Priory of Saint-Romain-le-Puy
S Romanus de Podio / Saint-Romain-du-Pech
(Saint-Romain-le-Puy, Loire)
The Priory of Saint-Romain-le-Puy stands on top of a volcanic hill rising above the surrounding plain. No documents relating to its early history have survived, but fifteenth-century sources attribute its foundation to Boschitaleus, who is said to have donated a religious building, possibly already dedicated to Saint Romanus, to Abbot Astier of the monastery of Ainay (Lyon), during the reign of Conrad the Peaceful († 993). This donation must therefore be placed between 980 and 984, when Astier was abbot.
In 1007, Ainay founded a priory there, which became one of the most notable in the county of Forez. By the twelfth century the site had already been fortified. Saint-Romain-le-Puy was the subject of disputes between the count and the archbishop of Lyon. In 1431, the castle and the priory were attacked and suffered serious damage, and in 1562, during the Wars of Religion, the site was occupied by Calvinists. In 1633, the demolition of the fortifications was ordered, further accelerating the priory’s decline.
In 1666, the small community was transferred because of the site’s poor conditions. The priory was definitively secularized in 1684 by a bull issued by Pope Innocent XI. The Abbey of Ainay retained the title, ownership and revenues, while the buildings continued to deteriorate. During the Revolution, the complex passed into private hands. Despite its protection and recognition as a historic monument, the decline continued until consolidation and restoration work was undertaken in the twentieth century.
The priory church has been preserved; it has been restored and subjected to archaeological study. Its irregular plan reflects the successive building phases and additions carried out over time. The oldest part corresponds to the central section, belonging to an early church that may be dated between the fifth and eighth centuries, to which a nave was later added to the west. Shortly afterwards, a new chancel with a crypt was built, dating from the eleventh–twelfth centuries. Particular attention should be drawn to the surviving sculptural decoration, especially the carved capitals and friezes, as well as the remarkable Romanesque wall paintings.
Church floor plan
Congrès archéologique de France (1936)
Photo by Antoine Garnier, on Wikimedia
Photo by Antoine Garnier, on Wikimedia
Armorial Revel (1450-1460)
Bibliothèque nationale de France
- BACHÉ, Jean (ed. 1987). L’abbaye de la Bénisson-Dieu (1880). Amis de La Bénisson Dieu
- BARTHELEMY, M. (1843). Notice sur le prieuré de Saint-Romain-le-Puy, en Forez. Bulletin monumental, vol. 9
- BEIGBEDER, Olivier (1962). Forez-Velay roman. La nuit des temps, 15. Zodiaque
- COTTINEAU, Laurent-Henri (1939). Répertoire topo-bibliographique des abbayes et prieurés. Vol. 2. Mâcon: Protat
- DEFONTAINE, Patrick (2011). De la clôture fortifiée au donjon, au manoir, ou les prieurés-châteaux en Bresse, Forez et Mâconnais. Châteaux et Prieurés. Chagny
- GUILLAUME, C. (1968). St-Romain-le-Puy. Mille ans d'histoire, hier et aujourd'hui. Montbrison: Cerisier
- LAFFONT, Pierre-Yves (2011). Saint-Romain-le-Puy. L’Armorial de Guillaume Revel. Alpara
- SOCIÉTÉ FRANÇAISE D'ARCHÉOLOGIE (1886). Saint-Romain-le-Puy, Sury-le-Comtal et Saint-Rambert-sur-Loire. Congrès archéologique de France, 52 ss.
- THIOLLIER, Noël; i altres (1936). Saint-Romain-le-Puy. Congrès archéologique de France, 98 ss. Société française d'archéologie
Saint-Romain-le-Puy lies to the south-east of Montbrison, in the direction of Saint-Étienne