pleasant” place, “copious and well-watered orchards”, “the proximity of a beautiful river”.
He says of the monastery: "I saw there such a beautiful observance of the holy Rule that the life of its monks is almost unique in its kind when compared to that of the other monasteries of Gaul".
He goes on to say "there are many skilled workers in different arts and crafts, and all of them are brought up to the highest perfection by the fear of Christ and the practice of prompt obedience."
The abbey of Solignac was then a large silversmith's workshop.
After Eligius
![Solignac - Eglise abbatiale - Nef -1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Solignac_-_Eglise_abbatiale_-_Nef_-1.JPG)
When Remacle left the abbey to become bishop of Maastricht, he brought with him
Saint Hadelin
Saint Hadelin (or Adelin, Hadelinus) (d. about 690),
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 3 December 2021 born ...
, a native of Aquitaine, where he was abbot of Celles and then of Visé.
A young Saxon slave, bought by Saint Eloi, entered the abbey.
Thillo (or Saint Théau) was the successor of Eloi in directing the manufacture of silverware.
He later became a hermit in Brageac near Mauriac, then returns to die, in 702, near Solignac on the site of church of
Le Vigen
Le Vigen (; oc, Lo Vijan) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France.
Geography
The village lies on the right bank of the Briance, which flows westward through the commune.
History
The ...
.
Between the eighth century and the eleventh century, troubles and periods of recovery followed one another.
There were
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...
invasions around 732–735.
An incursion in 793 of imprecise origin causing damage that required
Pepin the Short, then
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
, to grant privileges.
In 817
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...
granted privileges to rebuild the abbey.
In 820, Father Aigulf imposed the Benedictine rule reformed by Saint
Benedict of Aniane
Benedict of Aniane ( la, Benedictus Anianensis; german: Benedikt von Aniane; 747 – 12 February 821 AD), born Witiza and called the Second Benedict, was a Benedictine monk and monastic reformer, who left a large imprint on the religious prac ...
.
In 823,
Raoul de Bourges probably became a clerk at the abbey of Solignac.
This would explain why he later asked for help from the Abbey of Solignac when he founded abbeys such as
Végennes and
Beaulieu.
Around 855, Cunibert, Abbot of Solignac, successor to Aigulf, provided monks for the foundation of
Beaulieu Abbey.
The
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
incursions caused the arrival of the relics of Saint
Martial de Limoges in Solignac.
Then, around 860 or 864, Solignac Abbey was looted and set on fire.
Monks who took refuge in
Vic-Fezensac
Vic-Fezensac (; Gascon: ''Vic en Fesensac''; Occitan: ''Vic de Fesensac'') is a commune in the Gers department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. In 2017, it had a population of 3,474.
Geography Localisation
Vic-Fezensa ...
brought back the relics of Saint Fauste.
In 866 the Abbot Bernard was present at the
Council of Soissons chaired by King
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...
.
On 12 June 883, Pope
Pope Marinus I
Pope Marinus I (; died 15 May 884) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 882 until his death. Controversially at the time, he was already a bishop when he became pope, and had served as papal legate to Constantinople. He was ...
granted a charter and took Solignac Abbey under his patronage and confirmed the property of the abbey.
On 13 June 889 a charter was given to
Micy Abbey
Micy Abbey or the Abbey of Saint-Mesmin, Micy (french: Abbaye Saint-Mesmin de Micy), sometimes referred to as Micy, was a Benedictine abbey near Orléans at the confluence of the Loire and the Loiret, located on the territory of the present commun ...
by King
Odo of France
Odo (french: Eudes; c. 857 – 1 January 898) was the elected King of West Francia from 888 to 898. He was the first king from the Robertian dynasty. Before assuming the kingship, Odo was the count of Paris. His reign marked the definitive sepa ...
.
Charles the Simple
Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a mem ...
, with the agreement of Turpion,
Bishop of Limoges
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Limoges (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lemovicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Limoges'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the '' départments'' of Haute-Vienne and Cr ...
