Today's medieval church is the famous Cluniac Abbey of St. Peter in Moissac, France. The church was consecrated in 1063 and the cloister c...
As French villages go, they don’t get much smaller than Prunet-et-Belpuig, which tops out with a population of 59. As the name indicates, the town is a combination of two adjacent villages; P…
Que faire pour un séjour nature en Lozère ? Des Gorges du Tarn en canoë aux villages pittoresques des Cévennes, de l'Aubrac aux loups du Gévaudan.
every house needs a pigeonnier! -- le Lot, France
Sainte-Marie, Souillac
Pigeonnier at Château de Mayragues, Tarn Pigeonniers, or dovecots, mark the landscape here in SW France. Our walk this week took us past several fine examples and whetted my appetite to find o…
On an arid hilltop 2000 feet up in the region of the sacred Mont Canigou, there was a small 11th century parish church dedicated to Our Lady that served what could only have been the tiniest of com…
After the wonders of Moissac, I drove back North 125 kilometers to the small town of Souillac, back in the département of Lot but still in the old province of Quercy (and in the modern region of Occitania). According to unconfirmed local stories, the abbey of Souillac was founded by Saint Éloi († 660) before it was taken over by the Benedictines from Aurillac in the 900s. From that period, only the Western tower-porch remains. Less famous than Moissac, this abbey was, for me, at least as interesting, beginning with the church, which has not been altogether transformed in the Gothic style like in Moissac, but retains its beauty and genuineness from the 1100s, as I hope you will see through the photos I will upload. Sculpture is also at least as amazing at that of Moissac, and even more so in some respects —and it is in much better condition, for reasons that we will explore together as I caption the relevant photos. Listed as a Historic Landmark on the first list of 1840, the abbey is not on the path to Compostela and was never known for housing any particularly famous relics, which is why the church, dedicated to Saint Mary, has no ambulatory around the choir. I was very nicely received in Souillac by the local authorities as the photos I took contributed to the documentation of the nationwide crowdfunding project that is in place to restore parts of the church, under the ægis of the Fondation du Patrimoine (Mission Bern), for which I work as a pro bono photographer: www.fondation-patrimoine.org/les-projets/abbatiale-sainte.... This is one of the most remarkable pieces of sculpture in Souillac. This small capital features two naked women with two dragon-like monsters: a representation of Lust, no doubt. However, note how kind and tamed the monsters look, with their nice doggy faces... The women’s hands seem to be exploring their mouths rather than being bitten, while the other hands rest rather lovingly on the beasts’ chests... and look at the woman on the right, see how impish and mischievous she looks, with her cute little smile? A very interesting way to depict the capital sin that was Lust indeed...! ;o)
A small templar church in the village of Courteix. This village depended from a templar Commanderie and contains the grave of a knight. It dates back from the 12th century.
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Dedicated to Saint Peter and located on the path to Compostela (and therefore a UNESCO World Heritage site), the Benedictine abbey of Moissac was founded in the 700s. According to legend, it was founded even earlier, in 506, by the freshly converted Clovis, King of the Franks, but there is no historical evidence that this ever happened. Affiliated to Cluny from 1047, it became the most powerful monastery of southwestern France and numbered over 1,000 monks —most likely including lay brothers, though. There is so much to say about the abbey of Moissac that I will, for the most part, refer my readers to the many lengthy internet pages that describe it, not to mention of course the Quercy roman book by Zodiaque. The most famous parts are the stunning tympanum, the iconic statue of Saint Jeremy and the Year 1100 cloister with its 7- capitals, most of them historied. All of those are masterpieces fo Romanesque art and known worldwide. The abbey was on the very first list of Historic Landmarks in 1840. It is an absolute must-see for all people interested in the Middle Ages, and we will devote quite a few days to its visit. Still under the southern porch, this is a detail of the relief showing Lust as a scrawny naked woman whose vulva and breasts are being bitten by monsters. She is being propositioned by some diabolical creature, probably a satyr. Located outside the abbey church, and therefore visible to all who passed nearby, this was meant to be educational and scare people away from sinning...
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And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them si…
This morning I was checking the statistics of this blog when I noticed an interesting search term that someone used to find Via Lucis. The Google search entry read “Joseph Raaymakers”. …
If anyone reads the medieval history of the Catalan region, the name Wilfrid the Hairy always comes to the fore. His main achievement as Count of Cerdanya, Urgell, Girona, Ausona, Besalú, and Barce…
And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them si…
(Updated Apr 2024) Long ago in the 11th century, monks built a monastery in a clearing near the Dordogne River. A village developed around the abbey, a château was built and high walls protected the occupants. Today, this village known as Carennac is classified among France’s 'most beautiful'. Learn where to stay, what to see
Merci à tous pour votre visite et vos commentaires.
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The south porch relief sculpture at Moissac is one of the most sublime achievements of Romanesque art.
Visit the cloister, the church and remarkable tympanum, the cobbled streets...
Une approche contemporaine de l'art roman et des images romanes.
Torenhoge kliffen boven je, een in de rotsen uitgehakt pad, het kabbelende water van de rivier, en leuke sluisjes waar altijd wat te beleven valt: loop
There are many churches in France that we admire and appreciate, but there are a few that we love. The Basilique Sainte Madeleine in Vézelay, Notre Dame la Grande in Poitiers, and Sainte Marie de S…
Many scholars believe that the origins of the Romanesque style are found in the French department of the Pyrénées-Orientales, part of ancient Catalonia. The abbey churches at Saint Martin-du-Canigo…
As French villages go, they don’t get much smaller than Prunet-et-Belpuig, which tops out with a population of 59. As the name indicates, the town is a combination of two adjacent villages; P…
Christian monastic churches were often found in the most remote and inaccessible areas, partly because of the early Christian hermits and their monasteries. One only has to look at the Cenobic mona…
