sport life: Amazing Pilgrimage Churches

Saint Trophime, Arles, France

This important pilgrimage church was the starting point of the so-called Via Tolosa, the route that led from Arles to Toulouse (Saint Sernin) with the final destination being Santiago de Compostela. "This road was taken by pilgrims coming from Italy, Switzerland or Central Europe, as well as the "Romieux" who, after Rome, were going to Compostela, or vice versa. They had come after crossing the Alps at Montgenèvre Pass, or by the road along the Ligurian coast" (Roux 77). According to Alan Borg, the earliest church at this site was probably a 9th century Carolingian church dedicated to Saint Stephen but by 972 the relics of Saint Trophimus had been deposited in the church. By the beginning of the 12th century the church was dedicated and named solely for that first bishop of Arles. The impressive facade of the existing church, dated at about 1170-80, shows the influence of classical antiquity, particularly in its gable, classical columnar forms, statues with Roman solidity (albeit a bit squatty), and architectural details--fluted pilasters, classical moldings, and variations of Corinthian capitals. This is not surprising, given the fact that Arles was an important Roman city with Roman monuments that survive even today

Front facade

The crossing tower

Decorative sculpture on the gable

Cloister
Conant describes this cloister as one of the finest in France" (256). This very large cloister has both Romanesque and Gothic sections, the former constructed during the second quarter of the 12th century (the northern gallery) and in the late 12th and early 13th centuries (the eastern gallery), the latter not built until the 1380s and 1390s--the southern and western galleries.

The lintel and the voussoirs

Front facade: reliefs of the Last Judgment

Front facade: reliefs of the birth and nativity of Jesus

Saints on the front facade

Bases to the columns on the front facade

Views of the interior

Sainte Foy, Conques, France

The abbey church, which has survived intact in its Romanesque form, is located in the town of Conques, from the Latin concha, meaning a shell (appropriate because the town is nestled in a gorge or hollow). This site was attractive as a retreat from the outside word to the early medieval founders of the abbey. Originally, in the 8th century there was a simple oratory at the site, but once the relics of Sainte Foy were in possession there (a Benedictine monk had stolen them from a monastery at Agen) in 866 and 883, the site was expanded. In the 11th century a new church was begun which was completed by the mid 12th century. This Romanesque pilgrimage church became a major stage on the Via Podiensis, the route between Le Puy and Moissac--one of the main pilgrimage roads to Santiago de Compostela.

The site became famous because it housed the relics of Sainte Foy, the daughter of a wealthy family in Agen who had converted to Christianity and thus refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods. In one of the last persecutions of Christians by the Romans, in 303 the proconsul Dacien condemned this 12-year old girl to be burned alive according to the imperial edict of Diocletian. Although the flames were "miraculously" extinguished, the young martyr was then beheaded. Her remains were saved and in later years miracles were attributed to their presence. Once the relics were situated at Conques, they attracted many pilgrims; stories of the blind seeing again or prisoners being freed are attributed to the saint's intercession. (The depiction of Sainte Foy on the tympanum of the church includes shackles hanging above her figure as a way of emphasizing these miracles.) Today in the Treasury of the church one can see some of the most fabulous golden religious objects in France, including the very famous gold and jewel-encrusted reliquary statue of St. Foy.

The golden treasure

Charlemagne's A

Pépin's shrine

Bégon's lantern

Reliquary of Pope Pascal II

Arm of Saint Georges

Processional Cross

Views of the exterior--excluding the apse

Views of the apse exterior

General views of the tympanum

Tympanum: views of Heaven

Tympanum: views of Hell

Interior: views of nave and side aisles

Interior: views of apse, choir, transepts, and ambulatory

Saint-Gilles-du-Gard

This important pilgrimage church was on the so-called Via Tolosa, the route that led from Arles to Toulouse (Saint Sernin) with the final destination being Santiago de Compostela. "This road was taken by pilgrims coming from Italy, Switzerland or Central Europe, as well as the "Romieux" who, after Rome, were going to Compostela, or vice versa. They had come after crossing the Alps at Montgenèvre Pass, or by the road along the Ligurian coast" (Roux 77). This route was, however, also known as the Via Aegidiana--an indication of the importance of the shrine to Saint Gilles (Aegidius in Latin).

A major building campaign began in 1116 to build the crypt in the "lower" church. This area with the shrine to Saint Gilles was the important site for pilgrims, although the facade, begun later, is notable for the most spectacular ensemble of sculpture. Carra Ferguson O'Meara claims that the "richness and complexity of its architectural and sculptural composition rivals that of the west portals of the cathedral of Chartres and of the abbey church of Saint-Denis. . ." (2). Unfortunately, much of this decoration was mutilated during the religious wars of the sixteenth century. A number of sculptors (6-8 and their assistants?) no doubt carved the ensemble on the facade, evident in part because their styles vary widely. (See Stoddard for details.) Stoddard dates this project as early as the late 1120s although other scholars have posited dates in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

This church, influenced by the Roman architecture and sculpture in the area as well as early Christian sculpture (some now in the Arles museum), was also influential on other buildings, most notably St. Trophime, the stop before Saint-Gilles on the Via Tolosa.

Views of the tympana