, on 18 July 922 gave sixteen churches in Solignac to help it to recover from the destruction due to the period of anarchy. Nothing is known of the constructions of this period.
In 942 the abbot Géraud II founded a "fraternity of prayer" at
Fleury Abbey.
There were exchanges between the two abbeys.
For example, Bernard II, abbot of Solignac in 983, then of Beaulieu, and finally
bishop of Cahors, was a pupil of
Abbo of Fleury
Abbo or Abbon of Fleury ( la, Abbo Floriacensis; – 13 November 1004), also known as Saint Abbo or Abbon, was a monk and abbot of Fleury Abbey in present-day Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire near Orléans, France.
Life
Abbo was born near Orléans ...
.
His successor, Amblard, recalls in a letter to Hervé, treasurer and builder of the Basilica of Saint-Martin-de-Tours, that he was his fellow student in Fleury.
The Abbey of Saint-Pierre du Vigeois, founded by
Saint Yrieix before 572, joined Solignac at the start of the eleventh century.
Its community was very large, around a hundred monks.
In 1031 Géraud III took part in the Council of Limoges during which Dieudonné, bishop of Cahors, preached the truce of God.
Reconstruction of the abbey, revolts and wars
![Solignac - Eglise abbatiale - Choeur et bras Sud du transept](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Solignac_-_Eglise_abbatiale_-_Choeur_et_bras_Sud_du_transept.JPG)
Many donations were made to the abbey in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
They allowed the reconstruction of the abbey.
Popes
Eugene III, in 1147, and
Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV ( la, Adrianus IV; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159, also Hadrian IV), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 to his death in 1159. He is the only Englishman ...
granted bulls confirming the titles and rights of the abbey.
Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa wrote a letter to the King of England in 1157 recommending the abbey to him.
The first half of the thirteenth century marked an insurrection of the inhabitants because the merchant bourgeoisie no longer wanted to report to the abbot.
The porch tower was seized by the inhabitants of the village during the troubles of 1240–1246.
The viscount of Limoges had to intervene in December 1241 to return the abbey to the monks.
The monks had disputes with the lords of the
Château de Châlucet in the thirteenth century.
In 1388, English bands burned down the church choir.
Pope at Avignon
Clement VII
Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
granted indulgences to allow its restoration.
In March 1422, the English were in Solignac.
In 1460, Father Martial Bony de Lavergne had stained glass windows installed and installed stalls.
It is probably under his rule that a bell tower which existed on the North crosspiece was demolished.
Renaissance
![Solignac - Eglise abbatiale - Croisée du transept et choeur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Solignac_-_Eglise_abbatiale_-_Crois%C3%A9e_du_transept_et_choeur.JPG)
The abbey was commissioned in 1503.
The Protestant troops, after their victory at
La Roche-l'Abeille
La Roche-l'Abeille (; oc, La Ròcha l'Abelha) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France.
Inhabitants are known as ''Rouchauds'' in French.
See also
*Communes of the Haute-Vienne depart ...
, plundered the abbey in 1569.
The reliquaries were destroyed and the relics burned, but the archives were preserved.
In 1574, André, viscount of Bourdeilles, seneschal of Périgord, after seizing the abbey with the lord of
Pierre-Buffière
Pierre-Buffière (; oc, Peira Bufiera) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Eur ...
, obtained from the king the donation of the abbey.
Ruined by the
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mi ...
and the peasant revolts, the abbey rose again during the Catholic
Counter-Reformation, when on 26 June 1619, the commendatory abbot
Jean Jaubert de Barrault,
Bishop of Bazas, following the example of the Augustian abbey in Limoges, appealed to six monks from the Congregation of Saint-Maur who restored the Benedictine rule.
They encountered the hostility of the monks in place, so the abbey was shared and the Maurists were satisfied with a small chapel until death swept away their opponents in 1635.
The abbey was then separated by a wall to allow the parish church to be installed in the nave.
At the beginning of the 18th century, after a fire which destroyed part of the main building, the western part was rebuilt in the style of the time
French Revolution
In 1790, the fourteen monks that still remained in the abbey were thrown out by the French Revolution.
