Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: mermaids

Wilfred the Hairy (aka Guifré el Pilós), whom we just "met" as the founder of the nearby monastery in Sant Joan de les Abadesses, where his daughter Emma of Barcelona was the first abbess, founded the Monastery of Santa Maria in Ripoll in 879. Here his son Radulf de Barcelona was abbot. This was not only Wilfred´s family business, he was very succesful in the political power game of that time. The first church was consecrated in 888, but as the monastery grew it was "reconsecrated" in 935, 977 and 1032. When Oliba de Besalú, as well a descendent of Wilfred, was abbot here (1008 - 1046), this was a cultural center. More than 250 books were on the shelves of the monastery´s library. The church was the burial place for the Counts of Besalú and Barcelona. Still today many tombs can be found in the transept, including that one of Wilfred the Hairy. The decline started within the 15th century. In 1428 it was severely damaged by an earthquake, the restoration was done in Gothic style. The church got ruined the first Carlist War, the library burnt down, the last monks had left. In 1847 part of the cloister and soon after, the abbot´s palace got demolished. The Bishop of Vic organized the rebuilding, so that the church got consecrated again in 1893. The church of today is vastly a product of the reconstruction of th 19th century, but it may be "near" to the romanesque structure. The cloister got reconstructed end of the 19th century as well, but as only a part of it had been demolished, it still contains a lot of the original structure. The construction of the ground floor started 1180 and it took to the the early 15th century to complete it. The second floor dates to the 15th and 16th century. Some of the capitals are sculptured by Jordi de Déu (aka Jordi Johan). Jordi de Déu (+1418), born on the island of Sicily, with greek roots, was sold as a slave to catalan master carver Jaume Cascalls, who taught him sculpture. The mermaid and the monkey (to the right) have a little smalltalk. Since about 800 years..

Wilfred the Hairy (aka Guifré el Pilós), whom we just "met" as the founder of the nearby monastery in Sant Joan de les Abadesses, where his daughter Emma of Barcelona was the first abbess, founded the Monastery of Santa Maria in Ripoll in 879. Here his son Radulf de Barcelona was abbot. This was not only Wilfred´s family business, he was very succesful in the political power game of that time. The first church was consecrated in 888, but as the monastery grew it was "reconsecrated" in 935, 977 and 1032. When Oliba de Besalú, as well a descendent of Wilfred, was abbot here (1008 - 1046), this was a cultural center. More than 250 books were on the shelves of the monastery´s library. The church was the burial place for the Counts of Besalú and Barcelona. Still today many tombs can be found in the transept, including that one of Wilfred the Hairy. The decline started within the 15th century. In 1428 it was severely damaged by an earthquake, the restoration was done in Gothic style. The church got ruined the first Carlist War, the library burnt down, the last monks had left. In 1847 part of the cloister and soon after, the abbot´s palace got demolished. The Bishop of Vic organized the rebuilding, so that the church got consecrated again in 1893. The church of today is vastly a product of the reconstruction of th 19th century, but it may be "near" to the romanesque structure. The cloister got reconstructed end of the 19th century as well, but as only a part of it had been demolished, it still contains a lot of the original structure. The construction of the ground floor started 1180 and it took to the the early 15th century to complete it. The second floor dates to the 15th and 16th century. Some of the capitals are sculptured by Jordi de Déu (aka Jordi Johan). Jordi de Déu (+1418), born on the island of Sicily, with greek roots, was sold as a slave to catalan master carver Jaume Cascalls, who taught him sculpture. These damaged romanesque capitals depict mermaids and monkeys. The monkeys seem to stand in water (waves).

An oratorium here is recorded already in 996. Count Guifred Cabreta, grandson of Wilfred the Hairy (a person I was interested in since ages. We will "meet" him later) donated land and funds for the erection of a monastery in atonement for the murder of his own son. The abbey was built around the older oratorium and already 1009 a church was consecrated and dedicated to Saint Martin by the Bishop of Elne, who was Count Guifred´s brother. In the document a monk named Sclua is mentioned as the builder. Sclua may have been, what was later called an architect. In 1012 the relics of Saint Gauderique were transferred to Saint-Martin, adding importance to the place. Following a medievial tradition (eg William of Gellone, Bernard II, Lord of Lippe) Count Guifried later left his wife, quit his worldy (sinful) life and entered the Benedictian convent here as a monk. He died at this monastery in 1049. Shortly after that the importance of the monastery dwindeled dramatically. An earthquake ruined the monastery in 1428. The rebuilding took decades. The small, remote convent was later threatend by food-shortage as well as by gangs of smugglers and raiders, who filled the frontier area with terror, the monastery was secularized. In 1781 the last five monks and the abbot left the buildings. The complex fell into disrepair and were used as a stone quarry by local home-builders. In 1902 the bishop of Elne and Perpignan bought the ruins and started a pretty radical restauration. Some buildings were even added, to accomodate visitors. In 1922 a number of capitals could be bought back, that had once belonged to the cloister and "got lost" after the French Revolution. Even if this is not "original" in many aspects, even if it may "lack some character", like some authors wrote, it is a wonderful complex, and as Marcel Durliat wrote, a church "premier art roman méridional", as it is older than most of the other romanesque buildings in Southern France. As sirens (seen on the previous upload) often team up with mermaids, it is no wonder, that mermaids are here. The damage here is even worse, compared to the siren-capital, but mermaids somehow trigger heavy vandalism.