Ancienne abbaye

English translation

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History

According to legend, the abbey would have been founded by Enimie, daughter of king Clotaire II, cured of leprosy after bathing in the waters of Burles. Between the 8th and 10th centuries, the two monasteries, one of women, the other of men, were destroyed by invasions. The bishop of Mende ceded the ruins of the male monastery to the abbey of Saint-Chaffre-en-Velay, in 951. This monastery subsisted until 1789. The modern chapel of the Hermitage houses the grotto where Saint Enimie would have lived. The buildings that remain do not date back beyond the 12th century. They are arranged at right angles on a platform. The building facing south has been greatly altered. Only a vaulted room at the eastern end preserves carved capitals. A 15th-century fireplace exists on the first floor. The building to the east is more complete. It is a long room of four bays, covered with a barrel vault with engaged columns. Lateral arches lighten the walls, following Provençal tradition. A vaulted room which may have served as a cellar is preserved below. Above are seen the remains of a bell tower. Further north, behind the first building, stands a small Romanesque chapel vaulted in barrel vault with an apse in cul de four. All the other constructions of the abbey have disappeared.