In Saintes, important remains of the Dominican convent are still preserved. The friars of the Order of Preachers are believed to have settled there around 1293, the year when their presence in the city is first documented. In the early years, they had disagreements with the Franciscans, who opposed the construction of the convent too close to their own, which hindered its development.
Around 1445, the convent had to be rebuilt due to damage caused by military conflicts. A dated inscription from 1446 records the involvement of a certain Jean Lebas in this new phase of construction. The rebuilt church was again affected and set on fire during the Wars of Religion, which reached Saintes in 1568. Partial restorations followed, but the Revolution led to its suppression and the complex passed into private hands.
Today, only a few remains of the former convent complex are preserved. Much of it was converted into a residence, now publicly owned, where the library assembled by Maurice Martineau is kept; he was the owner of the site when it served as a private residence.
Illustration from Gallia Dominicana (1903)
- AUDIAT, Louis (1894). Les Jacobins of Saintes. Archives historiques de la Saintonge et de l'Aunis, vol. 23
- BOUYER, Léon (1914). Jehan Lebas. Bulletin de la Société des archives historiques de la Saintonge et de l'Aunis. Vol. XXXIV
- MICHAUD, Alain (2020). Saintes, le couvent des Jacobins au Moyen Âge. Charente-Maritime. Monastères en Santonge. Congrès Archéologique de France, 177e session. París: Société Française d’Archéologie
- ROHAULT DE FLEURY, Georges (1903). Gallia Dominicana. Les couvents de St. Dominique au Moyen Âge. Vol. 2. París
- SCHLIGHT, Markus (2020). Saintes, l’église du couvent des Jacobins. Charente-Maritime. Monastères en Santonge. Congrès Archéologique de France, 177e session. París: Société Française d’Archéologie
The remains of the Dominican convent of Saintes are located in the city centre, on Rue des Jacobins