Notre-Dame-de-Prouille Monastery

The Monastery of Notre-Dame-de-Prouille or Prouilhe, is the "cradle of the Dominicans", where the first Dominican house, a monastery of nuns, was founded in late 1206 or early 1207. It is located in a hamlet in Languedoc, France, lying between Fanjeaux and Bram, at the point where the road from Castelnaudary to Limoux crosses the road from Bram to Mirepoix.

In the early 13th century, Prouille was a decayed village, a fortified enclosure with a few buildings surrounding a crumbling church attached to the parish of Fanjeaux. Diego de Acebo, Bishop of Osma, and his canon, Dominic Gúzman, established themselves at Prouille, deep in Cathar country, in late 1206. Bishop Foulques of Toulouse allowed them to use the church, and, more important, Guillaume and Raymonde Claret of Prouille gave themselves and their cottage.