Romanesque Church Hunt

Last year we visited Drome Provencale and Ardeche, but I did not post much after our return because I somehow ruined the memory card with all my photos. What a disaster! I could see the photos in the camera but my card reader would not recognize the “device”. My colleague at work, Arthur, volunteered to give it a try and he was able to rescue almost all of the “Churches of 2007″. Many of them were ones that I had wrote previews about before our trip.

I salute Arthur and amongst the many topics will now be some looks back at 2007. To clarify the “before” research and the “after” reports, I’m going to start labeling the posts as “Church Preview” and “Church Report 2007.” The previews will be all the information I am able to gather from here and there on the Internet about a specific church and town. The photos will often be uncredited ones that I found in obscure locations (note: I’m more than willing to credit any photo whose creator comes forth!). The “Church Reports” will be thoughts on actual visits to the churches and the photos will be mine.

An now, a photo from a church visit in 2007, thanks to Arthur!

The Prieure d’Aleyrac in Drome Provencale

I will post some more thoughts on this magnificent ruin in my next post.

Notre Dame of the Roare

Although a precise date of construction is not available for this chapel, its style is of the earliest type of Romanesque construction. In addition, historians of the church connect to it to Benedictine history–it is part of the order of Cluny and nearby churches were established in Pont St Esprit in 948. Notable in this small chapel is the stained glass which is an ancient copy of the even older original. It represents a pair of oxen with their Master, kneeling in front of a large roure (oak) in the hollow of which a Madonna is sheltered. This stained glass evokes a reason that this priory might have been constructed. Below is a re-telling of the legend.

The Legend
A ploughman cultivated his field bordered by an edge of old oak tree: Whenever the oxen arrived at the end of their furrow, close to the tree they knelt: astonished the ploughman excavated and in one of the hollows, found a statue of the Madonna. Overjoyed at the sight of this miraculous lucky find, he carried it to his village. But in the morning, the Madonna was back in the hollow of the oak. Several other villagers attempted to take it and it was again returned to its niche in the oak. It was decided that a sanctuary should be built in the shadow of miraculous oak. The statue remained within the Vault and so the chapel was named Notre Dame of Roure. (Our Lady of the Oak.)

Practical notes
At the tourist office, they say it is open from 4-5 in the summer, but it’s possible that might mean only July & August. There is a market on Monday mornings.

Below, the market in an old postcard.

This is a very curious little town. There’s not much out there on this town, but there is a homegrown site by the grandson of Eugene Martin, a famous Provencal writer.  The town has an old town, partially in ruins, on the top of the hill and the newer village is below.

Besides a romaneque church with a prominent bell tower, the writer also talks about two chapels that seem to be on the roads to-and-from the town. But the curious part is that I can’t really find very much information. But here’s what I’ve found — the chapels are very choice!

The church at the top of the village among the ruins:

And here’s an antique postcard of the ruins. I love finding these old cards because they are so evocative and also interesting to compare to the current condition. I think that we sometimes forget that not all of these structures were maintained since the 11th century! Many were ravaged in the the French revolution.

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Notre-Dame de Pitié or Notre Dame de Barquets (below)

This vault dedicated to Notre-Dame de Pitié, or of the seven pains, named formerly Notre-Dame of Baïsses, i.e. Our-lady of in bottom. It would have been built in X1e century. In 1710 it was restored and equipped with a bell-tower. It is located on the antique sees Roman: St Paul-3-Castles-Grignan. It would seem that this hamlet is populated since the Gallo-Roman time. Later it was named “Barquets” name of an inhabitant of the district. <>La chapelle Saint-Claude (below)

Located on an old Roman way connecting Orange РGrignan, road much used in the Middle Ages, skirting the river of Lez, a hotel trade was built there with the use of the carriers. However, the history reveals us, that a muleteer was assassinated there. The landlord gave up his residence; The muleteers to entreat misfortune and to preserve the memory of their fellow-member, built in this place a small oratory. This small vault (IX̩me century) was dedicated to St Claude which is their guard and their Saint. Very dilapidated, in 1940 it was skilfully restored.

Two kilometers outside of town ( on the D572 A) east of St-Michel chapel, on the are the ruins of the 12th-century Chapelle de Val-des-Nymphes. In Gallo-Roman days this spot was probably a pagan shrine, as the name implies.

The roof and arches of the single-aisled Romanesque chapel are gone, but it still retains its character.

The west front is remarkable; above simple wall surfaces – the arch of the doorway has keystones from a Roman building – the tympanum has three niches, separated by fluted pilasters with imitation Classical capitals. The arches which support the corner pilasters are later additions. Of interest is the articulation of the choir apse by blind arcades on two levels.At some point in the history of this ancient place, the populace lived in this valley but fled to the protection of the fortified village.

I’ve just discovered the most marvelous photo archive, The Merimee Patrimonial Archive of the Ministry of Culture. These photos are from that archive. I can hardly wait to see what else is available there.