Melle - Saint-Hilaire

Melle was known already during Roman times, when silver and lead were mined here. The silver mines were exploited over hundreds of years, got forgotten and "rediscovered" in the 19th century. Today they are a tourist attraction. Melle was wealthy and the pilgrims, walking the Via Turonensis, passed through Melle on their way to Santiago, what brought even more money into town.

Churches were erected during the heydays of the pilgrimage- and three (!) Romanesque churches can still be found here.

Saint-Hilaire de Melle was the church of a priory, a dependency of the important Benedictian abbey in Saint-Jean-d’Angély. It was built on the bank of the Beronne river. The eastern part (apse, the radiating chapels and transept) were built in the first half of the 12th century, while the nave and the western portals may be some decades younger.

The northern portal of Saint-Hilaire. While the archivolts are very mutilated and weathered, the equestrian statue above them is very complete.

One of the horse´s legs and a foot of the horseman are lost, what is uncommon after centuries of wars and revolutions. Equestrian statues were not uncommon in the area, but what can be seen here, is the result of a reconstruction from 1872.

A small person is sitting on the ground - and - though the horse´s leg is lost, the joint makes clear, that the hoof once was exactly over the head of the sitting guy.

Who is the horseman? Most historians see Constantine the Great, triumphing over heathenism. This statue was placed here and was admired by many thousands of pilgrims on their way to Santiago.

Some equestrian statues further south (eg Oloron St. Marie) are seen as St. Jaques ("Matamoro"), supporting the Reconquista, Constantine the Great defeating heathenism must be seen in the same historical context.