medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: Marjorie Greene <[log in to unmask]>
> I shall keep an eye out for misericords as I travel in eastern France in May
'09.
Amiens has quite extensive and nice ones, should you get that far north.
>Laon is our first stop. All points Romanesque,
don't forget the mid-12th c. Templar chapel (or "commandary"?) --not far from
the south east side of the cathedral, as best i recall.
>including Jouarre,
a bit early for "Romanesque"
or even "Proto-Romanesque."
>are candidates for a stop.
driving to/around Laon (i forget from whence or to where) i recall seeing
signs which direct the touristee to some sort of "Route des Eglises Gothique"
(or somesuchlike), a half dozen out-of-the-way places with very interesting
little churches.
the only one i can remember is St. Jean-aux-Bois, which i can't seem to find
on a map.
there is a *lot* more to a "style" like "Gothic" than the "Major Monuments,"
and which can only be appreciated by experiencing the "minor" ones.
if you're in Soissons, the ruined little church of St. Jean is just behind the
cathedral --nothing much left of it, unfortunately, save for a very, very
intertesting historicated capital frieze on the portal (mutilated and
blackened with soot --though, perhaps, cleaned up by now), the only survival
of the type outside of Chartres and Etampes.
this church was a male priory attached to the important convent of St. Mary
quite nearby, some very interesting ruins of which survive (look closely for
the Details!).
of course, as Eugène Lefevre-Pontalis proved
Lefèvre-Pontalis, Eugène Amédée, 1862-1923.
L'architecture religieuse dans l'ancien diocèse de Soissons au XIe et au XIIe
siècle
Paris, Plon, Nourrit, 1894-1896. 2 v.
the Soissonais was the true _berceau_ of the "Gothic" style (some weird people
actually believe that "Gothic" is the indigenous "Romanesque" of the region),
with a large number of Early experiments in this style.
down the Vesle from Soissons is Braine, a very important place with a quite
stunningly beautiful church in the High Gothic (a "classical moment") style of
the early 13th c. --including excellent and quite noble sculptural remains
which have stylistic connections with Laon [but watch for heavy "restorations"
there) and the Chartres transeepts.
c
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