South of France Blog

In Sorèze with two of my latest readers

2/12/2019

Yesterday I was signing and selling copies of ‘Lauragais’ at the Christmas market in the Abbey of Sorèze. I also had time to photograph some of my latest readers.

Mary takes a keen interest in modern literature, whereas her master Tom is more into buying and selling antique and rare books.

If you share Mary’s literary tastes, choose the first link, or if you are in Tom’s camp, follow the link to his page on Abe Books.

Mary

tom

The Abbey of Sorèze may have been founded as long ago as 754 under King Pepin the Short. It was attacked and pillaged many times over the centuries by, among others, the Normans, bands of unemployed soldiers during the Hundred Years’ War, and both Catholics and Protestants during the Wars of Religion. Louis XVI made it a Royal Military School, and it remained an educational establishment until 1991.

This statue of Pepin the Short is located in the abbey's park.

This bell tower is all that remains of the church of Saint-Martin after the Protestant siege of 1573.

Also in the abbey's park is a rare statue of Louis XVI. Only five remain in France, and one of those has lost its original head!

Today, the abbey complex houses the Dom Robert tapestry museum and the school museum.

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4 Comments

TONY MILNE link

2/12/2019 14:53:31

Poodles are well known for their intelligence. I'm not surprised that she can enjoys modern literature, but I am surprised that she can read in English !

Colin Duncan Taylor link

2/12/2019 16:17:42

Mary is not a French poodle! She came over from England in the summer to settle in the Lauragais.

Ian

2/12/2019 16:39:26

Is the Abbey worth a visit, and what season would be best?

2/12/2019 17:07:28

It's not at all like visiting other abbeys in our area (St Papoul, St Hilaire for example). Soreze contains two museums, one devoted to the 20th century tapestries of a local monk called Dom Robert (they are wonderfully displayed) and the other covers the abbey's time as a school (reign of Louis XVI until 1991). Those are both a good idea for cold or wet days. The park is pleasant for a stroll too when the weather is fine, and if you feel energetic, you could climb a hill behind the abbey called the Berniquaut where you will find the ruins of a medieval village. Here is the link for the abbey's website (note it closes from Christmas until the end of Janueary): http://abbayeecoledesoreze.tarn.fr/index.php?id=6233
And finally, Soreze suffered badly during the Wars of Religion when it changed times several times. You'll find a lot more about that in my book.

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In Sorèze with two of my latest readers

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Colin Duncan Taylor