Commandery of Holy-Eulalie-of-Cernon

Geographical description

The Commanderie of Holy-Eulalie-with-Cernon is located in the Département of Aveyron, with the foot of the plate of Larzac with 20km in the south-east of Millau.

History

The history of the templiers on Larzac begins in 1151 when the abbot from Saint-Guilhem-the-Desert, Raimond, made gift of the church of Sainte-Eulalie.
Several important donations are made by the local lords with the Templiers, but most important remains that done in 1159 by Raimond Bérenger, king of Aragon and count of Barcelona. Indeed, this one their fact gift of the totality of the village of Holy-Eulalie-of-Cernon as well as most of Larzac via the commander of Rouergue, Élie de Montbrun. This donation is accompanied by a right of construction for villages and forteresses.
Starting from 1159, Templiers thus will start to rebuild the church then they will build the buildings of the commanderie.
In 1307, during the fall of the Temple, the knights and men-at-arms of Rouergue are arrested and imprisoned in the Château of Najac.
When in 1312, all the goods of the Order are given to the Hospitaliers, those in particular undertook to rebuild the Community building and to build the first vault of the church. In XVère century, continuations of the insecurity related to the one hundred year old war, the hospital ones will make set up the enclosure strengthened around the village.

Organization

Sainte Eulalie presents two distinct strengthened units but coupled: the ramparts surrounding the village, built in XVère century by the hospital and the commandery templière (partly begun again in XIVère century by the hospital ones) in form of quadrilateral strengthened on the outside which includes/understands agricultural buildings, the church and the Community building with in the center an interior court.

The Church

It was rebuilt by the templiers when they settled in Sainte Eulalie in XIIère century. It is of a sober construction with simple nave, made up of four spans and a semicircular Abside arched in bottom of furnace, directed towards Est.
All the current side chapels date from XIXère century, except for the first on the line while entering which dates from XIVère. Its characteristic is its entry which was bored tardily in the Chevet of origin, in 1641 by the Commandeur Jean de Bernuy Villeneuve. It thus made reverse its direction so that the gate of entry opens on the place.

Details

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