Bâtiments dits La Commanderie
MonumentHidden Treasure
Bâtiments dits La Commanderie, located in Soulomès (Département 46), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Soulomès, Département 46, Occitanie
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.0000, 1.0000
- Mérimée Reference
- PA46000081
In the heart of the Quercy Blanc region, this 13th-century Commanderie Hospitalière bears witness to the power of the military orders in Occitanie. Its sober, robust medieval buildings have survived eight centuries almost intact.
History
Nestling in the village of Soulomès, a small commune in the Lot department perched on the limestone plateaux of Quercy Blanc, the Commandery is one of the few surviving examples of the military and hospitaller orders established in the south-west of medieval France. Far from the monumental commanderies found in other parts of Europe, the Soulomès Commandery embodies a sober, almost austere architecture, dictated as much by the spiritual rigour of its occupants as by the local resources of blonde limestone. What makes this place truly unique is the coherence of its built ensemble: the main buildings, the chapel and the farm outbuildings form an organic whole that faithfully recreates the organisation of a working commandery. The buildings have not undergone the Baroque or Classical transformations that have disfigured so many similar establishments, thus preserving a direct reading of the central Middle Ages. The tour takes visitors into the day-to-day world of the knights and servant brothers who managed an agricultural estate here to finance their expeditions to the Holy Land. The layout of the rooms - chapter house, granary, stables - reveals the dual military and charitable vocation that characterised the Orders of St John of Jerusalem and the Temple. The natural setting reinforces the medieval atmosphere of the site. The surrounding causses, a landscape of garrigues and pubescent oak swept by the golden light of Occitanie, has hardly changed since the first builders erected these walls. Photography enthusiasts will find striking compositions here in the golden hours, when the limestone glows in the low-angled light.
Architecture
The architecture of the Commanderie de Soulomès follows the typical canons of 13th-century southern hospital establishments: an enclosed plan organised around an inner courtyard, combining residential, religious and agricultural functions. The buildings are constructed from blonde limestone quarried from the surrounding causses, a material that is ubiquitous in Quercy buildings, cut in a regular medium bond and assembled with lime mortar. The roofs are covered with limestone lauzes or canal tiles, depending on the building, in the building tradition of southern Quercy. The chapel is the most carefully designed element of the complex. It has a single nave with a flat or slightly rounded apse, lit by round-arched windows with restrained mouldings - typical of the late Romanesque style still in use in these regions at the dawn of the 13th century. A triumphal arch marks the separation between the nave for the lay brothers and the choir reserved for the clerical brothers. The modillions underlining the exterior cornice bear witness to a discreet but masterful local sculptural skill. The commander's dwelling, a two-storey main building, is distinguished by its cushioned windows and monolithic lintels, giving the facades an appearance that is both functional and dignified. Traces of machicolations or crenellations on some of the surrounding walls reveal the defensive concerns that accompanied even charitable establishments in this troubled period. Taken together, these buildings provide a coherent, authentic picture of the utilitarian architecture of military orders in southern France.
Related Figures
Frères hospitaliers de Saint-Jean-de-Jérusalem — premiers occupants et bâtisseurs de la commanderie au XIIIe siècleCommandeurs anonymes du Moyen Âge — administrateurs successifs du domaine quercynois aux XIIIe-XVIIIe sièclesBertrand de Got (pape Clément V, 1264-1314) — figure du clergé méridional contemporaine de l'apogée des commanderies lotoisPropriétaires révolutionnaires — acquéreurs du bien national après 1789, dont la gestion agricole préserva paradoxalement les bâtimentsInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques du XXIe siècle — acteurs de la procédure d'inscription aboutissant à l'arrêté du 8 juin 2022
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Bâtiments dits La Commanderie located?
Bâtiments dits La Commanderie is located in Soulomès, Département 46 department, Occitanie region, France.
When was Bâtiments dits La Commanderie built?
Bâtiments dits La Commanderie dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Bâtiments dits La Commanderie open to visitors?
Bâtiments dits La Commanderie is currently closed to visitors.