Église de la commanderie de Carentoir (Saint-Jean-Baptiste du Temple)

Carentoir

The commandery of Carentoir was the principal Templar commandery in Brittany, exercising authority over many other houses of the order in the region. A charter dated 1182 attributes its foundation to Duke Conan IV, but the document is apocryphal since the duke had died in 1171: it was in all likelihood drawn up after the event by the Templars themselves to secure their rights. The church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste du Temple, which survives today, retains an original Romanesque arch separating the choir from the nave, as well as an exceedingly rare wooden effigy depicting a Templar knight. After the suppression of the order in 1312, the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem took over the site, which remained active until the Revolution. Local tradition relates that the Templars of Carentoir were massacred near an oak at the time of their arrest, rather than taken alive — a legend that still feeds the memory of the place.

Getting there : open to the public in summer

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound