Priory of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Château-Gontier
Castrogonterio / Castri Gunterii
(Château-Gontier, Mayenne)
The Benedictine Priory of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Château-Gontier was a dependency of the Abbey of Saint-Aubin d’Angers (Maine-et-Loire), whose monks established this house at Bazouges (Basiligis), a place that had belonged to them since shortly before the year 1000, following a donation by the Count of Anjou, Fulk III Nerra (c. 970–1040). In the early 11th century, around 1007, the same count had the castle of Château-Gontier built on this site, a development that led to some conflict between the new lords of Gontier and the Benedictines of Saint-Aubin.
The priory church was built in the 11th century. In the following century, the nave was divided, so that the eastern part, with the chancel, remained in monastic use, while the rest came to serve parochial functions. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the upper parts and the roofs of the chancel and the transept were rebuilt, and the western façade was remodelled. At the same time, other parts of the priory were also reconstructed. As with the Abbey of Saint-Aubin, the priory came under the influence of the Maurists in 1665.
The large Romanesque church built in the 11th century is still preserved, although subsequently modified and subject to numerous interventions in the 19th century. It is now a building with three aisles, nine bays, and a transept, with three apses opening onto the aisles. The central apse is particularly deep and is divided into two bays. In 1940, following a bombing and the subsequent restoration, remarkable wall paintings dating from the time of the church’s construction were brought to light, along with others of a geometric character from the 13th century. The crypt of the original building is also preserved, albeit with later alterations.
Mural painting. Noah's Ark
Mural painting
Mural painting
Mural painting (13th century)
Mural painting (13th century)
Crypt
Crypt
Crypt
Monasticon Gallicanum
Bibliothèque nationale de France
- BESSE, Jean-Martial (1920). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France, vol. 8, Tours. París : Picard
- BROUSSILON, Bertrand de (1903). Cartulaire de l’abbaye de Saint-Aubin d’Angers. 3 vols. París: Picard
- DEYRES, Marcel (1985). Maine roman. La nuit des temps, 64. Zodiaque
- GAUCHET, René (1937). Excursion de la Société Historique et Archéologique dans le Haut-Anjou. Église de Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Bulletin de la Société historique et archéologique de l'Orne, vol. 55
- LEGROS, Sébastien (2006). Les prieurés de Château-Gontier et l’établissement d’une seigneurie châtelaine dans le comté d’Anjou (fin du Xe siècle-fin du Xie siècle). Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l’Ouest. 113-3
- PEIGNÉ-DELACOURT, Achille (1877). Monasticon Gallicanum. Paris: G. Chamerot
- THIBOUT, Marc (1942). Découverte de peintures murales dans l'église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Château-Gontier. Bulletin Monumental, vol. 101/1
- THIBOUT, Marc (1964). L'église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Château-Gontier. Congrès archéologique de France, 122e ss. Société française d'archéologie
Château-Gontier is located north of Angers, in the direction of Laval