Photo by Fitamant, on Wikimedia
The origin of the Templar commandery of Sours is associated with Alix of France (1150-c. 1197). When her husband, Count Theobald V of Blois (1130-1191), died, she retired to Sours. In 1192, she donated her possessions in this place to the Order of the Temple, a donation that was confirmed by her son Louis I, Count of Blois (1172-1205). These properties comprised a residence, a chapel, a mill, land and various rights.
Illustration from Les Templiers en Eure-et-Loir... (1902)
In the following years, the Templars’ material possessions increased through further donations from local lords. Following the suppression of the Order of the Temple, the Sours commandery passed to the Order of the Hospital, which retained it until the French Revolution. Under the Hospitallers, around the 15th century, this commandery was united with that of Arville (Loir-et-Cher), while retaining the same commander. Some remains of the former commandery are preserved, now converted into dwellings. Among them is a circular tower, which was adapted as a dovecote.
Illustration from Les Templiers en Eure-et-Loir... (1902)
Illustration from Les Templiers en Eure-et-Loir... (1902)
- FAUCHON, Pierre (2010). La commanderie d’Arville. Vendôme: Cherche-Lune
- FOLLIOT, Pierre-Marie (1983). Les templiers dans la baillie de Chartres. La juridiction de Sours et d’Arville. Bulletin de la Société Archéologique d’Eure-et-Loir, núm. 96. Chartres
- MANNIER, Eugène (1872). Les commanderies du grand prieuré de France. París: Aubry
- MÉTAIS, Charles (1902). Les Templiers en Eure-et-Loir: Histoire et Cartulaire. Chartres: Archives du diocèse de Chartres, núm.VII
The Sours commandery is located in the commune of the same name, east of Chartres