The abbey of La Sauve Majeure was founded in 1079 by the Benedictine Gérard de Corbie (later to become St Gérard) and became a feudal powerbase, establishing many priories as far afield as Spain and England. Monastic life was abandoned in the 16C, started again in the 17C and finally ceased during the French Revolution. The 12C abbey, representative of the Romanesque Saintonge style, illustrates the transition from Romanesque to Gothic and has retained some magnificent capitals in the right-hand bay of the chancel.