Chapaize had an ancient church dedicated to Saint-Léger, which served as the parish church until the 17th century. At the same time, a monastic community was established there, probably in the 10th century, and later became a priory dependent on the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre de Chalon (Saône-et-Loire). Very little is known about its early history. In a donation by Ansedeus de Buxeria to the abbey of Cluny, dating from the second half of the 11th century, the place-name Monasterium Capaciense appears, one of the earliest documentary references to the monastic site. Its dependence on Saint-Pierre de Chalon is explicitly documented later, in the 13th century.
Chapaize is considered to have served as a novitiate for the monks of Saint-Pierre de Chalon. The abbot of that house exercised seigneurial rights over Chapaize, including rights relating to justice. During the Wars of Religion, the Huguenots destroyed the Abbey of Chalon and its archive, making it difficult to reconstruct the history of Saint-Pierre and its dependencies. After this period, the monks alienated their possessions at Chapaize in 1603 because of financial difficulties, and the priory was left without a monastic community. In the 17th century, Saint-Martin took over the parish functions of the former church of Saint-Léger.
The remarkable priory church of Saint-Martin survives. It was built from around 1030 onwards and subsequently underwent various modifications. It is a three-aisled building with a scarcely projecting transept. The aisles are separated by large circular-plan piers. A substantial bell tower rises above the crossing, while the present east end, rebuilt at the beginning of the 13th century, consists of an central apse and two apsidioles. No visible remains of the priory buildings survive.
Church floor plan
Illustration from L'architecture romane dans l'ancien diocèse de Mâcon (1892)
Illustration from L'architecture romane dans l'ancien diocèse de Mâcon (1892)
Illustration from Voyage pittoresque en Bourgogne (1835)
- BRUEL, Alexandre. (1888). Recueil des chartes de l'abbaye de Cluny. Tome 4. París: Imprimerie nationale
- GUERREAU, Alain (2023). L’église abbatiale Saint-Martin de Chapaize. Cahiers de civilisation médiévale
- MAILLARD DE CHAMBURE, Charles-Hippolyte; dir. (1835). Voyage pittoresque en Bourgogne. 2e partie, Département de Saône-et-Loire. Dijon: Jobard
- OURSEL, Raymond (1974). Bourgogne romane. La nuit des temps, 1. Zodiaque
- RUSET, Danielle (1983). Monographie de l'église de Chapaize. Siciété des amis des arts et des sciences de Tournus
- VIREY, Jean (1892). L'architecture romane dans l'ancien diocèse de Mâcon. París: Picard
Chapaize lies west of Tournus