Priory of Saint-Silvain de Chalivoy-Milon
Calliveto / Chaliveyo-Milon / S Silvani / Saint-Éloi
(Chalivoy-Milon, Cher)
In 880, Milon and his wife donated land at Chalivoy to the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Sulpice de Bourges (Cher). A church dedicated to Saint-Silvain, predating the present building, is recorded there from 1032. In that year, a certain Raymond restored to the Abbey of Saint-Sulpice the church that he had previously usurped and undertook to have his son admitted to the priory, an institution whose foundation date is unknown, although it may have been of considerable antiquity.
Saint-Silvain served as the parish church while also functioning as the priory church. During the twelfth century, the priory enjoyed a period of prosperity that made it possible to erect a new church on the same site. It initially retained the dedication to Saint-Silvain; later that of Notre-Dame was added, before being replaced in 1715 by that of Saint-Éloi.
The church is modest in both size and design. It consists of a single nave divided into three bays and covered by a timber roof, with no transept. This nave dates from the twelfth century. A bell tower was added in the thirteenth century. The eastern part of the church, also dating from the twelfth century, is clearly distinct from the rest of the building, both externally and internally. It comprises the chancel, reserved for the monks, and a semicircular apse. During the restoration of 1868, remarkable mural paintings dating from the second quarter of the twelfth century were uncovered, covering the walls and vaults of the chancel and apse. That same restoration, however, resulted in the loss of the fragments of a valuable mural mappa mundi that had survived in the nave.
Apse vault with Christ in Majesty
Cleansing of the Temple
Washing of the Feet
Arrest of Christ
Entry into Jerusalem
Vault of the chancel
Chancel capitals
Chancel capital
Timber roof of the nave
Illustration from Histoire et statistique monumentale du département du Cher (1883)
- BEAUNIER, Dom (1912). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 5. Bourges. Abbaye de Ligugé
- BUHOT DE KERSERS, Alphonse (1883). Histoire et statistique monumentale du département du Cher, vol. 4. Tripault
- BUHOT DE KERSERS, Louis (1913). Essai de reconstitution du Cartulaire A de Saint-Sulpice de Bourges. Mémoires de la Société des antiquaires du Centre, vol. 35
- DESHOULIÈRES, François (1932). Chalivoy-Milon. Congrès archéologique de France. 94ss. Bourges. Société française d'archéologie
- ELIÈVRE, C.; VILAIRE, F. (1908). Monographie de Chalivoy-Milon. Mémoires de la Société Historique Litteraire et Scientifique du Cher. Vol. 22. Bourges/París
- FAVIÈRE, Jean (1970). Berry roman. La nuit des temps, 32. Zodiaque
- FRANZÉ, Barbara (2010). Une œuvre de la Renaissance du XII e siècle: les peintures de Chalivoy-Milon (Cher). Hortus Artium Medievalium, núm. 16
The Priory of Saint-Silvain de Chalivoy-Milon is located in the commune of the same name, southeast of Bourges, on the road to Moulins (Allier)