Aillon Charterhouse, also Mont-Sainte-Marie Charterhouse (; ), is a former Carthusian monastery, or charterhouse, located in the commune of Aillon-le-Jeune, in the Savoie department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France.
The monastery was founded in the Bauges Mountains in the second half of the 12th century by Count Humbert III of Savoy, who provided endowments to monks likely already established at the site. The only remaining building was listed as a historic monument in 1994. Since 2008, it has housed the Heritage Center of the .
Name The charterhouse was dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the title Mont-Sainte-Marie d’Aillon (Monte Sancte-Marie de Allione in the early 13th century), and later under the name Notre-Dame. Jean-Pierre Aniel, archivist and palaeographer, refers to the monastery in his 1983 work Les Maisons de chartreux as Cartusia B. Mariae de Allione. Abbé Laurent Morand (1830–1894), a historian of the Bauges region, referred to it as the Chartreuse d'Aillon or Chartreuse de Lourdes in his three-volume history published between 1889 and 1891. In 1759, referred to it as “that of Haillon in the Bauges.”
The toponym Aillon (Allionis) originates from a former fundus (estate) named after its owner, likely a person named Allio. , drawing in part on the work of Abbé Laurent Morand, compiled several historical references to the charterhouse and its members: Guigo prior de Allione (1158), Domus Allionis (c. 1178, the presumed date of the foundation), Bernardus prior de Allione (1198), prior Allonis (1223), Cura de Allion (c. 1344), and Prioratus de Ayllone (14th century).
Geography
Aillon Charterhouse is located on the southwestern edge of the Bauges Massif, within the commune of Aillon-le-Jeune in the Savoie department, part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Historically, the site lay on the boundary between the dioceses of Geneva and Grenoble and was under the jurisdiction of the former.
The Carthusian monks were granted land in the former parish of Aillon, particularly in a wilderness area corresponding to the valley known as Lourdes or Aillon. This valley, approximately ten kilometers in length, is oriented from southwest to northwest. Charter expert described the location as an "extraordinary and wild 'end of the world' ". Canon Gros notes that the name Lourdens is relatively recent and does not appear in the cartulary of Aillon Charterhouse. Archivist and palaeographer , in a study on monks in the diocese of Geneva, refers to the "narrow valley of La Fullie", now spelled Fully, which also names the stream that flows through it. The toponyms Fullie and Fully derive from a term meaning "deciduous forest" in the Savoyard dialect.
The valley housing Aillon Charterhouse lies below the Grand Colombier, also referred to as Colombier d’Aillon. The site is located at an altitude of approximately 1,026 meters (1,030 meters according to the IGN map) and is accessible from the south via departmental road D32B, originating from the main village of Aillon-le-Jeune.
Although geographically close to the deanery of Savoie, which was part of the Diocese of Grenoble, both the parish of Aillon and the charterhouse historically fell under the deanery of Annecy, within the Diocese of Geneva. The monastery was affiliated with the of Chartreuse. Following the annexation of the Duchy of Savoy by revolutionary France in 1792 and the reorganization of ecclesiastical territories under the Concordat of 1801, the short-lived Diocese of Chambéry and Geneva was established. During this period the monks were expelled by revolutionary forces and the monastery was abandoned.
History
Foundation The exact date of the foundation of Aillon Charterhouse remains uncertain. Various historical sources propose different dates. Charles-Joseph Morotius (Dom Morozzo), author of Theatrum Chronologicum Sacri Ordinis Cartusiensis (1681), and the authors of the Gallia Christiana suggest the year 1143. An undated document titled Series et Origo Domorum Ordinis Cartusiensis, referring specifically to the Aillon house, states: "Domus Allionis, in Sabaudia, et diocesis gebennensis, erecta et dotata est anno millesimo centesimo septuagesimo tertio ab Humberto III." Additionally, the Carta Capituli Cartusiensis, the charter of the Carthusian general chapter from 1208, notes in the margin that the foundation occurred "before 1178." Abbé Laurent Morand, in his study of the charterhouse, questions the 1143 date, pointing out that Count Humbert III of Savoy did not succeed his father, Amadeus III, until the latter died in Cyprus in August 1148. Pierre Jacques Le Seigneur, in a 2008 work on the charterhouse, revisits Morand's analysis and references these various traditions.
The (1866) lists Aillon Charterhouse under the entry "Aillon" in its general alphabetical index as a Carthusian monastery in the Diocese of Geneva, stating it was "founded around 1183 by Count Humbert." This dating follows Abbé Mémoires pour l'histoire ecclésiastique des diocèses de Genève, Tarentaise, Aoste et Maurienne et du décanat de Savoie (1759), and was also adopted by François Rabut in Petite chronique de Frère Billard, chartreux (1860).
More recent scholarship, including works by Canon Gros (1935), Jean-Pierre Aniel (1983), the authors of Histoire des communes savoyardes (1984), and Pierre Jacques Le Seigneur (2008), generally agrees on the year 1178 for the first charter (Charter 1). The medievalist (1995) cites two key dates: around 1178, when the monks received a domain as a pledge from a lord of Apremont, and 1189, when they acquired the land definitively. Pierre Jacques Le Seigneur notes that in 1189, “Mount Sainte-Marie, which overlooks the new convent, was sold to the monks by Aymon of Apremont,” as recorded in Charter 3.
