Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: beard

Santa Cruz de Castañeda Santa Cruz de Castañeda was founded around the 10th century as a Cluniac Benedictine monastery. In the 12th century, it became a collegiate church run by canons of the Order of St Augustine. At that time, it was a royal domain, the dominion of which Alfonso XI ceded to his son Don Tello in the 14th century, who then passed it on to the Manrique family. In 1420, the church appears as the property of Doña Aldonza Téllez de Castilla and her husband García Fernández Manrique, Count of Castañeda from 1430. All that remains of the original monastery is the church, which was built in the 12th century in Romanesque style and whose appearance has been altered by additions and renovations. The church serves the parish since 1851 Corbels under thr roof

In 1040, the Count de la Marche and the Lord of Chabanais looted and burned down the abbey of Lesterps (Charente). Abbot Gaultier, who was absent during the incident, placed a complaint in Rome, so that the two criminals got excommunicated. In reparation, the Count de la Marche had to provide for the costs of rebuilding the abbey. The Lord of Chabanais had to donate land he owned at the time in Berry At this land, a church dedicated to Abbé Gaultier was built end of the 11th century for the priory that existed. The village, that developed was named as well after Abbé Gaultier, who died in 1070, and was canonized just three years later. Some unique carvings in the nave. The two guys obviously not only share a strange style wearing a beard but as well one arm.

Trani may have been founded by Greek settlers, but the known history starts late. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was dominated by Lombards, Byzantines, Saracens and again Byzantines. With the conquest of southern Italy by the Normans and after 50 days of siege by Robert Guiscard´s troops, Trani became part of the Norman Empire in 1073. Already under the Byzantines, Trani had become an important port for trade with the Orient. The heyday was in the time of the crusades in the 12th and 13th centuries, when crusaders and merchants mainly went to the Holy Land from Bari and Trani. It became an episcopal see in place of Canosa, destroyed by the Saracens. Frederick II promoted the Teutonic Knights and the Jewish community and built a massive castle. Under his rule, the city reached its highest point of wealth and prosperity. The construction of the "Cattedrale di Trani" began in 1099, over the earlier church of "Santa Maria della Scala", which went back to the 4th century. It is dedicated to "San Nicola Pellegrino". Bari had the relics of "Saint Nicholas of Myra". The Bishop of Trani could convince Pope Urban II to canonized a young pilgrim, who had died on his way to Jerusalem in Trani in 1094 from exhaustion. The new church was intended to house the relics of "Saint Nicholas the Pilgrim". Pina Belli d'Elia ("Puglia romanica") is sure, that this cathedral is the most important of all romanic buildings in Apulia. The building process started at the crypt. The "translatio corporis S. Nicolai ad novam Ecclediam" took place in 1142. As parts of the old church, dedicated to Virgin Mary, were maintained, the construction is pretty complex. The "Cattedrale di Trani" was completed around 1200, the construction of the campanile started by Nicolaus Sacerdos (see "Bitonto") and completed in the mid 14th century. In the 20th century the bell tower was in such a bad state, that it was completely dismantled and rebuilt in the 1950s to avoid it collapsing. The cathedral was built from white, local stones, that change the colour from white to yellowish and reddish, during the sunset. There are dozens of sculpted corbels under the transept´s roof. This person wears a very unusual beard - for sure formed by the steady wind blowing from the sea.

The church was founded around 1280as a private church by the Lord of Montauroux. Meanwhile it is the parish church of the small community. I found this very uncommon corbel. Does this guy suffer from a heavy form of mumps? Or is it a strange style of beard.

Saint-Haon is a village located southwest of Le Puy-en-Velay near the border to the Lozère. In its centre is the parish church from the 12th century with some nice corbels.

The church of the former Murbach Abbey was constructed around 1150 got consecrated 1216 and dedicated to Saint Léger. The naves got knocked down 1738, to give room for a baroque church, that never got built. Since 1760 it serves as a parish church, what did not prevent it from getting devasted by rioters during the French Revolution. So all that left is the transept - and the choir. The place of the former naves, behind the facade, is a cemetery today. The facade is impressive. The choir is "flat", following architecural traditions from Cluny and Hirsau. Some of the carvings are artistic and pretty extraordenary. The heads of real giants are used here as bases for the columns. The two "big-heads" are staring over the brink down onto the visitor. The eye-balls are bulged out - and they will follow all moves on the ground. They will keep an eye on you. For sure. Be cautious. Little higher is a relief of a very different face with a pretty receding hairline. An egghead? Anyway, he has a long, plaited beard.

