Monasticon Gallicanum (1677-1710)
Bibliothèque nationale de France
According to Gregory of Tours, Bishop Alyre of Clermont († c. 384) was buried on the site where this monastery, dedicated to his memory, was later founded. From an early date, the site became a centre of devotion, and during the episcopate of Avitus I (572–594) the chapel housing the saint’s relics was embellished. Nearby stood other chapels, including the basilica of Saint-Vénérand, bishop of Clermont between 394 and 423.
Plan of the monastery (1854)
Clermont Auvergne Métropole - Overnia / CA 5027
At some point in the second half of the 7th century, the site was occupied by a monastic community, which in 865 was destroyed during a Norman raid. Around the year 937 the monastery was restored, and in 954 King Lothair I confirmed its foundation. The first known abbot of this new period was Bernard. Later, the establishment was incorporated into the Order of Cluny, which promoted its reconstruction. In 1106 Pope Paschal II blessed the monastery church. In 1311 the relics of Saint Alyre were rediscovered and placed in a new tomb within the church.
During the Hundred Years’ War the monastery’s defensive structures were reinforced, but in 1362 the site was militarily occupied. In 1500 the last Cluniac abbot, Jacques d’Amboise, left office, and Saint-Alyre was attached to the Congregation of Chezal-Benoît, which appointed triennial abbots. In 1636 Géraud des Aleus, a monk from Cluny associated with the Congregation of Saint-Maur, was appointed abbot; from then on, the monastery was incorporated into that congregation. During the Revolution, between 1790 and 1791, the monastic community was suppressed, the monks dispersed, and the property sold. A few years later the site had been looted and its dismantling began.
Detail of Armorial Revel (1450-1460)
Bibliothèque nationale de France
Detail of Veüe de l'Abbaye de Sainct Alyre
Louis Boudan (16th century)
Bibliothèque nationale de France
In 1808 the former Benedictine monastery was granted to the Ursuline nuns, who rebuilt some of the buildings to establish their own convent, also devoted to teaching. In 1904, following the prohibition of this activity, the property passed into secular hands. Today the site is occupied by the Institution Saint-Alyre, an educational establishment. Few traces remain of the old Benedictine monastery: the church has completely disappeared, though some Maurist-period structures survive, along with a tower from the former wall that enclosed the monastic precinct.
Detail of S. Augustini sermones (12th-13th centuries). From the monastery
Clermont Auvergne Métropole - Overnia / MS 48
Detail of Moralium in Job (12th century). From the monastery
Clermont Auvergne Métropole - Overnia / MS 24
Detail of La Cosmographie universelle de tout le monde
François Belleforest (1575)
Bibliothèque nationale de France
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- BAUDRILLART, Alfred (1914). Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques. Vol. 2. París: Letouzey et Ané
- BEAUNIER, Dom (1912). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 5. Bourges. Abbaye de Ligugé
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- COHADON, Abbé (1842). Recherches historiques sur Chantoin. Tablettes historiques de l'Auvergne, vol. III. Clermont-Ferrand: Perol
- DU TEMS, Hugues (1775). Le clergé de France. Vol. III. París: Brunet
- FOULQUIER, Laura (2023). Des ruines au musée, les œuvres lapidaires de l’ancienne abbaye Saint-Alyre (Clermont-Ferrand). Dijon: Artehis
- FOURNIER, P.-F. (1970). Clermont-Ferrand au VIe siècle: recherches sur la topographie de la ville. Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes. Vol. 128
- GUÉRIN, Paul (1888). Les Petits Bollandistes. Vies des saints. Vol. 6. París: Bloud et Barral
- PEIGNÉ-DELACOURT, Achille (1877). Monasticon Gallicanum. Paris: G. Chamerot
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1720). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 2. París: Typographia Regia
- TARDIEU, Ambroise (1870). Histoire de la ville de Clermont-Ferrand. Moulins: Desrosiers
The monastery of Saint-Alyre was located to the north of the historic centre of the city of Clermont-Ferrand