Priory of Marcigny

Among other women connected with figures associated with Cluny, the monastery received Hermengarde, sister of the founders and Marcigny’s first prioress. Three daughters of Geoffrey also took their vows there, as did Raingarde of Semur (d. 1135), mother of Peter the Venerable (1122–1156). Women from the nobility also entered the community, including Adela of England (d. 1137), daughter of William I the Conqueror (c. 1028–1087). The same monastic complex also included a male community, responsible for providing religious services for the nuns and carrying out administrative duties. It had its own prior, a church dedicated to Saint-Nicolas, and quarters separate from those of the female community.

In 1362, Marcigny suffered from the passage of mercenaries (routiers) and was subsequently fortified. The most serious damage, however, occurred in 1562, when the Huguenots occupied the site and severely damaged its buildings. Restoration work was undertaken in the following years. In 1777, the priory palace, built over the narthex of the church of Sainte-Trinité, was inaugurated. With the outbreak of the Revolution, the priory was suppressed in 1791 and, deprived of its monastic community, the site passed into private hands. The church was demolished before the end of that century, while the chapel of Notre-Dame was converted into a dwelling until it too was demolished in 1810.