Ancienne commanderie des Templiers
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ancienne commanderie des Templiers, located in Arville (Loir-et-Cher), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Arville, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0636, 0.9479
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098323
On the outskirts of the Perche region near Vendôme, this 12th-century Templar commandery reveals a medieval complex of rare coherence: cylindrical towers, a dovecote with nesting boxes and a fortified gate stand as an exceptional testament to the power of the Knights Templar.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Nestling in the bocage of the Loir-et-Cher region, on the edge of the Perche Vendôme area, the Arville Commandery is one of the best-preserved Templar complexes in France. Far from the partial reconstructions or scattered ruins that characterise so many of the Order's sites, it offers here an almost complete understanding of the spatial and functional organisation of a Templar house: fortified enclosure, lord's dwelling, farm buildings, barn and dovecote cohabit in a silence steeped in history. What makes Arville truly unique is the intact legibility of its layout. The fortified gateway, flanked by two cylindrical brick towers, introduces an architectural programme that is both defensive and representative, typical of the commanderies that had to display the power of the order while managing vast agricultural estates. Passing through this porch is like stepping into the economic and military logic of the Templars: each building has its function, each stone tells the story of the meticulous management of land and people. The visit includes several moments of grace: the monumental brick barn, whose forebuilding and carriage entrance bear witness to a mastery of construction; the cylindrical dovecote, whose hundreds of original bolts are still in place, evoking the seigneurial rights jealously preserved by the Hospitallers who inherited the estate. The south-western corner tower completes the enclosure with elegant sobriety. The natural setting enhances the experience: the fields and hedgerows that surround the Commandery are a reminder that these lands were once the economic engine of the Order, providing both food and strategic resources. Photographers and enthusiasts of medieval history will find here an unexpected wealth of angles and light, away from the mass tourist circuits.
Architecture
The architecture of the Arville commandery is a perfect illustration of the dual role, agricultural and defensive, of Templar and later Hospitaller houses. Spatial organisation is based around a walled enclosure, with the cylindrical tower in the south-west corner providing further evidence of the fortified nature of the complex. The main axis is marked by the fortified gateway, the real centrepiece of the complex: a pavilion whose ground floor is crossed by a vaulted corridor framed by two arcades, the whole flanked by two cylindrical brick towers that give the entrance a majestic seigniorial appearance. This architectural approach - the combination of a covered corridor and flanking towers - can be found in several commanderies in the Centre-West region, and reflects the influence of 14th-century castellan models. Brick dominates the secondary buildings, giving the whole a warm, homogenous colour scheme that is characteristic of the Val-de-Loire. The facade of the barn, an agricultural building that has been meticulously crafted, features a forecourt centred on a large arched carriage entrance, a functional solution that also represents the architectural dignity attached to even the most utilitarian of buildings. The residential and service buildings, also in brick, were modified in the 16th and 18th centuries without losing their overall coherence. The cylindrical dovecote is one of the jewels of the site: its exceptional conservation - all its clay bolts are still in place - makes it a living architectural document of medieval and modern pigeon-farming techniques. A symbol of seigneurial rights par excellence, it bears witness to the eminent status of the Commanders in the local social hierarchy. The church, set slightly apart from the conventual buildings to the north, completes an architectural programme of rare coherence and clarity for a complex of this age.
Related Figures
Hugues de Payns — fondateur de l'ordre du Temple (v. 1119), dont l'impulsion missionnaire aboutit à la création de commanderies comme ArvillePhilippe IV le Bel — roi de France qui ordonna l'arrestation des Templiers en 1307 et fut à l'origine de la dissolution de l'ordreJacques de Molay — dernier Grand Maître du Temple, brûlé vif en 1314, dont la condamnation scella le sort des commanderies françaisesClément V — pape qui promulgua la bulle Ad providam (1312) transférant les biens templiers aux Hospitaliers de Saint-Jean de JérusalemCommandeurs hospitaliers successifs d'Arville (XVIe-XVIIIe siècle) — administrateurs laïcs ou religieux qui maintinrent et transformèrent le domaine
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne commanderie des Templiers located?
Ancienne commanderie des Templiers is located in Arville, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Ancienne commanderie des Templiers built?
Ancienne commanderie des Templiers dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancienne commanderie des Templiers open to visitors?
Ancienne commanderie des Templiers is currently closed to visitors.