The church of the former Murbach Abbey was constructed around 1150 got consecrated 1216 and dedicated to Saint Leger. The naves got knocked down 1738, to give room for a baroque church, that never got built. Since 1760 it serves as a parish church, what did not prevent it from getting devasted by rioters during the French Revolution. So all that left is the transept - and the choir. The place of the former naves, behind the facade, is a cemetery today. The facade is impressive. The choir is "flat", following architecural traditions from Cluny and Hirsau. Some of the carvings are artistic and pretty extraordenary. Up in the triangel are two carving depicting the "Holy Communion" and the "Sacrament of Penance". Below that are a number of arches. The capitels of the pillars are interesting, but not that special, but some of the bases are. This is the most "vibrant" of all the carvings seen in Murbach, from the same artist, whose work we saw before already. Here are two heads. The larger one in front consists out of a dynamique triangle. Here is not even a try to carve a "realistic" head. The head seen here can be compared to the sculptures european artists did in the early 20th century. There is a momentum of fast move, the lips and the chin are not centered under the nose, but "follow" this move of the head and seem to swing upwards. The sculpture juts out of the wall, and instead of a shoulder, the carver created a second, smaller head here. A bearded sober looking man, showing his teeth.

The construction of the church Saint-Léger (= Leodegar, Ludger) in Guebwiller started in 1182 and took about 100 years. The building, built from red local sandstone, is pretty huge and the style is between late romanesque and early gothic. I have the impression, that the architects of this church obviously spent a lot of time in Rosheim, studying the church Saints-Pierre-et-Paul, that is only about 30 years older. There are two heads, carrying the lintel under the tympanum. This is the right one. The carver was not one of the really genius masters working in the Alsace during that time. The face seems a bit "uninspired". The type of beard is strange but very unique. Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As the beholders liked that stylish beard, the carver gave another sculpture the same beard: www.flickr.com/photos/martin-m-miles/5488204737/in/set-72...

A Benedictian monastery was founded by Hiberno-Scottish monks in Regensburg already around 1070. Soon after, the convent moved to a place just outside the city walls and in started to erect first buildings. The first church, consecrated in 1120, was of such a poor workmanship, that the convent decided to tear it down (except one apse and the flanking towers) and restart the process. The church of today was completed before 1200. It is one of the most important Romanesque structures in Bavaria. The abbey was a hub for the Irish/Scottish mission to central Europe. Daughter establishments of St. Jakob were founded in Vienna (1155), Erfurt (1136), Wuerzburg (1138), Nuremberg (1140), Constance (1142), Eichstaett (1148), Memmingen (1178), Kiev (!) (late 12th century) and Kelheim (13th century). WHile the first monks and abbots were Irish, the Scottish period started after the Reformation with Scottish abbot Ninian Vincet (1577-1592). A century later Scottish priests were educated here to do missionary work back in Scotland. Abbot Benedikt Aburthnot (1737-1820) could avoid the secularisation in 1802 by making clear, that the monastery was a Scottish (not at all Bavarian!) national treasure. It took upto 1814 to incorporate the Scottish monastery into the Bavarian sovereignty. Monastic life finally ended here in 1862, when the buildings were taken over by the bishop, who 10 years later founded a still existing seminary here. The "Schottenkirche" is "classic" basilica with a central nave, two aisles and three apses. Most Romanesque churches in Bavaria got Baroque interiors during the 18th century. The scottish monks did not follow that fashion - and so the church is still very much like it was built around 1200. The capitals are very imaginative and masterly carved. Some historians reckon, that the masters came from Ireland to work here. Maybe some of you can find parallels to carvings in Ireland. Men, looking down over a balustrade down into the nave below. They have impressive long, braided beards.

The parish church "Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption" in the center of Tamerville has a remarkable Romanesque tower. The church (and the tower) were erected mid 12th century, but the church got enlarged and altered over the time. The church was dedicated to Saint Mayeul (aka "Mayeul de Cluny", "Majolus of Cluny"). Saint Mayeul, important abbot of Cluny, built Cluny II. There must have been a connection to the Burgundy in the early times. A gentleman with an extraordinary beard. An Anglo-Saxon warrior? A twin of the weathered beard puller under the roof) Another "Sweyn Forkbeard"?

