This is a modest priory attached to the Abbey of Saint-Victor in Marseille. Its origins are not well known, it is thought to have been founded between the 6th and 7th centuries, but the Histoire générale de Languedoc places it in the 9th century. In the 11th century it was a regular canonry, hence the name Canorga, or Canonica, after the place where it was located and the population that developed around it.
It is also mentioned that, in 826, the bishop of Mende, Fredaldus (Frézal), of whom no other information is known, was murdered here. He was buried nearby and is venerated as a saint. It is certain that, in 1060, the canonical church was given to Saint-Victor and became a Benedictine priory under that monastery. The present Romanesque church was built at this time, during the 12th century, and subsequently underwent modifications and restorations, by the end of the 16th century, both the village and the monastic house had been badly affected by the wars. In the middle of the 17th century, the priory was suppressed, and the church took on the functions of a parish church.
Photo by Vpe, on Wikimedia
- BEAUNIER, Dom (1911). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 4: Alby, Narbonne et Toulouse. Abbaye de Ligugé
- DARNAS, Isabelle; i altres (2010). Évêché et monastères dans le Gévaudan du haut Moyen Âge. Annales du Midi, núm. 271
- DEVIC, Claude; VAISSETTE, Joseph (1872). Histoire générale de Languedoc, vol. I. Tolosa de Llenguadoc: Privat
- GIROU, Abbé (1858). Notice sur l'église Saint-Martin de La Canourgue. Congrès archéologique de France. 24e session. Mende, Valence, Grenoble. París: Société française d'archéologie
- GUILLOREAU, Léon (1908). L'obituaire de Saint-Martin de la Canourgue. Revue Mabillon. Ligugé: Saint-Martin
- HOURLIER, J. (1949). La Canourgue. Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques. Vol. 11. París: Letouzey et Ané
- IGNON, J.J.M. (1835). Notices historiques sur quelques édifices religieux du département de la Lozère. Mende: Ignon
- PROUZET, Abbé (1846). Histoire du Gevaudan, ou suite aux annales de cette province. Vol. 1. Mende: Pécoul
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1715). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 1. París: Coignard
The village of La Canourgue is located west of Mende