Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Manticore

The church is located at the level of the Vieux-Bourg de Cravant, but as the urbanized core of the town moved one kilometer further south in the 19th century it got deconsecrated in 1863. In 1865 it was sold to the French Archaeological Society. The church was first mentioned as Carolingian ("sanctuaire carolingian"). It was probably built between the end of the 9th and the 11th century. It is possible that its location was chosen to Christianise a nearby spring, which had previously been the object of pagan worship. In the 12th century, the west façade was remodelled with the opening of a new gate. At the same time, the apse was demolished to make way for a square bay that formed a transept. This transept, perhaps with a northern arm that has since been destroyed, is surmounted by a bell tower that was built in the 15th century. A manticore

Colombiers is a small village (pop. 300) in the former marshes of the Seugne river. Life must be hard here in medieval times. Saint-Maclou, the village´s parish church, was erected in the 12th century. It was the church of a priory, dependent from the Benedictian Abbaye Saint-Sauveur in Charroux. The church got altered and modified during the Gothic period (15th.), when it lost its once Romanesque portal. Single nave churches, like Saint-Maclou, are typical for the villages of the Saintonge. They may not look spectacular on the first sight. But here in Colombiers are some extraordenary carvings. I have visited this church on two occassions, but unfortunately even a second visit with some better light, did not result in good photos. Sorry! Most of the frieze-like capitals are similar to the carvings in Marinac. The style differs, but the "story" is the same. In an impenetrable djungle of entwining vines humans fight creatures, lurking through the foliage. Here the "Master of the Beasts" seen from another angle. The lions have very human faces and then would be manticores. Note the profile to the left. If the heads