Aulnay - Saint-Pierre

"Saint-Pierre d'Aulnay" is a church outside of Aulnay, in the center of an old graveyard. The setting has not changed for centuries. For the pilgrims of the 12th century this church was a major halt - and it still is for all the tourists...

A predecessing church „Saint-Pierre-de-la-Tour“ had been here, that, when the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella got more and more popular, was obviously to small, as Aulnay was conveniently situated between Poitiers and Saintes on the Via Turonensis. A new, larger church was needed, so the place was handed over to the chapter of the cathedral in Poitiers. The canons then probably planned this church, that was erected from about 1130/1140 on.

"Saint-Pierre d'Aulnay" is a gem of the "style saintongeais". For Peter Strafford ("Romanesque Churches Of France") this is "one of the best examples of late Romanesque architecture in what used to be Aquitaine".

This capital - for me - is the most interesting in Aulnay, as three elephants have gathered around the capital. Decades ago during my first year at university I wrote an essay on "Medieval Elephants".

The first elephant, who is recorded in Europe (after Roman times), was Abul Abbas, presented to Charlemagne by Harun al-Rashid. Abul Abbas reached Aix-la-Chapelle in 802.

The second elephant, recorded in medieval times, was the Cremona-elephant, a present from Al Kamil to Frederik II in 1229.

There was no elephant in Europe between 810 and 1229. This carving is based on a myth about a giant animal living "somewhere". To tell the onlookers, what was to be seen, it got an inscription: "Hi(c) sunt elephan(tes)".

The elephants here have tiny ears and very "uncommon" feet, but otherwsie they are pretty "precise".

In case you want to see more medieval elephants, just follow the links:

www.flickr.com/photos/martin-m-miles/sets/72157627646092224/

www.flickr.com/photos/martin-m-miles/galleries/page2/