Juziers - Saint-Michel

Liutgarde of Vermandois, daughter of (Carolingian) Herbert II, widow of William I of Normandy (aka "William Longsword", "Guillaume Longue-Épée") and spouse of Theobald I (aka "Theobald the Trickster", "Thibaud le Tricheur"), donated her property at Gesiacum (= Juziers) including the existing church to the Abbey of Saint-Pierre in Chartres in 978. Soon after Comtesse Luitgarde died and the monks established a priory here.

Within the 11th century the nave of Saint-Michel got erected. The choir got added about a century later.

During the Wars of Religion the buildings burnt down, but a rebuilding process started again. It started to crumble again. After the Revolution the priory did not exist any longer. For a while the church was used as an "atelier de salpêtre", what meant high explosives were stored and handled here. Some poor restoration had been done in the early years of the 19th century, before Prosper Mérimée added the building to the lists of "Monuments Historiques" in 1850.

The very knowledgeable, friendly lady gave us a great tour and even switched the light on.

Here is the early Gothic chevet, erected around 1150 - and up to the French Revolution reserved strictly for the monks of the priory.

The lower level consists of blind arcades topped by a large window within each section of the wall. The second level has added a blind triforium with a passageway that encircles the apse. The chevet has tall colonnettes that reach up from the floor with vaults springing at the base of the clerestory. The clerestory contains a single lancet window within each section, smaller than those of the first level.