Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: scythe

Already in 748, the place was a palace of the Agilolfinger, dukes of Bavaria. Forty years later it became the Carolingian royal palace. King Carloman of Bavaria (aka "Karlmann"), the oldest son of Louis the German founded a collegiate church in Altoetting in 876. This church got destroyed by Hungarian troops in 917. Only the octagon of the baptistery survived the destruction. The collegiate got refounded and the church got rebuilt later. In 1489 there were reports of two healing miracles which started the pilgrimage to Altoetting, that became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations of its time. The Collegiate Church belonged once to a community of secular canons that was founded in about 1228. The collegiate church was built on the site of the earlier monastic church. From 1489 however, the rapidly growing importance of Altötting as a place of a pilgrimage made a bigger church urgently necessary and it was largely rebuilt between 1499 and 1511 in its present form as a late Gothic hall church. The "Tod von Ending" is a 50cm high carved skeleton. It stands on a clock and swings the scythe every second. It was probably created within the 16th century during the time of the plague. Memento Mori!

A monastery had been here since the 6th century, dedicated to the martyr St. Valerian, whose grave is in the crypt. It got raided by the Maurs and in 875 Charles the Bald offered the abbey to a group of homeless of monks from Normoutier as their monastery had been destroyed by the Normans. These monks carried the relics of St. Philibert with them, so for a while the abbey was shared by two communities, each dedicated to their own saint. After Hungarian troops had damaged the buildings in 936-37, the church got rebuild in the form we know it today. The construction lasted from the late 10th century to the early 12th century. It was consecrated in 1019, when it had a flat, wooden ceiling. A stone vault replaced the wooden ceiling in 1066-1108. I had been here many times before (and uploaded lots of photos) over the years, but I just had to stop - and take more shots. During excavations the remains of a larger mosaic from the 12th century was found. Seen are the zodiacs and the "Labours of the Months". IUNIUS

Milan is the city capital of the Lombardy and the second most populous city in Italy after Rome. Known during Roman times as "Mediolanum" it was the place, where in 313 Constantine I and Licinius met and "signed" the "Edict of Milan", giving Christianity a legal status within the Roman empire. At the end of the Roman empire Milan was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, looted by the Huns in 452, and taken by the Ostrogoths in 539. Only 30 years later is belonged to the Kingdom of the Lombards, until in 774 Charlemagne defeated the Langobards and added Milan to the Carolingian empire. During Barbarossa´s (Frederik I) "Italian Campaigns" Milan was taken and destroyed to a great extent. The "Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio" is much older and was not destroyed by Barbarossa´s troops. It is one of the most ancient churches in Milan, built by St. Ambrose in 379–386, outside the city of Milan on the site of a cemetery, where the martyrs of the Roman persecutions had been buried. The first name of the church was "Basilica Martyrum". Ambrose, born into a noble family about 340 in (present-day) Trier (Germany), was governor of Liguria and Emilia for two years before he became the Bishop of Milan in 374 by popular acclamation. He was a staunch opponent of Arianism. Only very few traces of the first church can still be found, as in the centuries after its construction, the basilica underwent numerous restorations and reconstructions. The current Romanesque church, mostly built in brickwork, was begun around 1080. In 789, a Benedictine monastery was established here. The canons of the basilica, however, retained their own community. So two separate communities shared the basilica. In the 11th century, the canons adopted orders and became Canons Regular. From then on two separate monastic orders following different rules lived in the basilica. The canons were in the northern building, the cloister of the canons, while the monks were in the two southern buildings. The two towers symbolize the division in the basilica. The 9th century Torre dei Monaci ("Tower of the Monks") tower was used by the monks. However, the canons did not have a bell tower and were not allowed to ring bells until they finished the Canons' bell tower in the 12th Century. This tower got two additional levels in 1889. In 1943 the basilica got severely damaged by bombings. It took a decade to rebuilt and reconstruct the church. The ambo stands on the left side of the nave. From here the monks and canons read the Gospel. The ambo, supported by nine slender ancient columns, was built over a 4th century sarcophagus, known as "Stilicho's Sepulchre", between 1130 and 1143. When the roof of the basilica collapsed in 1196, the ambo got severely damaged, but it got rebuilt already in 1201. Between the ambo and the sarcophagus are some semicircular lunettes. They again differ style and in icons. Some scholars see here the "Labors of the Months". Here the person to the left (with a scythe) would stand for June or July, while the man holding the would symbolize April. The person to the right is a "spinario". He is trying to pull a thorn out of his naked foot - and does not stand for a month of the year.

I had met somebody, who had told me about a "forgotten" abbey near the hamlet Saint-Sigismond-de-Clermont. I finally found the "Château de la Tenaille", that obviously once had been an abbey. It was not only locked, the grounds were fenced as well. This was "private property" - and nobody was around I could ask for permission to enter. It seemed abandoned.... I - well - could find a little hole - sneaked in - and slowly approached the buildings. The facade of the former abbey church has the design that is so typical for Romanesque churches in the Saintonge. The portal is bricked up. Opposite the church were two large barns in better conditions. They were obviously still in use until some decades ago. Here is one of the gables. - Meanwhile I know, that this indeed was an abbey, founded in the early 12th century by Giraud de Sales, who was the founder of many convent in western France. The abbey was sold after the French Revolution. The church dates back to the 12th century, while most other buildings were completed within the 18th century. Here is a pdf with infos: file:///D:/_eigene_Dateien/Downloads/Abbaye%20de%20la%20Tenaille.pdf

The facade and the nave of Saint-Sauveur in Bignay are dated back to the 12th century. The steeple was added centuries later. Under the roof of the nave are some weathered corbels. Here is either a pilgrim, holding his staff, or a peasant with a scythe, or..

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. The archivolts over the central portal. The large outer archivolt depicts the "Elders of the Apocalypse", while the large inner archivolt has the signs of the Zodiac and "Monthly Labors". There is the Cancer - and a farmer using a scythe.