Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Saint George

Prache´s "Ile de France Romane". Anne Prache mentions, that in the hamlet of Mervilliers is a former church with a remarkable tympanum. In found a large farm in Mervilliers, entered and tried to find anybody to ask. But there was nobody at home. This was private property and I did feel uneasy, walking around, knocking on doors and shouting "Allo" and "Coucou"...... I finally found a small wooden garden gate. I pushed it open, entered, turned around - and there was the tympanum (previous upload). Here is a closer look on the tympanum´s left side. A knight in full armour makes a donation to Saint George (only George´s hand can be seen), while his squire on the left holds the knight´s horse. Some see this as the infeudation of a knight, what I doubt. The artistic style is not really elegant, but a bit rough. Note the oversized heads and hands. Here is a French website about the tympanum: jfbradu.free.fr/mervilliers/index-mervilliers.htm

Walking the Via Turonensis I had two books with me. One was a little booklet, telling me, where to turn left or right. The most important (absolut recommendable!) book was Anne Prache´s "Ile de France Romane". Anne Prache mentions, that in the hamlet of Mervilliers is a former church with a remarkable tympanum. In found a large farm in Mervilliers, entered and tried to find anybody to ask. But there was nobody at home. This was private property and I did feel uneasy, walking around, knocking on doors and shouting "Allo" and "Coucou"...... I left the farm, finally found a small wooden garden gate. I pushed it open, entered, turned around - and there was the tympanum. Here is a closer look now. The tympanum was probably created within the 12th century. There are two "tiers". In heaven - Crowned God in a blessing gesture, holding the bible flanked by two angels swinging censers. Below - on the ground has two parts. On the left the laity (a knight and squire) Saint George seated on a throne in the center, a priest and a monk on the right side. Here is a French website about the tympanum: jfbradu.free.fr/mervilliers/index-mervilliers.htm

The Visigoths, who followed the arian version of Christianity, had built a cathedral here, dedicated to Saint-Saturnin. When Clovis took over the town, after his Frankish troops had beaten the Visigoths, led by Alaric II, in the Battle of Vouillé (507), he had the Visigothic church demolished to build a new one dedicated to Saint-Pierre and consecrated in 560. This church burnt down, when the Vikings (aka Normans) sacked the town mid of the 8th century. A third cathedral was constructed and was consecrated in 1017. At the beginning of the 12th century, when the pilgrimage to Santiago boomed, this existing church was considered too small and too "humble". The erection of the new, larger cathedral started in 1110 and was completed already in 1128. The church's original appearance was modified a couple of times later. The Wars of Religion caused great damage here, one of the towers got completely destroyed. The restorations of the 19th century, led by Paul Abadie, ended in many more alterations. He even added the two flanking towers with conical tops, what Marcel Durliat did not like at all. Paul Abadie later built Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. His restorations are disputed, where ever he worked (eg Sainte-Croix (Bordeaux), Saint-Front (Périgueux). Most of his works seem "overrenovated", following his idea of a medieval structure. Here is a closer look onto the "renovated" facade. This is the oldest part of the cathedral, as the building process started in 1110 here. Two themes can be seen, the Ascension and the Last Judgement. On the right is Saint Martin, cutting his cloak in two, on the left Saint George, killing the dragon.

A settlement may have existed here during Roman times, later the Visigoths "refounded" the place. In 1147 Olite was given a "Fuero de los francos de Estella". Obviously the Franks, that had settled in Estella (40kms northwest) to kick-start the pilgrim-business, had the jurisdication right here. The church of San Pedro is the oldest in town. Though altered and rebuilt many times , the facade still has some interesting Romanesque details. The last stage of a deadly battle between a gigantic, evil dragon and a small knight. The winged dragon has cornered the knight - but in the last second, the dragon´s head gets speared. The knight might be Saint George, but he is mostly seen on horseback.