The architecture of the monastery

At the end of the Hundred Years’ War, work began on rebuilding the cloister thanks to the generosity of Hugues de Châtelus, the Lord of Châteaumorand. The cloister is remarkably well-preserved and is a masterpiece of the region’s early 15^th century Gothic art. The four corner buttresses support great inner arches, which are a genuine architectural curiosity, as is the rich sculpted decoration.

For instance, the friezes on the cornices are decorated with foliage, as are the majority of the capitals. Although it is not easy to interpret the decorative work, oak and acanthus leaves are recognisable, as are vine leaves and bunches of grapes. The northern gallery has one unusual feature, in that some of its capitals have figurative decorations. It is possible to make out animals and humans, which may be an allegorical depiction of the vices and virtues.

Galeries Nord et Ouest du cloître du couvent des Cordeliers © Département de la Loire - Guillaume Atger

Focus sur un chapiteau de la galerie Nord © Département de la Loire - Guillaume Atger

The church was built in the late 14^th century and was designed both to accommodate the local population and to make preaching easier. So the single nave is huge with no pillars, and the pulpit is placed up high, so that everyone could see the preacher. The remarkable roof, which is shaped like an upturned boat's hull, dates back to the late 17^th century. The church was listed as a Historic Monument in 1952.

The pictorial decoration is 15^th and 16^th century and was done using the tempera technique based on a black preparatory drawing. The composition of the decoration on the southern wall is divided up into three registers. The first is false stonework with red nets decorated with a flower with five petals. The second shows a Gothic architecture with alcoves housing religious scenes. Finally, the third register reveals a smooth coating onto which two angels framing a coat of arms are painted.

The chancel is decorated with false stonework and a black painted mourning band, a privilege attached to the patronage of a church. This honour involves the right to paint a strip measuring approximately 60 cm in height onto the walls of a church on which the lord's arms are depicted - spaced out at regular intervals - after his death. This practice is one of the death-related iconographic manifestations which have decorated the walls of churches ever since the Middle Ages.

Eglise des Cordeliers © Département de la Loire - Guillaume Atger

Back in the 14^th century, Hugues de Châtelus helped with the rebuilding of the cloister and had himself interred in this church; indeed, his recumbent effigy can still be seen there today. Links were forged between the heirs of the lords of Chateaumorand and the Franciscans. In 1648, Jean Claude de Levis, Marquis of Châteaumorand, asked for the monks to say a Mass on the anniversary of his death. His wife, Catherine de La Baume founded a perpetual daily Mass. The lords of Châteaumorand became established as the protectors of the Couvent des Cordeliers in Charlieu up until the 17^th century and, as a result, their arms are painted on a mourning band in the chancel.

Blazon: gules with three sable lions, silver with three chevrons sable.

The restoration work on the painted decoration was carried out in two phases by a company called ARCOA in 1989 and 1992. First of all the decorations were updated, then the pictorial layers were consolidated in order to preserve them as far as possible in their original conditions.

Peintures murales de l’église © Département de la Loire - Guillaume Atger