Monastery of Saint-Sauveur de Paunat
Monastère de Paunat / Saint-Martial de Paunat / Palnatum
(Paunat, Dordogne)
According to tradition, the monastery of Saint-Sauveur de Paunat was founded by Saint Cybard (c. 504–581), who placed it under the authority of the Abbey of Saint-Martial in Limoges. However, there is no documentary evidence of this house until the year 848, when it was donated by David and his wife Benedictana to Saint-Martial. This act, known through a later copy, has been subject to various historical interpretations.
South exterior of the transept
After receiving several donations, the monastery was destroyed by the Normans in 860. It was rebuilt in the 10th century and reappears in records in 963, when its abbot participated in the foundation of another monastery. By 1080, it had become a provostry, and in 1097, Pope Urban II mentioned it as a property of Saint-Martial, with numerous holdings and a community of sixteen monks.
During the Hundred Years’ War, the monastery went through a period of decline, although it does not appear to have suffered direct attacks. Destruction came later, in 1551, during the Wars of Religion. By the late 17th century, its structures were still in a poor state. In 1702, the provost Jacques de la Serre incorporated it into the seminary of Périgueux, allowing it to survive precariously until the French Revolution, when it was suppressed.
The bell tower porch to the west of the church
Photo by Theillier, on Wikimedia
The church of the provostry still stands, a building with a Latin cross plan, a single nave, and a transept. It is a solid construction of considerable height, with barely visible buttresses, small windows, and minimal decoration. The central apse and the ends of the transept, rectangular in plan, form the oldest part, dating from the 12th century. The nave was rebuilt in the 15th century and later modified; it had probably been originally covered with domes. Also noteworthy is the bell tower with a porch, attached to the western façade, which belongs to the earliest construction phase.
Photo by Theillier, on Wikimedia
- BOYER, François (2018). La donation du monastère de Paunat en Périgord et l'institution de l'abbaye bénédictine de Saint-Martial de Limoges en 848. Regards croisés sur le monument médiéval. Brepols
- COTTINEAU, Laurent-Henri (1939). Répertoire topo-bibliographique des abbayes et prieurés. Vol. 2. Mâcon: Protat
- PECHEUR, Anne-Marie (1982). L'église de Paunat. Congrès archéologique de France. 137e session. Périgord Noir. París: Société Française d'Archéologie
- POUPARDIN, René; i altres (1906). Fragments de cartulaire du monastere de Paunat (Dordogne). Annales du Midi. Vol. 18. Privat
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1720). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 2. París: Typographia Regia
- SECRET, Jean (1968). Périgord roman. La nuit des temps, núm. 27. Zodiaque
Paunat is located south of Périgueux, near the road connecting Bergerac and Sarlat