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Strategic importance for a cathedral-abbey
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In the very heart of the medieval town of Alet, Notre Dame cathedral-abbey is situated on the main road to the Upstream Valley of the Aude river.
The origins of this Benedictine abbey remain unknown : its foundation is attributed to Béra, the count of Razès, and his wife, Romille, in 813 A.D. but the documentary source of this information is not sure.
The history of the abbey has been one of a succession of quarrels and conflict due to its strategic location : for example, in the 11th century the abbey was ravaged by the Count of Carcassonne, then, in 1119, Alet abbey's rights over the abbey of Saint-Polycarpe were recognised to the detriment of the Lagrasse abbey.
The 12th century marked the peak of the abbey's history. It was very influential and attracted many pilgrims who came to see the abbey's relics of the Holy Cross.
The 13th century was once again a time of difficulty illustrated by the election of the new abbot in 1197 when Bertrand de Saissac, the guardian of the young Viscount of Béziers, Raimond-Roger, stormed into the abbey, exhumed the body of the old abbot and put it back onto the abbatial chair in order to impose the election of one of his friends, the abbot Boson.
The abbey was greatly weakened by the Crusade against the Cathars because of the ensuing conflicts with the Archbishop of Narbonne and the confiscation of property.
However, a time of prosperity occurred once more after 1318 when the abbey was chosen to be the home of a new bishopric charged with fighting against catharism. The bishops expanded the old romanesque abbey to transform it into a great gothic cathedral.
Built within the walls of the town, the cathedral was destroyed during the Wars of Religion and was never really rebuilt afterwards. The bishops used the old refectory to hold services. During the 17th century, Nicolas Pavillon, famous for his role in the Catholic Reform, marked the abbey's history also
Although the degradation of the monument never ceased to continue, it rapidly became a source of curiosity for scholars, and was classed as a Historical Monument in 1889. |
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