Situated in the heart of the former canonical quarter, the cloister bears witness to the importance of the chapter. This community of canons, who elected the bishop, was a rich and influential collective seigneury. Originally made up of four galleries surrounding a garden, it was an enclosed space devoted to meditation and even burial for the canons. The Gothic galleries were rib-vaulted and decorated with hooked or foliate capitals. The bays overlooking the garden had infills that were still visible at the beginning of the 19th century. The south gallery floor was occupied by the tithe storehouse; the east gallery floor (rebuilt in 1748) by the chapter library.
During the Revolution, two of the four galleries were destroyed; after changing use several times, it was used as a primary school until 1980. Following major restoration work, the Marcel Arland municipal library moved in in 1987.
Since 1991, the courtyard has been the setting for a contemporary work by François Bouillon: "Y d'If". Like a reliquary from another time, the central shaft contains a piece of yew in the shape of a "Y"; this letter, where three directions converge, can symbolise the Trinity or purity. The spiral evoking infinity is punctuated by an increasing number of "Ys" as you move away from the centre.
Cloître de la Cathédrale
