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Wise Pilgrim APPThe Chapelle de Caubin is a 12th-century Romanesque chapel on the outskirts of Arthez-de-Bearn, and it's one of the more evocative stops on this stretch. Built by order of Gaston IV le Croise, Viscount of Bearn, the chapel was part of a commanderie of the Hospitallers of Saint-Jean de Jerusalem -- the most important commanderie of the Order in all of Bearn.
The architecture is distinctive: an almost flat roof (rare in Bearn), a simple single-nave plan, a sculpted portal, and a bell-tower wall. Inside, a Gothic enfeu (funerary niche) in Flamboyant Gothic style contains the effigy of a 14th-century knight, finely sculpted in chainmail with a sword at his side.
Montgomery's Protestant forces destroyed the hospital on August 15, 1569. An association was created in 1966 to save what remained, and restoration was completed in 1974. Classified as a Historic Monument. Guided tours available seasonally.
Since its foundation around 1154, the hospital of Caubin was the most important commanderie of the Order of Malta in Bearn, welcoming pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostela. By the mid-16th century it was the sole official stronghold of the Order in the region. The destruction in 1569 was part of Montgomery's systematic sweep through Bearn on orders from Jeanne d'Albret -- the same campaign that devastated Pimbo, Larreule, and Sauvelade.
