Illustration from La Gâtine historique et monumentale (1876)
The Benedictine monastery of Notre-Dame des Alleuds was one of the foundations promoted by Gerald of Salles (c. 1050–1120), who is believed to have established it around the year 1120. The first abbot of the site was Pierre. Due to a lack of documentation, much of its history remains unknown.
It is assumed that, like other monasteries founded under Gerald’s influence, it may have joined the Cistercian order, although this affiliation is uncertain and, in any case, would have been short-lived. It is known to have suffered damage during the Hundred Years’ War and, after being rebuilt, was again affected during the Wars of Religion. In 1715, the monastery was suppressed, when only two monks remained in the community; nevertheless, the abbatial title was maintained until the French Revolution. Once definitively closed, its structures were demolished, and today practically only the nave of the former church survives, lacking its original apse.
The church of Notre-Dame des Alleuds is located in the village of the same name, east of Niort.
- BAUDRILLART, Alfred (1914). Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques. Vol. 2. París: Letouzey et Ané
- BEAUCHET-FILLEAU, H. (1882). Notes pour servir a l’histoire de l’Abbaye des Alleuds. Bulletins de la Société de statistique du département des Deux-Sèvres, vol. V. Noirt
- EAUNIER, Dom (1910). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 3: Auch, Bordeaux. Abbaye de Ligugé
- BERTHIER, Marcel (1987). Géraud de Salles, ses fondations monastiques. Leur évolution vers l’ordre cistercien à la fin du XII siècle. Bulletin de la Société Historique et Archéologique du Périgord. Tome CXIV
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1720). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 2. París: Typographia Regia
The Hospitaller commandery of Saint-Rémy is documented as early as 1208, when the commander was a certain Goulard. Other preceptors of the house are known, and the community remained active until its dissolution during the Revolution. According to an inscription, in 1493 Commander Antoine Charron had a chapel built. After the suppression and its transfer to private ownership, much of the site’s structure was lost.
The remains of the Hospitaller commandery are located in the commune of Verruyes, north of Niort.
- AUBER, Abbé (1863). Notes géographiques et archéologiques d'un voyage dans le Bas-Poitou. Mémoires de la Société des antiquaires de l'Ouest, vol. XXVII
- LEDAIN, Bélisaire (1876). La Gâtine historique et monumentale. París: Claye