The abbey then became a parish church, the Saint-Michel church having been auctioned and then exploited as a stone quarry.
The abbey buildings were used as a prison, in particular for refractory priests (who were then sent to the Rochefort pontoons), and for nuns.
Modern age
Under the
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France.
Historians in the 1930 ...
(1852–1870) the abbey became a boarding school for young girls, then housed a
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
factory until 1930.
From 1939 to 1945, the ''
normaliens'' of
Obernai
Obernai ( Alsatian: ''Owernah''; german: Oberehnheim) commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains.
Obernai is a rapidly growing city, its number of inhabitants hav ...
(Bas-Rhin) found refuge there.
The
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...
took possession of the place in 1946, and the buildings became a seminary, then a place of retreat.
"It was in 1945. The Oblates were looking for a place large enough to accommodate the numerous entrants into the congregation.
They set their sights on the Abbey of Solignac, which they knew from having preached parish missions in the pre-war sector ...
The adventure lasted until the early 1970s ".
The entrance door to the old abbey was listed as a historical monument by decree of 24 January 1944.
The abbey was then occupied by the , tenant of the oblates of Mary.
In 2011, the
Diocese of Limoges
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Limoges (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lemovicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Limoges'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the '' départments'' of Haute-Vienne and Cr ...
acquired the abbey from the oblates of Mary.
New foundation of the Saint Joseph de Clairval Abbey
Resumption of the contemplative life
From November 2021, the abbey will once again shelter a contemplative monastic life, with the installation from August of the Saint-Joseph priory founded by the Benedictine monks of the in
Flavigny-sur-Ozerain
Flavigny-sur-Ozerain () is a commune in the French department of Côte-d'Or, in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
The village was awarded membership in ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'' ("France's most beautiful villages").
Geography
The medieva ...
(Côte d'Or).
"The abbey and its abbacy will thus reconnect with what they were set up for and resume the thread of 1150 years of Benedictine presence".
First planned works
"With its of developed surface, its of land, its of roofing, its 250 windows or its kilometers of various networks and after 20 years of vacancy the abbey will become a building site. After the work necessary for the installation of the monks, the most urgent work is that of the Saint-Jean porch, which threatened to ruin and was secured in the winter of 2020–2021.
Gallery
File:Solignac Abbaye 068.jpg, Entrance to the abbey
File: Solignac - Abbatiale - Façade Nord et porte latérale.JPG, North side facade and entrance in the north arm of the transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
File: Solignac - Eglise abbatiale - Porte du bras Nord du transept.JPG, Door of the north arm of the transept
File: Solignac - Eglise abbatiale - Porte du bras Nord du transept - Tympan -1.JPG, Decoration above the door of the north arm of the transept
File: Solignac - Eglise abbatiale - Chapelle du bras gauche du transept.JPG, Chapel of the north arm of the transept
File: Solignac - Eglise abbatiale - Porche.JPG, Porch under the west tower
File: Solignac - Eglise abbatiale - Choeur.JPG, Choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
File: Solignac - Eglise abbatiale - Stalles du 15e siècle -1.JPG, 15th century stalls
File:Solignac, Église abbatiale Saint-Pierre-PM 58999.jpg, Beggar carved on a misericord
A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a par ...
File:Solignac, Église abbatiale Saint-Pierre-PM 59061.jpg, Hybrid half-man, half-animal carved on a misericord
Construction of the abbey church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
No information is available on the churches that predate the current church.
The consecration of the current church is subject to discussion:
*Félix de Verneilh dates the consecration back to 1143. But the document on which a secretary of the Town Hall of Limoges would have read this date has disappeared.
*1178 is a date given in several texts for a fire which destroyed the roof and the furniture of the abbey and monastic buildings.
*In 1195, according to Father Nadaud, a new consecration would have taken place following the reconstruction. But this date is considered by some historians to be doubtful.
