The Eglise des Jacobins

The Eglise des Jacobins in Narbonne is the last witness in this town to the presence of the Dominican order, also known as the order of preachers or Jacobins, for the simple reason that they have occupied the couvent Saint-Jacques in Paris since the beginning of the 13th century.

The Dominicans were established in Narbonne about 1220 under the episcopate of a fiery natured Archbishop Arnaud Amaury who wished, without a doubt, to counterbalance the influence and potential spread in the area of the heretical Cathars.  The welcome they received from the population was, at least, hostile and the monks were immediately driven out and forced to take refuge in the walled town..

The Dominican order would come once again in 1231, under the episcopate of Pierre Amiel.,

The monks were carefully established by the Archbishop to the east of the town, outside the walls on a site called “La Mailholle” (now the location of rue Rossini, the actual location of La Mailholle is at the end of quai Vallière).  However, the inquisitorial and repressive excesses of their prior François Ferrier would lead once more to a popular explosion in 1234, organised by the Amistance brotherhood.  Once again the Dominicans and the Archbishop himself were forced to flee from the monastery and it was ransacked, including everything down to the reputed wine.

Despite these events, the monastery seems to have developed until the 14th century.  Several members of the viscount family were buried here, in particular the young viscount Akgayette, daughter of the Count of Rodez and wife of Amaury de Narbonne, who died aged 26.  Her beautiful face reappeared on the 17th of July 1932 when  her magnificent bust was discovered lying at the present location of rue Baptiste Limousy.  This statue is now in the mediaeval sculpture hall in the Narbonne art and history museum.

The 14th century was both difficult and bright for the town of Narbonne.  In March 1366, the Prince Noir passed and attempted to lay siege to the city and burned the surrounding borough. It was perhaps for this reason that the Dominican monastery was moved to within the shelter of the walls where it is today.  In all likelihood, the move was supported and took place near the end of the century.

Gradually the initial monastery disappeared and the stones were used to build the new building.  However some difficulties arose between the Dominicans and those repairing the nearby city walls, tempted by the stone blocks, as recorded by a complaint made by the brothers in 1522.
In the final centuries of the ancient regime, the monastery would peacefully go about the traditional activities of the order, for example the creation and the development of the Notre-Dame du Rosaire brotherhood gathering lay men around religious men, a type of devotion typical of this order.  However there seems to have been a lack of religious fervour, the day before the French Revolution, until 1790, there was apparently only one Dominican left in the monastery living a bourgeois lifestyle.  In fact, a part of the premises could be hired for 300 livres at the Gendarmerie of the time. The buildings would eventually be sold as government property and divided among several owners.
In the 19th century, the nave and the side chapels (the largest part) belonged to the secular brothers of the Christian doctrine and, after the First World War, would become headquarters for the school of the sisters of the holy family in the town.
In 1957, the religious order would leave and 12 years later the premises were purchased by Louis Alliés, a domestic arts trader whose family had already owned the neighbouring building for over a hundred years. The action of Louis and Denise Alliés, his wife, would save the Eglise des Jacobins from certain ruin.

Finally today, the joint trade council of the wines of Languedoc (CIVL) has the privilege of a truly venerable site which will serve as a logistics base for the development of the reputation of Languedoc AOCs. The premises have become the most worthy and suitable place for such tasks relating to the heritage of our region, one of the concomitant assets of wine production.

The exterior and interior architecture of the church chevet behind the separation wall remains to be considered, but this is another story!

Author: Professor Jacques Michaud, president of the Narbonne archaeological commission and professor at the law school of Montpellier.