Parthenay-le-Vieux - Saint-Pierre

Gédouin and Ebo, Seigneurs of Parthenay, invited the monks from "La Chaise-Dieu" in the Auvergne (some 500kms south east), to establish a priory here in 1092. The parish church, that had existed here already before, got replaced then by the church seen now in the early 11th century. Despite the monks roots in the Auvergne the facade is done in the style, common to the area, so they obviously employed master builders with regional experiences.

Meanwhile the priory is out of existence since centuries. The church and the remaining buildings are privately owned, but the church is not locked! Merci beaucoup!

The left blind arch of the facade. Samson tears the lion apart.

Though the stature is damaged and weathered it is still very "dynamic". Nice examples for the "style saintongue" (also named "poitevine", as it can be found all over the Poitou) are the foliage-archivolts and the strings of similar/identical icons. Over the corbels are carved blocks. Each block has up to six identical "fox-heads".

One of the capitals (left) has a nice hunting centaur.