Commanderie d’Arville

The commandery of Arville is located in the south of the Perche, fifteen kilometers from Mondoubleau and about thirty kilometers from Vendôme. Located along the Couëtron stream, it is in the center of a territory granted by a great lord whose identity remains unknown. The activity of this house is based on animal husbandry (pigs, cows and sheep), land cultivation (oats and meslin are mentioned at the end of the 15th century) and the production of wool for the workshops of Châteaudun and Temple-Près-Mondoubleau, a village including another Templar house with close links to Arville. These productions associated with rights and taxes on the inhabitants (tithe, champart) make it a true seigniory and ensure him consequent incomes.

The first reliable mention of the Templars of Arville dates back to 1169 in a local clearing project with the canons of Chartres. Regularly mentioned in documents up to the 13th century, they appear as witnesses in several official acts or as beneficiaries of land or resource donations. However, their rights were called into question by the Viscount of Châteaudun at the end of the 12th century: the documents preserved recount the many conflicts that ended in 1218 with the excommunication of the Viscount. Each conflict was resolved after bitter negotiations.

The commandery passed into the hands of the Hospitallers after 1312 and the dissolution of the Order of the Temple. Its administrative importance decreased in favor of the House of Sours belonging to the same bailiwick of Chartres.

Reported to be in poor condition as early as 1495, the commandery saw its buildings modified during the following century to take the appearance of a real manor house with towers and dovecote. The hospitaliers reduced their presence on the site and delegated its management to private individuals in return for the payment of a “farm” rent. In addition to its change in appearance, the site seems to accommodate a horse breeding activity with the presence of vast stables reported in 1694-1695.

The commandery was divided into several lots during the Revolution and occupied by several families: only a vast main building was destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century, the other buildings being simply adapted to the needs of their occupants. The porch was bought by the commune of Arville to house the town hall in 1876. An intermunicipal syndicate bought the various buildings in 1983 and proceeded to restore them. In 1999, an interpretation center dedicated to the Knights Templar and the Crusades opened to the public.

The good state of conservation of Arville allows us to understand the way a Templar and hospital commandery functioned.

The site preserves a large part of the walls that made up its enclosure. The access portal, of Templar foundation with its blocks of Grison stone, was augmented in the 16th century by a pavilion and two towers with brick decoration and Renaissance lantern roofs. The vast courtyard gives a view of all the buildings constituting a commandery. The 12th-century church of Notre Dame is the indispensable chapel of the Templars: it was used for daily masses and prayers, as well as for the reception of new recruits and as the village parish church.

The vast buildings now occupied by the interpretation center, which was rebuilt in the 16th and 17th centuries, housed vast stables for sixty horses as well as rare lodgings. The barn, with its vast volume and beautiful frame, allowed the storage of harvests, taxes and taxes in kind such as the tithe or the champart. A vast dovecote provided food and fertilizer for the commandery while affirming the symbolic aspect of this center of power.

The Arville Commandery offers visitors a striking evocation of the history of the Knights Templar and the Crusades through its interpretation center. A rich program offers guided and thematic tours, workshops for children and adults, medieval festivities and many other activities all year round. An accommodation center located near the site welcomes families, school groups and adult groups throughout the year.