Cordeliers of Angoulême

Franciscans

The arrival of the Franciscans in Angoulême took place shortly before the year 1230, thanks to the intervention of Guy V, Lord of La Rochefoucauld. From 1300 onwards, the Friars Minor expanded the original convent and began construction of a new church, supported by Beatrice of Burgundy (1260–1328), who was buried here along with her husband, Hugh XIII of Lusignan, Count of Angoulême.

During the second half of the 16th century, particularly in 1562 and 1568, the convent was occupied by Calvinists and suffered significant damage. One notable figure from that time was Friar André Thevet (1504–1592), a native of Angoulême, who was interested in travel and geography and published several works, including Cosmographie du Levant (1554), Les Singularitez de la France antarctique, autrement nommée Amérique (1557), and La Cosmographie universelle (1575).

After the Revolution and the suppression of the convent, the site was taken over by the military until 1818, when it was repurposed as a hospital. At that point, renovations and new constructions began to accommodate its new function.

Cordeliers of Angoulême
André Thevet, geographer and friar of this convent
Portrait of Les vrais pourtraits et vies des hommes illustres (1584)
Bibliothèque nationale de France

Hippodrome of Constantinople
Illustration from Cosmographie de Levant (Thevet, 1554)
Bibliothèque nationale de France

Bibliography:

BABINET DE RENCOGNE, G. (1878). Note historique des RR. PP. Cordeliers d'Angoulême sur leur couvent. Bulletin de la Société archéologique et historique de la Charente. Angulema: Goumard
DUBOURG-NOVES, Pierre (1975). Les débuts du mouvement franciscain dans l'Ouest et le couvent des Cordeliers d'Angoulême. Bulletin de la Société des antiquaires de l'Ouest et des musées de Poitiers. Poitiers: Société des antiquaires de l'Ouest

EYDOUX, Henri Paul (1976). Le couvent des Cordeliers d'Angoulême. Bulletin Monumental, vol. 134
MESNARD, F. (1769, éd. 1866). Cordeliers d'Angoulême. Bulletin de la Société archéologique et historique de la Charente. Angulema: Goumard

Location:

The church of the Franciscan convent of Angoulême is located in the heart of the city's historic centre

Convent of the Cordeliers d’Angoulême