Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Anne Prache

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 finally found a small wooden garden gate. I pushed it open, entered, turned around - and there was the tympanum. Here is another total. Though the tympanum is very weatherad and eroded, some names can still be found. Near the knight and the squire are the names HERBERTUS and GUILERMUS. The letters left and right of the seated person in the center are X IEORGIUS (Saint George). Over God´s head stands RENBAUDUS. The inscription of the banderole reads HERBERTUS GUILERMUS SIMILITER CUNCE(SSIT) RENBAUDUS MILES EIS (EJUS) HERES MICHI C(ON)TULIT GAZAS P(RAE)SENTES UT HABERET FINE CARENTES Herbertus and as well Guilermus gave/concedet as well as (their) heir knight Renbaudus me earthly treasures to receive treasures without end. Well, the translation may not be very precise. The French website below goes into the details: 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 finally found a small wooden garden gate. I pushed it open, entered, turned around - and there was the tympanum (previous uploads). Here is a closer look on the tympanum´s right side. A clerk working in a scriptorium, writing a contract. In front of him is his writing desk and there are even two ink bottles. The contract actually runs all around the semicular tympanum. As the details are very weathered it is hard to read, what the monk has written. Here is a French website about the tympanum: jfbradu.free.fr/mervilliers/index-mervilliers.htm

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

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. Mervilliers consists out of 10 or 15 residential houses - and a large farm. I entered the farm 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 and walking back met a lady, whom I could ask. She assured me, that one of the barns was a church once, but had never seen the tympanum. One barn near the road was obviously older than the others. I found a small wooden garden gate. I pushed it open, entered, turned around - and there was the tympanum.

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. Having reached Mervilliers I found out, that there are about 10 or 15 residential houses - and a large farm. I entered the farm 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 and walking back, met a lady, whom I could ask. She assured me, that one of the barns was a church once, but did not know the tympanum. One of the barns, was obviously older, altered and there was a small carving. But no tympanum. Then I found a small wooden gate...

Since the times of Hugh Capet, the first King of the Franks of the House of Capet, Étampes was an important place. It was a crown domain between Paris and Orleans. Hugh´s son Robert II (aka "Robert the Pious") built a stronghold here and founded a collegiate here in the 11th century. The former collegiate church Notre-Dame-du-Fort was erected within the 12th century in (traditional) Romanesque and (modern) Gothic style. Only the crypt dates back to the earlier 10th century-church. Here the relics of the martyrs Cantius, Cantianus, and Cantianilla were kept. The popular saints were orphaned siblings beheaded during Diocletian's persecution. "Robert the Pious" had transferred the relics to Étampes from Milano. Since the 19th century Notre-Dame-du-Fort serves the parish. In 1562, during the first War of Religions, the Calvinist troops raided, ransacked and vandalized the church. Whatever was spared outside the church, it got smashed during the French Revolution. Today there are six headless jamb statues at the the southern portal. Once there were eight. These two statues were moved inside. They look complete, but during the Revolution they suffered from vandalism as well. The heads, seen here, are modern reconstructions. These jamb from statues are sometimes compared with their famous colleagues from Chartres (50kms east). Anne Prache ("Ile de France Romane") considers, that one workshop may have worked on both places.

A Benedictine nunnery existed here for centuries. It was founded already within the 9th century. In 920 Carolingian Charles III (aka "Charles the Simple") signed a document confirming privileges bestowed to the convent by his grandfather Charles II (aka "Charles the Bald"). Since the end of the 11th century relics of Saint Annobert were venerated here, about the same time the erection of this church may have started. The process was slow. The "Abbaye Notre-Dame de Morienval" existed upto 1745 and since then the church serves as a parish church. The church was locked, but thanks to a friendly French couple, the doors opened. Following Anne Prache ("Ile-de-France Romane"), the choir dates to the 12th century, replacing an earlier one. As the terrain on which the apse was built is very steep, it needed a special construction, that is pretty unique! Here is a "row" of capitals from the choir.

A Benedictine nunnery existed here for centuries. It was founded already within the 9th century. In 920 Carolingian Charles III (aka "Charles the Simple") signed a document confirming privileges bestowed to the convent by his grandfather Charles II (aka "Charles the Bald"). Since the end of the 11th century relics of Saint Annobert were venerated here, about the same time the erection of this church may have started. The process was slow. The "Abbaye Notre-Dame de Morienval" existed upto 1745 and since then the church serves as a parish church. The church was locked, but thanks to a friendly French couple, the doors opened. Following Anne Prache ("Ile-de-France Romane"), the choir dates to the 12th century, replacing an earlier one. As the terrain on which the choir was built is very steep, it needed a special construction, that is pretty unique!

A Benedictine nunnery existed here for centuries. It was founded already within the 9th century. In 920 Carolingian Charles III (aka "Charles the Simple") signed a document confirming privileges bestowed to the convent by his grandfather Charles II (aka "Charles the Bald"). Since the end of the 11th century relics of Saint Annobert were venerated here, about the same time the erection of this church may have started. The process was slow. The "Abbaye Notre-Dame de Morienval" existed upto 1745 and since then the church serves as a parish church. The church was locked, but thanks to a friendly French couple, the doors opened. Following Anne Prache ("Ile-de-France Romane"), the choir seen here, dates to the 12th century, replacing an earlier one. As the terrain on which the choir was built is very steep, it needed a special construction. Pretty unique!

A Benedictine nunnery existed here for centuries. It was founded already within the 9th century. In 920 Carolingian Charles III (aka "Charles the Simple") signed a document confirming privileges bestowed to the convent by his grandfather Charles II (aka "Charles the Bald"). Since the end of the 11th century relics of Saint Annobert were venerated here, about the same time the erection of this church may have started. The process was slow. The "Abbaye Notre-Dame de Morienval" existed upto 1745 and since then the church serves as a parish church. The church was locked, but thanks to a friendly French couple, the doors opened. Following Anne Prache ("Ile-de-France Romane"), the first church here had a single nave, enlarged by the side aisles in the 11th century. The vaulting is obviously much younger. The large arch at the crossing reminds me a bit on Vignory, but here is looks more elegant. Note the extraordinary choir.