Priory of Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Sacierges / Saltu / Salis / Salensis Ecclesia
(Saint-Benoît-du-Sault, Indre)
The Benedictine Priory of Saint-Benoît-du-Sault was founded in the 8th century by the Abbey of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (Loiret), at a site in Sacierges, before being transferred around 974 to its present location. It is known that Gauzlin of Fleury († 1030), abbot of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and later archbishop of Bourges, had to intervene to defend the priory against the claims of the local nobility, particularly the lords of Brosse.
It is also known that, during the first quarter of the 11th century, the praepositus (provost) Airaut rebuilt the original church, probably the same building that still survives today, although modified. Between 1660 and 1687, the Maurist reform was introduced with the arrival of four monks from the Congregation of Saint-Maur. At the end of the 17th century, the priory became associated with the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères. The Maurists renovated the claustral buildings in the 18th century. The priory, or provostry, disappeared during the French Revolution.
The 11th-century church had three aisles, three apses and no transept. A tower was added to the façade in the 14th century. During the 18th-century alterations, the southern apsidiole disappeared, and the northern one was lost during the first half of the 19th century. Restoration work began in the mid-19th century. Inside, a remarkable group of 11th-century capitals is preserved; some were moved during the restorations, while others were rebuilt. Much of the priory buildings, renovated in the 18th century, also survives.
Modern stained glass window dedicated to Saint Benedict
Priory floor plan
Abbaye, ville et église de Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (1862)
- ADREVALD (1858). Miracula sancti Benedicti. París: Renouard
- BEAUFORT, E. de (1862). Abbaye, ville et église de Saint-Benoît-du-Sault. Mémoires de la Société des antiquaires de l'Ouest. Poitiers
- BEAUNIER, Dom (1912). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 5. Bourges. Abbaye de Ligugé
- CROZET, René (1957). L'église de Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (Indre). Bulletin Monumental, vol. 115/4
- VERGNOLLE, Eliane (1987). L’ancien prieuré de Saint-Benoit-du-Sault. Congrès archéologique de France, 142 ss. Société française d'archéologie
The priory complex stands on the southern side of the town of Saint-Benoît-du-Sault