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Laives

The church of St. Martin in Laives is wonderfully situated in an isolated location on a hill overlooking a valley and the village of Laives below. It is accessible by a semi-paved road. There are no other buildings around it, or within sight. Unfortunately, it was closed on the showery day we visited. While we couldn't get in, it made a nice picnic spot, sitting at a stone table and watching storms come in from the west. We fled with the arrival of rain.

There is a web site for Les Amis de St. Martin de Laives and this information comes from that site. "Propriété de l’évêché de Nevers, église et biens sont concédés au 12^ème siècle aux bénédictins de Saint-Pierre de Chalon. Un titre de 1142, précise que cette abbaye possède sur le mont, un prieuré rural, en 1275, ce prieuré est un sous fief des barons de Sennecey Le Grand et fait partie du diocèse de Chalon. Ce fut probablement au 15^ème siècle que les bénédictins abandonnèrent le prieuré et établirent un curé pour le remplacer." After the Revolution the church became a Temple of Reason, before it became a national monument in 1905. The association of friends was created in 1976. Laives is about NNW from Tournus.

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Malay

The attractive church at Malay was a deanery church associated with Cluny. This means it was a church on a large estate controlled by Cluny in the 12th C. Most of its construction dates from this time, although the tower was added later. Given the unsettled nature of the countryside, the church was fortified.  The interior of the church has been attractively restored and has a delightful simplity. One of my pleasures is being able to sing a Gregorian chant in the churches we visit and the accoustics at Malay are very good, making this visit particularly pleasurable. We visited the church on a cloudy day and these post card images are much better than my photos. Malay is about 15 - 20 km. west of Tournus.

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Mont St. Jean

Mont St. Jeanis home to small 15th C church with a 12th C tower and choir. The church was built as the chapel for the chateau. From the plaque on the church: "In 1446 the chapel became the parish church as a gift from Pierre de Beauffremont, the Lord of Mont Saint Jean at that time. The nave was built and the church was consecrated in 1453. The steeple is made up of three floors, the last two only being pierced by twin openings...A crypt lies under the aspe and is estimated to be from the 10th century. Unfortunately, the church was locked and there was no access. The chateau is still there, now a private residence. Mont St. Jean is also home to a very early hospital building, now restored. The plaque on it claimed it was the oldest 'hopital' in France. It is the last picture. 

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Mont St. Jean is an attractive village without much in the way of services. We did see a restaurant but when we asked a resident if there was a place we could get any town history we were told the only possibility was the mayor's office (which was closed) as there were no shops here. Mont St. Jean is about 30 km SSE of Semur en Auxois.

Ougy

The current church of St. Martin d'Ougy was constructed in the middle of the 12th C. The church was a parish church and the first references to it were in 1095. The church was reconstructed in the 12th C.. The parish was subsequently merged with Malay (18th C) and St. Martin d'Ougy appears to have suffered from neglect as a result. The interior would benefit from a restroation. However, the accoustics for chanting are fine and this is an attractive visit. The top two are photos taken at the time of our visit and the bottom is from a postcard. Ougy is very close to Malay and pretty much due west from Tournus.

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Pontigny

Pontigny is a wonderfully attractive and engaging 12th C abbey church. It is a daughter church of Citeaux and was founded in 1114 by Hugues de Macon. Pontigny is strategically located at the juncture of  Troyes en Champagne, Sens and Auxerre, allowing it to draw support from several sources. By the middle of the 12th C the abbey controlled 15 granges (farms) in the area, providing a good financial base of support for the monks.

The founders were Cistercian and the abbey church has the strong architectural simplicity of the order. The church was largely built between 1137 and 1155. Pontigny served as a refuge for various English bishops who fell out of favor with their king. Thomas Becket stayed here between 1164 and 1166, and Stephan Langton stayed here between 1208 and 1213. Edmond Rich, also an archbishop of Canterbury, was also in exile here and he died in 1240. He was canonized in 1247, shortly after his death.

The abbey was sacked in 1568, during the wars of religion and the abbey palace was destroyed at the time of the Revolution. Fortunately, the church itself survived. The first pictures show the exterior of the building. Further down, note the clean lines of the interior. Cistercian churches tend to be ornament free, so the monks can concentrate on prayer and not be distracted by statues and decorations. The schematic shows the interior layout of the church.

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Pontigny is SE of Sens and about 12 km NE of Auxerre. It is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. It is even worth the effort to make a detour to see it.
 

St. Hippolyte
 

The ruin here is of a 12th C. Romanesque Cluniac abbey church, with just the walls and a roofed aspe remaining. It's walls on one side are built into a farm courtyard. St. Hippolyte is just south of Malay, and about 15 km due west of Tournus.

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Sennecly-le-Grand
 

We visited St. Julien in Sennecly-le-Grand on a rainy day and could not get into the church. The church is 12th C with a Romanesque tower but it looks like the interior has been opened with larger windows at some point. Sennecly-le-Grand is just about 5 km. north of Tournus.

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