Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: pillar-eater

Stift Millstatt ("Millstatt Abbey") was founded by the Aribo II and Boto, members of Aribonids, a noble, Bavarian family, around 1070. Run by Benedictine monks and protected by Papal deeds Stift Millstatt prospered in the early years and a nunnery was added. Within the 13th century, the decay began. As the abbey had secular Church Vogts, it suffered strongly under the political powergames of that timne and finaly ended 1456 under the House of Habsburg. At that time only 10 monks still lived here. Emperor Frederick III reached a papal bull in 1469, so that the military order of the Knights of Saint George took over Stift Millstatt in order to fight the invading troops of the Ottoman Empire. The order now had to cope with the debts left by the Benedictines and the redevelopment of the neglected premises. While the knights were engaged with the fortification of the monastery, they failed to protect the region. Millstatt was heavily devastated by the Turks in 1478, followed by Hungarian troops in 1487. As the power of the knightly order declined, unrests and revolts arose among the peasants. As the new Protestant belief spread in the area the monastery vested the Society of Jesus ("Jesuits") in 1598 to support the Counter-Reformation. The monks were disliked by the population for their stern measures. In 1737 the displeasure culminated in open revolt, when peasants ganged up and stormed the monastery. The rule of the Jesuits ended, when the order was suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. The monks had to leave Millstatt. Today the former abbey-church serves the parish, while the other buildings belong to the Austrian state and host the "Österreichische Bundesforste" (Austrian State Forestry Commission). The church underwent numerous alterations over the centuries. It did not only suffer from fires, but as well from earthquakes. A strong quake in 1690 heavily damaged the western facade. The old cloister has some very interesting capitals. The previous uploads give an overview, here are more details. The lion is a so called "pillar-eater" and the person on the lion´s back is a kind of atlas.

Stift Millstatt ("Millstatt Abbey") was founded by the Aribo II and Boto, members of Aribonids, a noble, Bavarian family, around 1070. Run by Benedictine monks and protected by Papal deeds Stift Millstatt prospered in the early years and a nunnery was added. Within the 13th century, the decay began. As the abbey had secular Church Vogts, it suffered strongly under the political powergames of that timne and finaly ended 1456 under the House of Habsburg. At that time only 10 monks still lived here. Emperor Frederick III reached a papal bull in 1469, so that the military order of the Knights of Saint George took over Stift Millstatt in order to fight the invading troops of the Ottoman Empire. The order now had to cope with the debts left by the Benedictines and the redevelopment of the neglected premises. While the knights were engaged with the fortification of the monastery, they failed to protect the region. Millstatt was heavily devastated by the Turks in 1478, followed by Hungarian troops in 1487. As the power of the knightly order declined, unrests and revolts arose among the peasants. As the new Protestant belief spread in the area the monastery vested the Society of Jesus ("Jesuits") in 1598 to support the Counter-Reformation. The monks were disliked by the population for their stern measures. In 1737 the displeasure culminated in open revolt, when peasants ganged up and stormed the monastery. The rule of the Jesuits ended, when the order was suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. The monks had to leave Millstatt. Today the former abbey-church serves the parish, while the other buildings belong to the Austrian state and host the "Österreichische Bundesforste" (Austrian State Forestry Commission). The church underwent numerous alterations over the centuries. It did not only suffer from fires, but as well from earthquakes. A strong quake in 1690 heavily damaged the western facade. The old cloister has some very interesting capitals. The previous uploads give an overview, here are more details. The lion is a so called "pillar-eater" and the person on the lion´s back is a kind of atlas.

End of the 8th century a monastery existed here, owning the relics of Saint Kastulus, that had been "translated" to Moosburg from Rome. This monastery was converted into a collegiate, after the last Benedictian monks had moved to Weihenstephan Abbey in 1021. After the old abbey church had collapsed the erection of a new church started in 1170. This was done under the guidance of Albert I. (aka Adalbert I.), the Bishop of Freising and so there are many parallels between these two large structures. The Freising Cathedral was the first large brick building in Bavaria (after the Romans had left) - and St. Kastulus in Moosburg was the second. The western portal of St. Kastulus, known as "Adalbert-Portal", was carved before 1212. It was made from the same sandstones as the little older portal of the Scots Monastery in Regensburg - and the carvers probably knew that masterpiece. According to Gottfried Weber ("Die Romanik in Oberbayern") this portal in Moosburg is one of the greatest works of Romanesque art in Bavaria. Here are the pillar heads of the right side. This side is very similar to the left side with the "pillar-eaters" and the lion, but instead of a flute player (paradise?) here is a bare chested, grim looking man, holding up heads. A headsman (hell?)? May the braids of the left he holds, be a symbol of the Hungarians (aka "Magyars"), who raided Bavaria more than two centuries earlier? It is for sure a very strong warning. Below the right head is (not to be seen here) a large key.

A priory, dependent from the (once important) Benedictian abbey Saint-Sauveur de Charroux existed here since the 12th century. At that time Saint-Martin was erected as the church for the priory. The church got enlarged and vaulted in the 13th and 14th century, but during the Wars of Religion (1562–1598), the structure got severely damaged, so that the ceiling and the crossing dome collapsed. The imposant western facade with the large archivolts survived the attacks. The priory was sold after the French Revolution and all buildings, but the church, got demolished. Today Saint-Martin serves as the parish church of the small village. The main portal in the architectural style, that is typical for the Saintonge. Two blind arches flank the larger arch/doors. There is no central tympanum, but a multitude of archivolts. The left arch. Another fight in the center (I´ll upload a detailed shot). The capitals in front are very weathered. A pillar-eater to the left, some mythic birds to the right. All large statues of the facade are beheaded and vandalized. Either by the Huguenots or later from the Revolutionists.