History
article | Reading time5 min
Days and times subject to change beyond our control – Please check 03 85 59 15 93
Created by Cluny abbot Hugues de Semur, and isolated from the intense life of Cluny Abbey, the priory of Berzé-la-Ville received distinguished guests... Its decorations are a masterpiece of 12th-century mural painting and the only surviving example of Cluny monumental painting!
Birth of the chapel
The origins of the chapel
The name Berzé-la-Ville appears as early as 1042 in the texts of the Cluny abbey. The estate was acquired in several stages during the abbatiate of Hugues de Semur (1049-1109).
It was only in 1100 that full ownership of the priory of Berzé-la-Ville by the abbey of Cluny was established, following numerous exchanges, purchases and alliances finely arranged by Abbot Hugues.
© Centre des monuments nationaux / David Bordes
The priory of Hugues de Semur
It was undoubtedly around 1100 that the buildings and chapel were constructed. The chapel was built on a rock, expressly for the abbot, who stayed there regularly, especially in the last years of his life.
During his stays, he was surrounded by a number of dignitaries and received important religious and lay guests. For Christmas 1106, for example, he welcomed Pope Paschal II.
The chapel is also an essential checkpoint on the road to Mâcon for the transport of goods.
© Centre des monuments nationaux / David Bordes
The abbot's residency
Finally, the abbot's spiritual testament, written during Lent in 1109, testifies to his deep attachment to his modest monk's castle:
In my ignorance of the moment of my death, I have chosen a small obedience called Berzé, so that there, when the end of my mortal course arrives, abundant food and sufficient drink will be distributed in perpetuity, and according to the expediency of the times, on my birthday, to all my brothers who live in the convent of Cluny and who remember me, a poor fisherman...
© BNF, Mss, ms. Lat 17716 fol.91
Did you know?
In the customs of the Abbey of Cluny(Consuetudines), written in 1060-1090, the monks in charge of administering the Berzé estate bear the title of decani.
When Hugues died in 1109, the work had not yet been completed. The holy abbot, who had commissioned and perhaps even defined the iconographic program, had not seen the masterpiece completed. Subsequent centuries have left very little information about the priory.
© Centre des monuments nationaux / David Bordes
Unpublished wall paintings
It was only in 1887 that the murals were discovered by chance by Philibert Jolivet, the parish priest. This example is unique in the region, both in terms of its subjects and its style, which is strongly inspired by Roman art.
Under the influence of Rome, the decoration of the apse of the chapel is organized into four main levels:
- The saints of the first centuries as a foundation
- The martyrs of Saint Blaise and Saint Vincent
- The wise virgins
- By early Christian tradition, the imposing and dominant 4-metre-high Christ in Majesty
© Centre des monuments nationaux / David Bordes
In addition, to make the Christ even more monumental, his head, feet and hands protrude from the mandorla . The painter's virtuosity lies in the realization of this dense composition, with over forty figures, in a restricted space.
© Centre des monuments nationaux / David Bordes
Visit the chapel
The chapel was listed as a Monument Historique in 1893. After the Second World War, the buildings were put up for sale. But Dame Joan Evans, a British archaeologist and patron of the arts, bought the chapel and donated it to the Académie de Mâcon in 1947. In 2016, it was entrusted to the Centre des Monuments Nationaux to open to the public.
The other buildings, rebuilt in the 17th century, are now privately owned. Only the chapel is open to the public: don't miss out on this exceptional discovery!
© Centre des monuments nationaux / David Bordes