Historical tradition agrees on the context. Count Humbert III made a significant donation to the Carthusians. The foundation charter begins: “Let it be known to all present and future that I, Humbert, Count of Maurienne and Marquis in Italy, to ensure the salvation of the soul of my father, of that of my mother, of those of my deceased relatives, and of my own, have, out of my love for Almighty God, endowed the house of Aillon, of the Carthusian order.” According to this document, he granted the abbey all his rights over the land of Aillon, the (lacum meum de la Tuelli)—“since within the borders of the new house there are not many fish, I have given it my lake of La Thuile”—as well as “the pastures of Vellein, for the wintering of sheep, the lands of Lanelajour stretching from Chapônnay to Marennes, to establish a meadow and a barn for the sheep’s share, the fief of Guy Siboud adjacent to the meadow, and all the wood necessary for heating the shepherds.” Vassals of the count - Nantelme and Villelme de Miolans, Boson of Apremont, Chabert of Varax, and Ponce of Conflens - who were witnesses of the donation, also granted or sold properties and lands to the charterhouse.
The donation by Count Humbert III is generally considered to mark the foundation of the monastery, although the prior presence of monks appears likely. Abbé Morand suggests an establishment beginning in 1149.
Guy, identified as the bishop of Aosta and prior of Meyriat Charterhouse, was present at the foundation. He was likely . Canon Gros notes the mention of a Guigo prior de Allione in 1158. Morand, while accepting 1178 as the foundation date, interprets Guy's role as that of an organizer of the community rather than a prior.
The Carthusian monks who settled at Aillon probably came from Meyriat Charterhouse, located on the border between Bresse and Bullon. According to Morand, their first settlement may have been at sites known as Muret or Saint-Bruno, the latter possibly referring to Saint Bruno, the founder of the Carthusian order. The exact date of their establishment at the current location is unknown.
Donations by the counts of Savoy Aillon Charterhouse was the third Carthusian monastery established in the southern part of the region, following (1151, diocese of Geneva, in Faucigny) and (1173, diocese of Grenoble, in Savoy near the Dauphiné border). The Carthusian order also founded three other monasteries in the diocese of Geneva: (1138, in Chablais), Oujon (1146, in the Pays de Vaud), and Pomier (circa 1170, in the Genevois).
The donation by Count Humbert III was confirmed by his successors, who also granted additional privileges to the monastery. Aillon Charterhouse received support from prominent noble families of Savoy, including the houses of , , , and (or La Ravoire, near Montmélian).
In 1216, Count Thomas I of Savoy confirmed the donations made by his father. During his reign, he granted the monastery six additional endowments and placed it under his protection.
Count Amadeus IV of Savoy continued the endowments to Aillon Charterhouse, notably granting land in the plain of Montmélian in 1236, including the estate of in Cruet. In 1251, he confirmed the donations made by his predecessors, and in his will of 1252, he allocated one thousand sous to the monastery, as well as to the monasteries of Arvières and Hautecombe.
In 1383, Count Amadeus VI of Savoy bequeathed the to the Carthusian order. The prior of Aillon assumed command of the fortress, a role that was contrary to the Carthusian rule, but which continued until 1583.
A visit in 1476 documented the possessions of the monastery at that time, including twenty servants and a substantial herd comprising 45 dairy cows, 8 heifers and calves, 19 draft oxen, 24 bulls, 19 goats, and 24 mules and donkeys. The monastery owned approximately 3,000 hectares of land, primarily forest, about ten farms in the Lourdes valley, holdings in Doucy, and vineyards in the Combe de Savoie.
Monastic life The various donations contributed to the prosperity of the charterhouse. The number of monks increased from 7 or 8 at the time of the foundation to more than twenty, excluding lay brothers and so-called "donated" individuals. The latter were not bound by monastic vows but had entered into contractual agreements with the monastery and were considered hired workers.
The monks were primarily of local origin, though some came from other regions, according to Dom Charles Le Couteulx (1639–1709), a Carthusian historian.
Historians Nicolas Carrier and Fabrice Mouthon, in a 2010 study on mountain communities, observe that the Carthusians took measures to preserve the isolation of their environment. They cite the example of Aillon, which reportedly secured the removal of the inhabitants of the village of Le Cimetière, then the parish center of Aillon, though the circumstances remain unclear.
The monastery was destroyed by fire on several occasions. A fire in 1582 required extensive reconstruction, which was undertaken by Prior Dom Fiacre Billard. The monastery was rebuilt in the 17th century. The entrance portal of the former guesthouse bears two stone keys engraved with the dates 1646 and 1671.
A decline in adherence to the Carthusian rule was observed. According to Le Diocèse de Genève-Annecy (1985), a visitation in 1476 reported a prior who was negligent in both spiritual and temporal matters, and monks who did not observe silence or the obligations of their rule. Later reports mentioned further concerns, including the use of tobacco, unauthorized outings, inappropriate behavior among the monks, and lack of discipline during church services.
Activities The expansion of the monastery’s activities gradually necessitated a larger workforce. Initially located in an uninhabited area, the site attracted peasants who settled to cultivate the land and engage in ironworking, particularly in trip-hammer forges.