Charterhouse of Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez
Sancte Crucis in Jaresio / Jareysio
(Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez, Loire)
The Charterhouse of Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez was founded in 1281 by Béatrix de la Tour († 1306), then the widow of Guillaume de Roussillon († 1277), brother of Aymar de Roussillon († 1283), Archbishop of Lyon. The financial resources intended to ensure the proper development of the foundation therefore derived from the lordship of Roussillon.
As an unusual feature within the Carthusian world, Sainte-Croix allowed Béatrix access to the monastic enclosure, as well as her burial within the church. The charterhouse was built in accordance with the customs of the order: the church and several communal spaces were arranged around a small cloister, while the monks’ cells occupied a second area, around a great cloister. As a distinctive element, the spaces devoted to services and economic organisation, with direct communication with the exterior (correrie), formed part of the same monastic nucleus, although their functional independence was ensured.
The built complex of the charterhouse is organised around an initial courtyard, the Cour des Obédiences, which served correrie functions. A long corridor linked this space to the Grand Cloître, around which the cells were arranged, and also provided access to the small cloister and the communal buildings. There is no evidence of direct damage caused by the Hundred Years’ War or the Wars of Religion, but the complex had to be rebuilt after the fire of 1629. As a result of this disaster and the effects of the Revolution, the archives and library were lost or dispersed, although some documents are known through later copies.
Entrance building
El conjunt edificat de la cartoixa s’articula a partir d’un primer pati, la Cour des Obédiences, amb funcions de conreria. Un llarg corredor comunicava aquest espai amb el Grand Cloître, al voltant del qual es disposaven les cel·les, i alhora donava accés al claustre petit i a les dependències comunes. No es té constància d’afectacions directes derivades de la guerra dels Cent Anys ni de les guerres de Religió, però el conjunt va haver de ser reconstruït després de l’incendi de 1629. A causa d’aquest sinistre i dels efectes de la Revolució es van perdre o dispersar els arxius i la biblioteca, tot i que es coneixen alguns documents gràcies a còpies posteriors.
The first courtyard (Cour des Obédiences)
Corridor between the Cour des Obédiences
and the Grand Cloître
Grand Cloître
Grand Cloître
Small cloister
Photo by Chartreuse1280, on Wikimedia
Illustration from Maisons de l'ordre des Chartreux (1915)
Small cloister
Illustration from Histoire de Saint-Étienne et de ses environs (1851)
Illustration from Le Forez pittoresque et monumental (1889)
- BONNEFOUS, Eugène (1851). Histoire de Saint-Étienne et de ses environs. Saint-Étienne: Delarue
- CARTOIXA DE PARKMINSTER (1915). Maisons de l'ordre des Chartreux. Vol. II. Chartreuse de Saint-Hughes (Sussex)
- DERBIER, Josselin; i altres (2015). Étude historique et documentaire sur l’ancienne chartreuse de Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez. Archeodunum
- DURIEZ, Mathilde (2024). Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez. Ancienne église médiévale. ADLFI
- LE COUTEULX, Carolo (1888). Annales Ordinis Cartusiensis ab anno 1084 ad annum 1429, Vol. IV. S. Mariae de Pratis
- LEDUC, Guy (2006). Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez, une chartreuse revisitée dans le Pilat. Bourg-en-Bresse: Edelgé
- THIOLLIER, Félix (1889). Le Forez pittoresque et monumental. Lió: Waltener
- VACHEZ, Antoine (1904). La Chartreuse de Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez. Lyon: Brun
Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez is located in the Pilat massif, between Saint-Étienne and the Rhône valley