Châtel-Montagne - Notre-Dame

In 1082 some Seigneur Dalmas and his wife Étiennette gave all the properties they owned in "Castrumin Montanis", including a church, to Cluny. This legal act was important enough to get an official approval from Pope Urban II in 1095.

A priory was set up - and a small church was erected. Parts of this church can still be found in the church seen here, built 1100 - 1200. The priory never really flourished, the community of monks was small - and already from 1462 on, the church was used as a parish church.

The church is quite large for a remote village of a population well under 500 (today). When it was planned during the boom of pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella, Châtel-Montagne was ideally placed on one of the many "Chemin de St-Jacques" in France.

As seen already, not only the architectoral structure is built from granite, the carved capitals are carved from this extrem hard stone as well. So they cannot be that fine and detailled as sandstone-carvings can be. They do have a certain kind of roughness.

The same capital as seen before, now seen from right.

A donkey, a beast of burden, for sure pretty often to be seen, when this church was erected, as all stones had to be carried up the mountain. As well many pilgrims used to travel with donkeys on their way to Santiago, as many old "horseshoe graffitis" on "Hospice des pélerins" prove.

Donkeys are known for their capabilities, but as well have quite a reputation for stubbornness. This one is stubborn.

We have seen (on the left side of the capital), that one person on the left was pulling the donkeys tail. Here we see the head and the arm of somebody who is pulling on a rope, the donkey has around the neck. And we see, that this is a jenny, as there is a foal.