A little history of Saint-Pierre church in Méobecq

Dagobert and Cyran

Here we are in middle of Brenne, land of the ponds, as far as the eye can see... And in the middle of nowhere, here’s the church of Méobecq. This 9th c. Romanesque church is the only remain of the huge abbey which used to stand there. Because Méobecq was an abbey founded in the 7th century in middle of Brenne’s insalubrious ponds, by saint Cyran. The book Gallia Christiana even said the abbey had a famous protector: king Charlemagne! This one gave the land of Méobecq to one of his parent, Cyran, to raise a monastery. Cyran? Who’s that guy? Well, he was a nobleman who grew up in the Burgundian court, with a very nice education. But Cyran was tired of all this society life: he wanted to cut himself off from the world as a hermit and raised an abbey.

Ponds for the abbey

Quickly, monks came to help him in his heavy task. They started to clear the neighbouring countryside, to clean up ponds and raised a first monastery with its church. Did you know the tradition saiys saint Cyran created Brenne’s famous ponds, in the 7th century? Well, it’s only a legend, because the digging work was made in the 12th c.! In short... In 1048, archbishop of Bourges allowed the abbey to become independent: it became very powerful and rich, with 2000 acres of woods, about 20 ponds, 16 churches, 7 chapels near Bourges and Tours...