Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: aries

"Saint-Pierre d'Aulnay" is a church outside of Aulnay, in the center of an old graveyard. The setting has not changed for centuries. For the pilgrims of the 12th century this church was a major halt - and it still is for all the tourists... A predecessing church „Saint-Pierre-de-la-Tour“ had been here, that, when the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella got more and more popular, was obviously too small, as Aulnay was conveniently situated between Poitiers and Saintes on the Via Turonensis. A new, larger church was needed, so the place was handed over to the chapter of the cathedral in Poitiers. The canons then probably planned this church, that was erected from about 1130/1140 on. "Saint-Pierre d'Aulnay" (here seen from east) is a gem of the "style saintongeais". For Peter Strafford ("Romanesque Churches Of France") this is "one of the best examples of late Romanesque architecture in what used to be Aquitaine". - After having found many "similarities" between Saint-Peter and the church in nearby Salles-lès-Aulnay - I had the impression, that I had seen this portal of the western facade "somewhere else". At that day I could not remember, but some days later I walked through Fenioux - and found it. So I´ll add some more details. Here "Aries" - I have uploaded many photos already taken during previous visits. So I will now add only a few.

Saint Miguel is tightly connected to Saint Mary of Eunate (8 kms west) and it is as enigmatic. There are many theories centered around these two churches. The portal of San Miguel is very similar to the portal of Saint Mary of Eunate, but mirror inverted. Here a nicely carved capital of the portal, depicting the portrait of a man with a very strange beard. Somebody could not stand the look and so destroyed the eyes and the nose. He did not touch the spirals of the beard. The information given in Olcoz prefers the theory that the carvings of Olcoz and Eunate should be seen as a calender. Following this, the carving seen here stands for ARIES. I actually doubt that.

Notre-Dame de Surgères was erected in the center of a large castle in the 12th century. The fortification, founded in the 9th century as a motte, when the area was raided by the Vikings, then guarded the border of the historical province of Aunis once. When the church was built a small town had developed around the defence already. Later a small priory and a "hopital" existed, as this was a halt on the Via Turonensis. The pilgrims had a lot to gape here, the facade is stunning 23 meters wide. Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry II of England in 1152, so the area changed hands and was ruled by the House of Plantagenet. During the Hundred Years' War Surgères experienced a long period of decline. Louis XI´s troops conquered the town in 1472 and the fortifications got destructed. During that time Notre Dame lost the tower and large parts of the nave, but not the facade! Six blind arches once flanked the door, five arches above them on "the second floor". There are more than 100 capitals and corbels all over the facade. This seems to be a medieval encyclopedia. The frieze, depicting dwarfs, fiddling with a vine, runs all over the 26 meters of the facade. Unfortunately most "stories", once were connected to the carvings are lost. A man fighs a giant snake to the left . The snake attacks the fighter from behind. The large crab may be a sign of the zodiac (cancer). A ram between the fighter and the crab. Maybe the ram is aries. Or capricorn, the horned goat. But who then is the snake-fighter?