Caen was a settlement already in Roman times, but prospered, when William the Conqueror (aka "William the Bastard") built a castle here. When William married Matilda of Flanders (~ 1051) a papal ban was issued at the Council of Reims on the grounds of consanguinity. In 1059 Pope Nicholas awarded dispensation, after William and Matilda agreed to found two monasteries as penance. William founded the Abbey of Saint-Etienne (aka "Abbaye aux Hommes"), Matilda founded with here husband´s support the Abbey Sainte-Trinité (aka "Abbaye aux Dames"). The erection of both abbeys started in Caen around 1060. The community of nuns was suppressed by the French Revolution. In 1823 the local authorities transferred the ancient Hôtel-Dieu to the former cloister for use as a hospital, and the canonesses regular established themselves there. The canonesses continued to operate until 1908 when the facility was transferred into a nursing home. The former abbey church Sainte-Trinité now serves the parish. Here are three capitals from the nave of Sainte-Trinité. Many faces here have bulging eyes and extraordinary beards / mustaches. Was this a "Norman" fashion? Most Normans seen on the Bayeux Tapestry (aka "Tapisserie de la reine Mathilde") are clean shaven. William the Conqueror has no beard, but his opponent Edward the Confessor wears a beard, as well as Harold II (aka "Harold Godwinson"), Edward's successor. So maybe these beards were fashion of the Anglo Saxons, beaten by William in the Battle of Hastings.

This church, dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, was a real surprise to me. The single nave structure was probably erected within the 12th century. It was built in a "walking distance" off the pilgrim routes (like "San Pedro de Echano"), as the hamlet Artaiz is just about 10kms north of the "Camino Aragonés". San Martin will have been for sure a stopover for pilgrims, who had visited the tomb of Saint Martin of Tours, following the "Via Turonensis". The portal of Saint Martin is extraordinary in the specific iconography, that in parts may reflect the relations to the Islamic neighbours (Reconquista). Here is a script by German arthistorian Hedda Finke about this subject. art.unt.edu/medieval-symposium/presenter.php?year=2009&am... Close to the very artful and complex capitals, just seen, next to the door, under the lintel is this bearded face. The face of the gatekeeper. It seems simple and kind of "abstract", but it is well composed. Nose and eyebrows form a crossbow.

San Pedro de Echano (aka "Ermita de San Pedro de Echano") is not easy to find, as the church is a few kilometers east of Oloriz in the middle of fields and bushland. In medieval times, when the church got erected, there might have been a village or settlement nearby, but nowadays there are no houses near to the church. The place is abandoned. Under the roof of San Pedro de Echano are more than 30 carved corbels. Some of the sculptures are really unusual, but the most impressing is the southern portal of San Pedro de Echano. There are seven archivolts! It is strange, that a small, single nave church got such a large and impressive portal. I connect this to - the pilgrims walking the camino. San Pedro de Echano is about 8kms south of the Via Tolosana/Camino Aragonés that I had just walked. Olcoz and Eunate are only about a two hours walk away. The most interesting archivolt depicts 25 people sitting on a table and having a party (?). The composition reminds strongly on the "Elders of the Apocalypse", but the characters are obviously performing a kind of game. Legs and feet of the partiers visible, as the artist carved on both sides of the archivolt. From this pov it is better visible, that the flautist with the strange hairdo, and the hornblower (right) with the knife, both have the left foot amputated and use prothesises. Crippled persons, who try to make some money by playing instruments, can still be found in many pedestrian areas worldwide. See the previous upload for more medieval prothesises.

San Pedro de Echano (aka "Ermita de San Pedro de Echano") is not easy to find, as the church is a few kilometers east of Oloriz in the middle of fields and bushland. In medieval times, when the church got erected, there might have been a village or settlement nearby, but nowadays there are no houses near to the church. The place is abandoned. Under the roof of San Pedro de Echano are more than 30 carved corbels. Some of the sculptures are really unusual, but the most impressing is the southern portal of San Pedro de Echano. There are seven archivolts! It is strange, that a small, single nave church got such a large and impressive portal. I connect this to - the pilgrims walking the camino. San Pedro de Echano is about 8kms south of the Via Tolosana/Camino Aragonés that I had just walked. Olcoz and Eunate are only about a two hours walk away. The most interesting archivolt depicts 25 people sitting on a table and having a party (?). The composition reminds strongly on the "Elders of the Apocalypse", but the characters are obviously performing a kind of game. Legs and feet of the partiers visible, as the artist carved on both sides of the archivolt. The flautist has a very strange hairdo, but even more remarkabel is that he and the musician to the very left (with a knife) wear - prosthetic legs! Obviously both had lost a foot / part of the shank, that got replaced by a wooden prosthesis.