*9 May 1211 is the date of consecration by Bishop Jean de Veyrac given by the monk Bernard Ithier contemporary to the event. This is the date that was chosen by the Maurists.
An attempt at the chronology of the construction has been proposed by cross-checking the dates given above with other domed churches in the region:
*1117, domes in Saint-Avit-Sénieur (no longer present)
*1119, eastern dome of
Cahors Cathedral
Cahors Cathedral (French: ''Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Cahors'') is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Cahors, Occitanie, France. A national monument, it is an example of the transition between the late Romanesque and Gothic ar ...
*Around 1110, western dome of
Angoulême Cathedral
Angoulême Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême) is a Roman Catholic church in Angoulême, Charente, France. The cathedral is in the Romanesque architectural and sculptural tradition, and is the seat of the Bishop of Angoul ...
consecrated in 1128
*Before 1140, end of construction of the
Stylistic comparisons make it probable that the two spans of the nave with domes were built before 1143.
The same is probably true of the dome of the transept crossing.
It is probable that the fire of 1178 must have necessitated the restoration of the choir of the abbey which must have been the most affected, but retaining the initial plan because it recalls those of Cahors, Souillac and Vigeois built around 1130.
![Solignac, Église abbatiale Saint-Pierre-PM 59072](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Solignac%2C_%C3%89glise_abbatiale_Saint-Pierre-PM_59072.jpg)
Some have pointed out that while the destruction has been limited, the certain date of consecration of 1211 appears late.
This date would be due to the partial reconstruction of the buttresses and apses, which would reflect the difference between the two buttresses.
The porch tower dates from the beginning of the 13th century.
Elements of the base of the older bell tower may have been reused in the porch tower, but the vault is Gothic.
During the administration of Abbot Hugues de Maumont (1195–1228), the third floor of the porch tower, the religious cloister and the information cloister were built (“fecit feri claustrum per integrum et claustrum de infirmatorio and tertiam partem clocherii superiorem ').
The western wall of the southern brace had to be redone in the 17th century.
Lightning destroyed on 18 May 1734 the small frame bell tower surmounting the crossing of the transept. It was rebuilt, but no longer exists.
The top floor of the western bell tower was confined to turrets similar to the Eymoutiers bell tower.
It collapsed on 29 March 1783. It was replaced at the beginning of the 19th century by a belfry-wall.
The abbey church was classified as historical monuments by the list of 1862.
During the restoration of 1951, a 15th-century painting of Saint Christopher on a pillar of the transept crossing was unearthed.
Architecture of the abbey
Ramparts surrounded the abbey estate.
All the buildings date from the 12th and 13th centuries but have been restored several times.
They are part of a quadrilateral of which the nave of the church constitutes one of the sides.
Abbey church
The abbey church was built over a long period: the nave during the first half of the 12th century, the choir and transept after the fire of 1178 and the bell tower at the beginning of the 13th century.
It is the only abbey with a row of domes in Limousin and a jewel of Romanesque art.
In the 16th century the interior was restored, in particular with the arrangement of sculpted stalls.
Monastic buildings
Restored, the abbey church regained its function in 1635.
One hundred years later, the
cloister
A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
and the
conventual
The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites.
Dating back to ...
buildings were completely rebuilt but respecting the Romanesque architecture.
The cloister disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century when the premises housed the porcelain factory.
The current monastic buildings are from the 18th century. They take the shape of an E with three of the sides of the monastic complex and a central wing.
All have sober lines and are covered with gable roofs.
Citations
Sources
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Further reading
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External links
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* {{citation, author=France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine, title=Dans les coulisses de l'abbaye de Solignac, url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv3eLOjOluw#action=share, date=2019-06-23, accessdate=2019-06-23
Solignac
Solignac (; oc, Solenhac) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France.
Geography
The village lies on the right bank of the Briance, which flows westward through the commune. It contains t ...
Haute-Vienne
Buildings and structures in France
Solignac
Solignac (; oc, Solenhac) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France.
Geography
The village lies on the right bank of the Briance, which flows westward through the commune. It contains t ...