The Augustinian Convent of

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

was founded in 1286 for members of the Augustinian religious order. It was first established outside the city walls, near the Matabiau quarter, then, between 1310 and 1341 moved to the corner of rue du Musée and rue des Arts. In 1790 it ceased to be a convent and today its buildings house the

Musée des Augustins The Musée des Augustins de Toulouse () is a fine arts museum in Toulouse, France which conserves a collection of sculpture and paintings from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. The paintings are from throughout France, the sculptures rep ...

History

The construction of the convent

In 1269 a community of Hermits of St. Augustine was founded outside the city of Toulouse, near to the Montolieu quarter. The construction was due to the Chapter of Canons Regular of St. Sernin who undertook to build a convent in exchange for land and rights that newcomers granted them from the donations they had received (Departmental Archives of Haute Garonne, 101 H 638). As frequently happens in the history of religious foundations, this initial location proved inadequate to the needs of the community. In 1309–1310, the hermits of St. Augustine obtained the Pope's

Clement V Pope Clement V (; – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is reme ...

approval to sell this first building, and purchase the land to build the existing buildings that lie within the walls of the city, in the parish of Saint-Etienne. The canons of Saint-Sernin objected to the transfer, but, in 1326 sold three houses to the hermits for the price of 3500 guilders in exchange of a part of the wax sheets received by the Augustinians for a burial. Jean Lobres, prime contractor of Toulouse's cathedral participated in the construction of the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

of the church. The layout of the church is typical of the southern

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

style. The apse has three chapels that open directly onto the large, single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, there is no

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

, and in the upper parts, sections have been cut out. By 1341 the foundations of the monastery were well established. The completed church was painted in the style typical of northern Spain during the first half of the fourteenth century and decorated with miniatures produced in the royal court at the time of Philip IVth of France (Philip the Fair). The

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

is built on a square and close to the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

. Access is via the opening which is now located in the

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

. The construction of the eastern part of

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

began in 1341. Construction of the other three parts of the building were only begun in 1396 by the mason Jean Maurin. Ninety years later, in 1396, the cloister was completed.

The fire of 1463

Starting on 7 May 1463 and lasting for nearly two weeks, a fire (started by a careless baker) destroyed much of the city of Toulouse. As was the case at the

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

convent, most of the roof collapsed. With the help of the faithful and the church, reconstruction of the roof began in 1495 through the work of masons Martin Pujol and Pierre d'Arroye. The work was quickly completed and the building was rededicated on 30 June 1504.

The decline of the convent

Up until the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

was home to two hundred

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s. But then numbers started to decline; by 1518 there were no more than 140, and the fall continued. In 1649 there were only 60 and in 1680 there were only 31. By the time of the French Revolution only a few remained. In addition, in 1542, the convent was the victim of looting; many books and records were stolen from the library, along with liturgical objects and valuable furniture. On 14 September 1550 (the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross), lightning struck the bell tower. The upper floors were destroyed, causing extensive damage in the surrounding area. This event marked the beginning of the decline of the monastery. The financial and material difficulties could not be overcome and the bell tower was never reconstructed, instead it was lowered by one floor. In May 1562, in the aftermath of the revolt of the Huguenots, three Augustinians were flogged in public, apostatized, and married to three Augustinian nuns for having left their convent. During this time, all the Augustinian nuns (bar one) of Toulouse became part of the Protestant Reformation, and the house was donated to the Jesuits (the Chapel of the Black Penitents). In a decree of 2 November 1789 the convent became a national asset, and was decommissioned during the suppression of the monastic orders in 1790. Since 27 August 1795 it has housed the Toulouse Museum of Art.

History

The construction of the convent

The fire of 1463

The decline of the convent

See also