Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: sagitarius

In 915 Aymar de Bourbon, ancestor of the House of Bourbon, gave land in Souvigny to the Cluny Abbey for the construction of a monastery. At that time the "Abbaye de Cluny" was just 5 years old, as it had been founded 910 by William I, Duke of Aquitaine, (aka "William the Pious"). Souvigny was one of the first priories, dependent from the Cluny Abbey, so it was known later as "one of the five eldest daughters of Cluny". Cluny developed into the most powerful abbey in the Middle Ages, when the Cluniac Reforms changed the monastic life in Europe. German historian Dr. Joachim Wollasch ("Cluny, Licht der Welt"), estimates that in its haydays, more than 10.000 monks were parts of this network´, that stretched all over Europe. The pelerinage to Santiago de Compostella was one of the great "themes", developed and strongly supported by Cluny. The priory in Souvigny, located about 130kms west of Cluny, was such an important convent, that two of the powerful abbots of Cluny, Majolus (+ 994) and Odilo (+ 1049) died here. Their graves were a place of pilgrimage site soon after. To cope with the growing number of pilgrims, the priory´s church got enlarged already within the 10th century. Mayeul (= Majolus) was the 4th, Odilon (= Odilo) was the 5th abbot of the Abbey of Cluny. Odilo "invented" and established the "All Souls' Day" (2. November), that was adopted in the whole Western church. The church, probably built after the model of Cluny III, with five aisles structure and two transepts, crumbled, when the times got tougher in the next centuries. A renovation was done in the 15th century, but the interior structure is still "clearly" Romanesque. It got recently renovated. In 1793 French revolutionaries raged here with furor, destroyed the tombs and beheaded the sculptures, they believed to be connected to the Pope, Abbots or Bourbons. They did not touch (most of) the capitals. A centaur hunting a mermaid is a very common icon in Romanesque art. Here the mermaid holds an arrow in his hand, so she is not helpless.

A church may have been here since Langobardic times, it is documented since 854, when it was already "pieve". In the 11th century the church got rebuilt with three naves and three apses. Some decades later a large narthex was added, to give shelter to the many pilgrims. Subsequently it got integrated into the church. Over the next centuries many enlargements and modifications were done. The bell-tower was added in 1302. Mid of the 18th century this was a Baroque church. Between 1927 and 1942 a major renovation was undertaken, reverting the church and the facade to its Romanesque elements. Many carvings are scattered over the facade, some of them are parts of a medieval pulpit, that was dismembered in the 18th century. This capital is probably still "in situ", the former portal got bricked up. A centaur with a bow - and a man on the centaur´s back holding a bundle of arrows.

Neuvy-Saint-Sépulchre - Saint-ÉtienneThis unique church complex, once part of a collegiate and dedicated to Saint-Jaques, combines a round church and attached to this a rectangular basilica. A local noble named Eudes of Deols, who had traveled to the Holy Land in 1027, founded this church around 1040, a replica of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. Over centuries this was a major stop-over for pilgrims following the Via Lemovicensis. Eleven pillars form the center of the rotunda. The number "11" may stand for the number of apostles after Judas left. All the pillars have very elaborated capitals. The style of the capitals, that are part of the wall around the center, is much rougher. This is one of them: a huge fire-spitting (?), winged dragon - and a small centaur /sagitarius.

Torres del Rio was known already to Aymeric Picaud, author the Codex Calixtinus. He warned his readers of the treacherous river Linares "near Torres in Navarre". Not only humans, even horses would have died, after having drunk water from that river. Around 1100 monks from Santa Maria la Real de Irache (25kms east) built a convent here to support the pilgrims. I had come to visit the octogonal Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro, seen here in the center. Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro was probably built between 1190 and 1220. It is not known, who commissioned this building, inspired probably by the "Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem". Just like like Eunate (50 kms east), these octogonal churches are often connected to the Knights Templar, but there is no proof about that. This church is known for the incredible, awsome vaulting. There may even be parallels to the Mezquita of Cordoba, but - I could not see it. The church was locked! I had missed the opening hours by just a few minutes! All I could do was take some photo from the outside of the church. Here a centaur hunting pretty big birds.

A Benedictian monastery, with strong ties to Cluny, existed here in 958, after the Reconquista had reconquered the area about 50 years earlier. There are hints, that a convent may have been here already in Visigothic times. The monastery offered a "hopital" to the pilgrims already in 1054, when nearby Estrella was not even founded. The large church was erected in a Basilica-style within the 12th and 13th century on a the floorplan of a "Latin Cross". A centaur / sagitarius waiting behind the capital´s corner for the approaching soldier.

The late afternoon sun shines on "Sainte-Croix", the church of the former "Abbatiale Sainte-Croix". The abbey was founded in Merovingian times just south of Bordeaux. The exact year is unknown, but it was mentioned already in 679. The abbey was destroyed by the Saracens around 730 and rebuilt at the end of the century . During the 9th century the Normans raided the area and the abbey got devastated again. Local nobility supported the rebuilding of the abbey by donations and privileges. The abbey church, built in eleventh/twelfth century, got renovated and rebuilt during the 19th century by Paul Abadie, later known as the architect of "Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre" and strongly influenced by Viollet-le-Duc. His works (eg Saint-Front, Périgueux, St. Pierre, Angoulême) are disputed today, as he "re-created" structures and added details. While the outer of the large archivolts depict the "Elders of the Apocalypse" (see previous uploads), the inner one has the signs of the Zodiac and the "Monthly Labors". A farmer is pruning the vines. Below a part of the Sagitarius.

Fenioux, a small village with a population of less than 200, has this wonderful parish church "Notre-Dame de l’Assomption". Once the church was dedicated to "Saint-Savinien" and "Saint Pierre". It was built in the 12th century, about the same time, when Aulnay (27kms northeast) was under construction. The church was erected over a Carolingian oratory from the 9th century, of which some parts were integrated into the new building - and so still exist around the choir. The large, western facade, with its five archivolts is breathtaking. Though vandalized during the Wars of Religion and the French Revolution, when many sculptures here lost their heads, this is still extraordenary. There are five semicircular archivolts - and ten capitals. The inner archivolt is covered with symmetric foliage in the "traditonal style saintongue". The second archivolt has the virtues defeating the vices, the third one is populated by six angels flanking an Agnus Dei. The parable of the "Wise and Foolish Virgins" can be seen on the fourth - and the fifth archivolt has a complete zodiac - and the names of the corresponding months. Here SAGITARIUS - (OCTO)BER - NOVEMBER - DEC(EMBER)