Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: gridiron

Kottingwörth developed from a settlement on an island ("Werder") in the Altmühl river. The first wooden church may date back to the time of Christianisation. The first stone church was built in the 12th century. It got consecrated between 1183 and 1195. The towers were built between 1250 and 1310. In the first half of the 16th century, the towers were raised. In the years 1760/61, the medieval church building was replaced by a baroque new building. The oldest part of the church is the basement of the west tower, dated to the 13th century. Around 1310 the choir of the church (now the Vitus chapel) was adorned with frescoes. During the renovation work in the chapel in 1891 these murals were rediscovered under a coat of paint. The paintings are still well preserved. The right of the two saints, who holds a gridiron, is Saint Lawrence. Who is the left one, holding a loaf of bread? Honoratus of Amiens? Below them are Cain and Abel. God accepts only Abel´s offering but not his brother`s.

The Knights Templar founded a convent here with chapel dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. Parts of this chapel may have been "incorporated" into Notre-Dame-de-Joie. Most of the nave, the transept and the apse date back to the 12th century. 200 years later, the church got altered and the small lantern tower got replaced by an octagonal crossing tower. The steeple collapsed and got rebuilt in 1533. In 1944 the church got heavily shelled - and the spire had to be rebuilt a second time after WW2. I had visited Merlevenez some years ago and already uploaded photos. As I was impressed by this church I returned now, took lots of photos, but will upload only a few. Here is one of the many capitals. To the right an evail "man-eater", to the right martyr Saint Lawrence, placed on a gridiron, with coals beneath it. He is the patron saint for chefs and cooks, as legend tells, that after a while he told the torturer "I'm well done now. Turn me over."

The Knights Templar founded a convent here with chapel dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. Parts of this chapel may have been "incorporated" into Notre-Dame-de-Joie. Most of the nave, the transept and the apse date back to the 12th century. The many capitals seen here are very delicately carved, what is pretty unusual for Brittany. Some art historians see influences from Poitou-Charente. The person on the gridiron can only be the martyr Lawrence of Rome, who actually was born in Huesca (Aragon). The legend tells, that Saint Lawrence was placed on a gridiron, with coals beneath it. After a while, he told the torturers "I'm well done now. Turn me over" wonder that he is the patron saint for chefs and cooks.

The Iglesia de Santiago stands surrounded by macchia at the end of a dust road about a kilometer southeast of Agüero. This isolated place is probably why it is named as well "Ermita de Santiago". It is a very strange structure and I did not have much information about. At one time within the 12th century somebody had started to build a pretty large basilica (- in the middle of nowhere). Obviously money was not an issue, as gifted sculptors and experienced builders left their marks here. Then - some decades later, the building process stopped, the church was never completed. No wonder, that the artist/workshop known as "Master of San Juan de la Peña" is even better known under the name of "Master of Agüero". I had seen his works in San Juan de la Peña and Sangüesa, but what he created here are real masterpieces. The outside walls of the church are covered with lots of different mason marks. The structure was obviously erected with a lot of effort in a short time - and so a task - for many masons. The + and the L on the left may be such marks, but what is seen to the right are carved graffiti. Maybe somebody named Lawrence carved in that gridiron, to honour his patron saint. As the church is so isolated people carving in graffiti here are undisturbed and have plenty of time.

Sos del Rey Católico is a quaint, historic town with a population of just over 600. Founded as "Sos" by Sancho I of Pamplona during the Reconquista in the early 10th century, the town changed its name to Sos del Rey Católico, after Ferdinand II of Aragon (aka "el Católico") was born here in 1452. The town is built on a mountaintop. You enter it by foot through the medieval gates, as the old walls, that surround the town still exist. The building of the "Iglesia de San Esteban" (= Saint Steven) started already mid of the 11th century, financed by Estefania de Foix, young widow of Garcia Sanchez III of Pamplona. The church got enlarged and altered over the next centuries many times. A narthex with gothic vaults was added within the 16th century to protect this Romanesque portal from the 12th century against the weather. Just like in nearby Sangüesa (13kms northwest) statues flank the doors. There are three large ones on either side, and various small ones inbetween. This is the left side of the portal. The statues clearly lack the elegance of that ones in Sangüesa. These may be older. The style is similar. Unfortunately most of the small sculptured inbetween are severely damaged. The large figure to the left holds a kind of shrine or a gridiron. In case the object is a gridiron, this can only be Saint Lawrence, whose birthplace may be in Huesca. In the center is a bishop (crozier) - and the right one holds an illuminated book or manuscript. I will upload a close up.

The former Abbey Church in the village of Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes, that now serves the parish, has a total length of 72,30 meters and all of the 600 people living in Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes would easily find a chair inside. The church is a gem of poitevin architecture. When Prosper Mérimée visited Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes mid 19th century, the church were in a very bad state. Photograps taken some decades later show, that the facade was ruined. Prosper Mérimée efforts started a reconstruction and renovation process. The first renovation, that finally saved the church, was undertaken from 1889 to 1920. End of the 13th century the romanesque ceiling of the nave and the choir got replaced by a Gothic vaulting in an elegant Plantagenet style. This vaulting has very nice keystones. Here is the martyr Lawrence of Rome ("St. Lawrence"). Lawrence was placed on a gridiron, with coals beneath it. He now is the patron saint for chefs and cooks, as legend tells, that after a while he told the torturer "I'm well done now. Turn me over." The history of the abbey dates back to the 4th century, when Jovinus (French "Jouin") in 342 founded a small oratory near a place named Ensio. Not much is known about Jovinus. He may have been borne in a wealthy family. It is believed, that his was brother of Saint Maximin, the first Bishop of Treves. The oratory developed into a monastery over the next decades, that was the second monastery existing in France, just after Saint-Martin-de-Ligugé, founded by St. Martin of Tours himself in 361. During the 7th century, the bishop of Nantes asked Martin de Vertou to christianise the area. This mission led him to Ension where he imposed Saint Benoit’s rule. The small monastery was never threatend by the Normanic raids, as it was far away from large rivers. So it could offer refuge to the monks of "Saint Martin de Vertou", who left their monastery and brought the relics of their founding Saint, in 843. The erection of the Abbey Church took place between 1095 and 1130, when an old Roman road, known under the name of "Saint Hilaire’s Way" was followed by pilgrims on their way to Santiago. At that time the road was one of the many that belonged all to the "Via Turonensis". During the 100 Years´War and during the Wars of Religion the monastery got attacked and plundered. The Battle of Moncontour between the Catholic armee and the Huguenots was fought in 1569 only about 5kms west. Monastic life was ended by the French Revolution in 1789. The Abbey was sold as national property. The church serves as a parish church since 1795. Parts of the former conventual buildings now belong to a privatly owned farm, next to the church.