San Pedro de Echano (aka "Ermita de San Pedro de Echano") is not easy to find, as the church is a few kilometers east of Oloriz in the middle of fields and bushland. In medieval times, when the church got erected, there might have been a village or settlement nearby, but nowadays there are no houses near to the church. The place is abandoned. Under the roof of San Pedro de Echano are more than 30 carved corbels. Some of the sculptures are really unusual, but the most impressing is the southern portal of San Pedro de Echano. There are seven archivolts! It is strange, that a small, single nave church got such a large and impressive portal. I connect this to - the pilgrims walking the camino. San Pedro de Echano is about 8kms south of the Via Tolosana/Camino Aragonés that I had just walked. Olcoz and Eunate are only about a two hours walk away. The most interesting archivolt depicts 25 people sitting on a table and having a party (?). The composition reminds strongly on the "Elders of the Apocalypse", but the characters are obviously performing a kind of game. Legs and feet of the partiers visible, as the artist carved on both sides of the archivolt. On the right side of the hornblower is a person with two hands, two feet and two heads. Siamese twins?

San Pedro de Echano (aka "Ermita de San Pedro de Echano") is not easy to find, as the church is a few kilometers east of Oloriz in the middle of fields and bushland. In medieval times, when the church got erected, there might have been a village or settlement nearby, but nowadays there are no houses near to the church. The place is abandoned. Under the roof of San Pedro de Echano are more than 30 carved corbels. Some of the sculptures are really unusual, but the most impressing is the southern portal of San Pedro de Echano. There are seven archivolts! It is strange, that a small, single nave church got such a large and impressive portal. I connect this to - the pilgrims walking the camino. San Pedro de Echano is about 8kms south of the Via Tolosana/Camino Aragonés that I had just walked. Olcoz and Eunate are only about a two hours walk away. The most interesting archivolt depicts 25 people sitting on a table and having a party (?). The composition reminds strongly on the "Elders of the Apocalypse", but the characters are obviously performing a kind of game. Legs and feet of the partiers visible, as the artist carved on both sides of the archivolt. I doubt that the very right has four hands, he may wear fancy knickerbockers. Ray (adfinem) has found parallels between carvings in Biron (Saintonge, France) and Olcoz/Eunate. There is an archivolt in Avy, only 4 kms west of Biron, that is carved in a similar technique (see below).

San Pedro de Echano (aka "Ermita de San Pedro de Echano") is not easy to find, as the church is a few kilometers east of Oloriz in the middle of fields and bushland. In medieval times, when the church got erected, there might have been a village or settlement nearby, but nowadays there are no houses near to the church. The place is abandoned. Under the roof of San Pedro de Echano are more than 30 carved corbels. Some of the sculptures are really unusual, but the most impressing is the southern portal of San Pedro de Echano. There are seven archivolts! It is strange, that a small, single nave church got such a large and impressive portal. I connect this to - the pilgrims walking the camino. San Pedro de Echano is about 8kms south of the Via Tolosana/Camino Aragonés that I had just walked. Olcoz and Eunate are only about a two hours walk away. The most interesting archivolt depicts 25 people sitting on a table and having a party (?). The composition reminds strongly on the "Elders of the Apocalypse", but the characters are obviously performing a kind of game. As the pov is changed from the previous upload, now legs and feet are visible. The partiers are carved on both side of the archivolt. Ray (adfinem) has found parallels between carvings in Biron (Saintonge, France) and Olcoz/Eunate. There is an archivolt in Avy, only 4 kms west of Biron, that is carved in a similar technique (see below).

San Pedro de Echano (aka "Ermita de San Pedro de Echano") is not easy to find, as the church is a few kilometers east of Oloriz in the middle of fields and bushland. In medieval times, when the church got erected, there might have been a village or settlement nearby, but nowadays there are no houses near to the church. The place is abandoned. Under the roof of San Pedro de Echano are more than 30 carved corbels. Some of the sculptures are really unusual, but the most impressing is the southern portal of San Pedro de Echano, There are seven archivolts! It is strange, that a small, humble, single nave church got such an impressive (somehow oversized) portal. This may be connected to the pilgrims walking the camino. San Pedro de Echano is about 8kms south of the Via Tolosana/Camino Aragonés that I had just walked. Olcoz and Eunate are only about a two hours walk away. This is the most interesting archivolt. 25 people sitting on a table and having a party (?). The composition reminds strongly on the "Elders of the Apocalypse", but the characters are obviously performing a kind of game. Some have their hands (long fingers!) in the air. To the very left a musician, playing a kind of flute. The partiers do not have an upper body, just oval faces, unusual hairdos/beards and arms/hands.