The Saint François Order of the Brothers Minor, known as the “Cordeliers” because of the cord they wore over their gray cloth vestments, was established in Italy by Saint François in 1223. It was a mendicant order that distinguished itself through its theological and philosophical teachings.
The Brothers Minor established themselves in Chartres in 1231. The local chapter gaves them a property for their monastery in a place known as Faubourg (today called Grand Faubourg), outside of the Place des Épars. They came there in 1238 and grew wealthy because of numerous donations from noblemen and the bourgeois in Chartres, and in 1391, a school of theology is set up in their monastery. At the start of the 16th century, when they reached the height of their wealth, they also lost a lot of their original austerity; in 1502, the Pope orders a reform of all of the Order’s concerns. The Preacher brothers then become Penitents and are reduced to their initial poverty.
At the time of the 1568 siege, the Cordeliers Monastery seemed as if it were dangerous for the town’s security: it is possible that it gave asylum to the besiegers. Therefore, on March 3, Monsieur de Linières, the Governor of Chartres, gives the order to destroy it. When the siege is over, the Cordeliers will not restore their monastery, which will remain in ruins until 1620, the year when a small chapel called the “Little Saint François” is built on its site for the inhabitants of the town’s neighborhoods.
During the Siege of 1568, the Cordeliers take refuge in the priory, which was dependent on the Saint Jean-en-Vallée Abbey, close to Saint Etienne, in the Notre Dame cloister.
Starting from April 21, 1568, some aldermen grant them the right to purchase an enclosed area in town. First, they temporarily stay at the Saint Hilaire Hospital on Saint Pierre Street; then they build a new monastery between the Saint Michel gate and the Saint Père tower, on a spot that depends on the Saint Père vineyard, which was handed over by the monks of that abbey.
The buildings then included a church, sacristy, capitular hall, library, refectory, and dormitory. During the 18th century, the monastery’s main entrance is on Saint Michel Street. Of all the sections that remain, it is the most modern.
During 1766, the order still has 10 professed monks, eight students, two lay brothers, and a male servant. In 1790, only six monks remain.
At the time of the Revolution, the chapel will serve as an assembly hall for three Orders, and for the election of Estates-General deputies that took place in 1789. In 1793, the monastery is sold as a national treasure designated for the department’s use. During 1795, a central school, which is established by Decree of October 25, 1795, is set up inside the old monastery. Then buildings are then turned into a secondary school and are finally annexed to the new lyceum. The department’s library will take up one of its floors between 1805 and 1837.
Nowadays, the façades and roofs of the section of the monastery building that surround the interior courtyard are still present; this section is bordered by a cloister with Tuscany columns, a fragment of the chapel’s north wall, and the entrance gate on Saint Michel Street, whose pilasters are decorated with arms trophies and two Hebraic inscriptions that read: “My house, for you, will be called a house of prayer;” and in Greek one reads “Fears shall never rise up in you.”
This group of buildings was included as part of the Inventory of Historical Monuments in 1959 and 1979.
Chartres National Music and Dance School was set up at that location in the fall of 2003.
Mairie de Chartres
Place des Halles
28000 Chartres
Standard tous services :
Tel. :+33 (0)2 37 23 40 00
Fax : +33 (0)2 37 23 41 99
Heures d'ouverture
Du lundi au vendredi : 9 h 00-17 h 00
Le samedi : 9 h 00-12 h 30
