Rosheim - Saints-Pierre-et-Paul

The construction of the "Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul", using the local pinkish sandstone, started around 1150. The gothic-style crossing tower was added around 1300. The basilica-sytle church has the classical layout of a latin cross and is known for the carvings. Though some of these got damaged during the French Revolution, most of them are still in place.

Size and the quality of some of them is really breathtaking. The architecture of this church is sometimes compared with a medieaval reliquary-shrine - and there are analogies indeed, but I see parallels as well to churches in the Lombardy.

When in 1622 a troop of mercenaries led by Peter von Mansfeld burnt down the whole village of Rosheim, this building was the only one, that survived. A legends tell, that it was defended by angels.

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I wrote this when I uploaded photos I took in in autumn 2010. Now in spring 2011 I just had to return to Rosheim - and the see same church again under a different light. This time I had more time and so I found some details I had not seen before.

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There is a certain type of male couples in medieval art, called "beardpullers" as that is what they normally do. These two gentlemen, having parted their long hair nicely down the middle, wear elegant moustaches, so the "traditional" beard-pulling is not possible for them. So they become "chin-pullers".
The head of the right person is larger. They seem very static. The pulling seems to be a ritual or are they just waiting patiently in this specific gesture for the carver to finish his work. I am sure, that there is a certain meaning in beard- or chin-pulling, but so far I have no clue.