Priory of Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère

Saint-Maurice en Gençay / Gencayo / Gentiacum

(Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère, Vienne)

Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère

The church of Saint-Maurice was donated around the year 1100 by Willelmus Calvus and his brothers to the abbey of Saint-Cyprien of Poitiers (Vienne), which established a priory there. At the same time, the church also served as a parish.

Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère

The medieval church is still preserved and is notable for its irregular plan, with three naves and a noticeably wider western section. These naves lead to a transept, and the chevet is made up of three apses, the central one being of considerable depth. The transept arms are not aligned and are terminated by two additional semicircular apses at the northern and southern ends. The north portal is semicircular, while the western one, simpler in design, is slightly pointed. Fourteenth-century mural paintings are preserved inside.

Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Church floor plan
Published in L'église et le chateau de Gençay (1904)
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Christ Pantocrator (14th century)
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère
Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère

Bibliography:
  • BEAUNIER, Dom (1910). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 3: Auch, Bordeaux. Abbaye de Ligugé
  • BERNARD DE MONTMÉLIAN, Joseph (1888). Saint Maurice et la légion thébéenne, vol. 2. París: Plon
  • BOURALIÈRE, M. de la (1904). L'église et le chateau de Gençay. Congrès archéologique de France. LXX session. Séances générales tenues a Poitiers. París / Caen: Picard / Delesques
  • BROUILLET, Pierre Amédée (1865). Indicateur archéologique de l'arrondissement de Civrai. Civrai: Ferriol
  • LABANDE-MAIFERT, Yvonne (1957). Poitou roman. La nuit des temps, 5. Zodiaque
  • RÉDET, Louis F. X. (1874). Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Cyprien de Poitiers. Société des archives historiques du Poitou. Poitiers: Oudin

Location:
Vista aèria

The priory is located in the commune of Saint-Maurice-la-Clouère, near Gençay and south of Poitiers