cloître de la Psalette

The Cloître de la Psalette is a Gothic and Renaissance cloister attached to Saint-Gatien Cathedral in Tours, in the Indre-et-Loire department of central France. Tucked between rue Lavoisier and rue de la Psalette, it is one of the quieter but most authentic corners of the city's historic centre, easy to combine with a visit to the cathedral next door.

What does the name "Psalette" mean?

The name comes from a choir school that once operated alongside the cathedral, where young boys were trained to sing psalms as part of their religious and musical education — hence "psalette." The site's roots go back much further than the current buildings: from the early Middle Ages, between the 5th and 10th centuries, the cloister already served as the working space of the cathedral's canons, the assembly of clergy responsible for running the church.

When were the current buildings constructed?

What visitors see today dates mainly from the 15th and 16th centuries. Construction began under the patronage of Archbishop Jean de Bernard and was completed in the following century, producing a building that blends late Gothic forms with early Renaissance details — a combination that makes the Psalette a useful reference point for tracing the shift between the two styles in the Loire Valley.

How is the cloister laid out?

The complex is organised around a central courtyard on a quadrangular plan, enclosed by three vaulted galleries:

• the west gallery, with eight bays on the ground floor and seven on the upper level
• the north gallery, with ten bays
• the east gallery, with five bays

At the north-eastern corner stands a spiral staircase leading up to a small chapel, a section considered a particularly refined example of Renaissance architecture in the region.

What was the chapter library used for?

Before it became a library, the space served as the scriptorium of the cathedral chapter, where canons copied manuscripts by hand. By the Renaissance, this had grown into one of the most highly regarded libraries in the kingdom of France. The former library room is the largest space open to visitors today: seven bays covered by vaults with richly carved decorative keystones. Part of the original manuscript collection assembled by the Saint-Gatien chapter still survives and is now held at the municipal library of Tours.

What happened to the chapter after the French Revolution?

The cathedral chapter — the community of canons that had run the cloister and its library for centuries — was dissolved in 1793 during the French Revolution. The library's holdings were scattered in the same period; some volumes eventually entered public collections, while others were lost.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Cloître de la Psalette located? It stands directly against Saint-Gatien Cathedral in Tours, in the Indre-et-Loire department, between rue Lavoisier and rue de la Psalette.

Why is it called "Psalette"? The name recalls the choir school once attached to the cathedral, where boys learned to sing psalms.

From which period do the current buildings date? Most of the standing structure was built between the 15th and 16th centuries, funded by Archbishop Jean de Bernard, and mixes Gothic and Renaissance elements.

What is the highlight of a visit? The former chapter library, with its seven vaulted bays and carved keystones, along with the spiral staircase beside the chapel in the north-eastern corner.

Do any of the original manuscripts survive? Yes — part of the chapter's manuscript collection is preserved today at the municipal library of Tours.