The cloister | ©Fagairolles 34 / CC-BY-SA
Sylvanes history began with a mighty lord from Lodève, Pons de Léraze. He had a pretty dissolute life, he was a bandit who wreaked havoc in the area. He finally repented and feared for his salvation.
Our chap retired in the woods in 1132, in order to pray, with friends, in a place called Sylvanès. Sylvanès means in Latin salvas nos... “save us”!
Lords gave them their lands in 1136, and our men started to raise a Cistercian monastery.