Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Malebete

The church once belonged to an Augustinian canonry, founded in the second half of the 11th century and elevated to the status of an abbey in the 14th century. In 1371, during the Hundred Years' War, the church suffered extensive damage. At the end of the 16th century, during the Huguenot Wars, the monastery buildings and parts of the church were destroyed. After the dissolution of the abbey in 1791, the former abbey church was used as a parish church. On top of the gable of the west facade is the sculpture of a bear ("La Malebête") dating back to the 12th century. The name Malebête goes back to a legend according to which, in the Middle Ages, a monster threatened the inhabitants of Angles until a hermit caught and tamed it. However, the young girls made fun of the hermit, who took revenge by making the beast climb onto the roof of the church and turn it to stone, cursing it to make all the girls it saw ugly.