Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: fighting

The Cahors Cathedral was erected between 1080 and 1135. It got consecrated by Pope Calixtus II in 1119. The same pope, who two years later could imprison his rival "Antipope" Gregory VIII. Four years later, Calixtus ended the Investiture Controversy by agreeing with Emperor Henry V on the Concordat of Worms. During the times of medieval pilgrimage, this cathedral was an important place on the "Via Podiensis", as the "Sainte Coiffe" could be venerated here. This "Holy Headdress" was believed to have been used during Jesus' burial. Legends tell, that it had been given to the Bishop of Cahors by Charlemagne, but what is more likely it was brought to Cahors by Bishop Gerard de Cardillac after his trip to the Holy Land in 1113. A relic similar to the "Shroud of Turin". Prominent features are the two domes (a third one collapsed in the 13th century) and this Romanesque portal on the northern side. It was widely discussed, whether it was once moved from the west to this location, but since the 1980s it is proven (Bratke, Durliat), that it was constructed (after 1140) for the northern side, where it is still today. The portal was walled up 1732 and got "rediscovered" in 1840, so it survived the furore of the Revolution. Seen on the left side of the archivolt are scenes of cruel torture and fighting.

Conques is one of the magical places, I cannot pass. Every time I am in the area, I just have to take the detour, stop and see it again. Over centuries Conques was a popular stop for all pilgrims travelling the Via Podiensis and it still is. It is a treat after having crossed the harsh Aubrac. I still remember my feelings, when I reached Conques in 2008 on my hike, that had started weeks before in Geneva. A tiny convent existed here already in the 8th century. This grew into a very successful monastery, after the relics of St. Foy arrived in Conques through theft in 866. The relics were stolen by a monk from Conques, who had posed as a loyal monk in Agen for years. The arrival of the relics of St. Foy caused the pilgrimage route to shift to Conques. As the existing church was too small for all the pilgrims, a new, much larger church had to be constructed. It was completed by the end of the 11th century. As a large pilgrim´s church, it had an ambulatory with five radiating chapels. A century later galleries were added over the aisle and the roof was raised over the transept and choir to allow people to circulate at the gallery level. Different masons and carvers have worked in Conques over the building process, so here are different Romanesque styles.

Saint-Pierre was the church of one of the largest Augustinian abbeys in the Poitou, that was founded in 991 by Audéarde, the wife of viscount Herbert I of Thouars. The monastery was on one of the "chemins" of the Via Turonensis, so when the number of pilgrims increased, the Canons Regular of St. Augustine had this large church erected in two construction phases from the 12th century on. This church is very long and has a wide ambulatory. It could surely host large groups of pilgrims. When the era of the pilgrimage ended, the abbey declined and impoverished during the Hundred Years' War. Most conventual buildings were destroyed in the Wars of Religion. The abbey church now serves the parish. Saint-Pierre has an extraordinary density of medieval carvings. Most of these works are well preserved. Two corbel figures flank the pillar. For a while I saw the left one as a child, but I doubt that now. The person is just pretty small. Does the right person wear an apron? Knights are fighting on the capital above them