Olivier Le May (s. XVIII)
Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bonus Locus / Bonoloco / Sainte-Anne de Bonlieu
(Bonlieu-sur-Roubion, Drôme)
It has traditionally been accepted that the Cistercian nunnery of Bonlieu was founded in 1171 by the counts of the Valentinois, a foundation attributed to Countess Véronique de Poitiers. However, the documentation that might confirm this is a much later compilation, which calls its reliability into question. In 1291, Cistercian documentation records this house as being affiliated with the nearby male abbey of Notre-Dame d’Aiguebelle. Bonlieu did not survive the destructive effects of the Hundred Years’ War, nor the difficulties resulting from its isolation, and in 1400 it was suppressed as a monastery. At that time, already without a community, its possessions passed to the abbey of Valcroissant.
In the nineteenth century, the main church lay in ruins and an auxiliary chapel had become the parish church. In 1858 the monastic restoration began, with the establishment of a community of Premonstratensian nuns, who occupied the site, once restored, in 1871. The church of the original monastery, dating from the thirteenth century, is preserved. It is a single-nave building, with a transept and three apses: the central apse aligned with the nave, and the two lateral apses opening onto the arms of the transept.
- ARDURA, Bernard (1993). Abbayes, prieurés et monastères de l'ordre de Prémontré. Nancy: Presses U. De Nancy
- BARRUOL, Guy (1992). Dauphiné roman. La Nuit des Temps, 77. Zodiaque
- BAUDRILLART, Alfred (1937). Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques. Vol. 8. París: Letouzey et Ané
- BESSE, J.-M.; i altres (1939). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 9: Province ecclésiastique de Vienne. Abbaye de Ligugé
- CHEVALIER, Jules (1898). L'abbaye de Notre-Dame de Valcroissant de l'ordre de Cîteaux au diocèse de Die. Valence: Céas
- LACROIX, André (1868). L'arrondissement de Montélimar, vol. 1. Valence: Combier et Nivoche
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1865). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 16. París: Firmin Didot
The chapel of Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens, located in an isolated setting, was the seat of a small priory dependent on Cluny, in existence at least from the 10th century. No specific documentary evidence concerning this establishment has been preserved, but archaeological investigations have demonstrated the existence of a pre-Romanesque building predating the present church. The latter is a modest structure, with a single nave divided into two bays and terminating in an apse, where notable remains of mural decoration are preserved. To the west there was an atrium, now in ruins. Attention should also be drawn to the presence of sculptural decoration and masons’ marks, as well as a lintel at the southern portal—probably communicating with the priory—decorated with a fragmentary Roman-period relief depicting a vessel transporting barrels of wine.
- BESSE, J.-M. (1909). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 2: Provinces ecclésiastiques d’Aix, d’Arles, Avignon et Embrun. Abbaye de Ligugé
- BRUEL, Alexandre. (1884). Recueil des chartes de l'abbaye de Cluny. Tome 3. París: Imprimerie nationale
- COTTINEAU, Laurent-Henri (1936). Répertoire topo-bibliographique des abbayes et prieurés. Vol. 1. Mâcon: Protat
- FILLET, L. (1884). Notice historique sur les paroisses de Colonzelle et de Margerie. Bulletin d'histoire ecclésiastique et d'archéologie religieuse des diocèses de Valence, Gap, Grenoble et Viviers, vol, 4
- JOURDAN, Geneviève (2002). Les peintures murales de Saint-Pierre de Colonzelle : une découverte récente dans le canton de Grignan (Drôme). In Situ
- LACROIX, André (1871). L'arrondissement de Montélimar, vol. 2. Valence: Combier et Nivoche
- REYNAUD, Jean-François; ed. (2002). Espaces monastiques ruraux en Rhône-Alpes. Alpara
- ROUQUETTE, J.-M. (1980). La Provence romane 1. Zodiaque. La nuit des temps
The priory of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Comps is first mentioned in 1032 as a dependency of the abbey of Saint-Martin de Savigny (Rhône). In 1107, a document from Pope Paschal II confirmed this site among the possessions of that abbey. At an undetermined date, it passed into the hands of the canonical chapter of Saint-Tiers de Saou (Drôme).
A 12th-century church is preserved, probably rebuilt on the site of an earlier building. It consists of a very short nave, possibly unfinished with a semicircular apse, and a transept. Above the transept rises a massive square tower, also unfinished.
- BERNARD, Aug. (1853). Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Savigny. Suivi du Petit cartulaire de l'Abbaye d'Ainay. París: Imp. Impériale
- LACROIX, André (1873). L'arrondissement de Montélimar, vol. 3. Valence: Combier et Nivoche
- ROUQUETTE, J.-M. (1980). La Provence romane 1. Zodiaque. La nuit des temps
- VINCENT, A. (1860). Notice historique sur Saou et sur l'Abbaye de Saint-Tiers (Drôme). Valence : Aurel
In the 12th century, the Cluniac priory of Saint-Pierre de Gigors was a direct dependency of Cluny. It housed a very small community, consisting of a prior and one or two monks. It was a very modest establishment and, from around 1430, signs of decline are recorded, with irregular observance and significant financial mismanagement.
As a result, in 1470 it was annexed to the priory of Notre-Dame de Lagrand (Hautes-Alpes). It later suffered during the Wars of Religion and lost its status as a priory, becoming a parish church. A Romanesque church is preserved, located on a mountain pass, in an isolated setting. It is a building with a Latin cross plan, comprising a nave of three bays, a transept and three apses.
- AUBERT, R. (1984). Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques. Vol. 20. París: Letouzey et Ané
- BARRUOL, Guy (1992). Dauphiné roman. La Nuit des Temps, 77. Zodiaque
- COTTINEAU, Laurent-Henri (1936). Répertoire topo-bibliographique des abbayes et prieurés. Vol. 1. Mâcon: Protat
- LACROIX, André (1924). Arrondissement de Die. Valence: I. Valentinoise