Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: MoB

The monastery dates back to the 10th century and it seems to have been a monastery for monks and nuns from the earliest times until the 12th century. In 1175 after a period of decadence, Countess Fronilda de Lemos restored monastic life, the monastery was rehabilitated and integrated into the Cistercian order. The church of the monastery is due to its profuse and diverse ornamentation, especially in its apse. It is considered to have been built prior to the incorporation of the monastery into the Cistercian order. Daniel in the lion's den - a Master of Beasts

A town may have existed here since ancient times, it was seized by Scipio Africanus away from Carthage by 207 BC, in the context of the Second Punic War. Following the Umayyad conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the city became the head of an important territory with some similarities to the current province. Jaén was conquered by the Almoravids in 1091. Taken in 1159 by Ibn Mardanīš (aka "Rey Lobo"), who was opposed to the spread of the Almohad Empire, it fell back to the Almohads in 1169. In 1225, Fernando III of Castile unsuccessfully laid siege to Jaén. The city was besieged again in 1230 by Fernand who lifted the siege after the news of the death of his father, Alfonso IX of León. In 1246 Muhammad I of Granada surrendered to Fernando. Following the conquest the Diocese of Baeza was moved to Jaén. During the Spanish Civil War, the city remained loyal to the Second Spanish Republic and was therefore bombed by the infamous German Condor Legion flying squadron on April 1, 1937. Current estimates suggest that 159 residents were killed and several hundred injured in the bombing. The “Museo Íbero” is located here in a new building that only opened in 2017 and houses an outstanding collection of Iberian art. This icon is called "Master of Beasts". This is from about 500 BC. In Christian churches, Daniel can often be seen as a "MoB".

Souillac is another town, that I cannot pass, without stopping and visiting the former abbey-church. Legends tell, that the abbey was founded by Saint Eligius (Saint Eloi), advisor of Merovingian King Dagobert I. The abbey got destroyed by the Saracens, Charlemagne commissioned the reconstruction, that again ruined got by Norman invaders. Of course it got looted during the Wars of Religions, but existed upto the French Revolution. The abbey-church, today serving the parish, got built on the blueprint of a Latin Cross in the 12th century. The single nave is about 15 ms wide. Above are no vaults, but three domes, similar to Saint-Front in Périgueux and Saint Etienne in Cahors. The capitals are nice, but compared to the works around the former portal simple. Here is "Daniel in the lion´s den" or a "Master of Beasts".

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. Only a few large structures survived the fury. One of them was the Basilica di San Lorenzo (see previous uploads). The Basilica di Sant'Eustorgio, located only about 500 ms south of the Basilica di San Lorenzo, existed already since centuries at that time, as it was founded in the 4th century. The name refers to Eustorgius I, the bishop of Milan (~350). It is attributed to Eustorgius to have translated the relics of the Magi to the city from Constantinople in 344, a present of Roman Emperor Constantius II (337-361). This legend came up in the 12th century, when the "new" Basilica di Sant'Eustorgio was erected in Romanesque style. When Milano was sacked by Frederick Barbarossa, the relics of the Magi were appropriated and subsequently taken to Cologne by his close advisor Rainald of Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne. Actually the relics are still in the Cologne Cathedral, where the are kept in the "Shrine of the Three Kings". Some fragments of the holy bones were sent back from Cologne to Milano in 1903. Milano had been a center of pilgrimage over a long time, but since 1164 the relics of the Magi attracted a stream of pilgrims to Cologne, what was very important for that city. From the 13th century the church was the main Milanese seat of the Dominican Order, who promoted its rebuilding - and radically altered it with the construction of the south transept, the main crossings and within the 15th century by adding chapels (for noble families). The alterations of the 17th and 18th century were elimimnated by the restyling work of the 19th century "recreating" the original Lombard Romanesque forms. Some of the old Romanesque capitals still exist. Here is a "Master of the Beasts".

A cathedral may have existed here already within the 5th century. The Kathedrale St. Mariae Himmelfahrt (= "Saint Mary of the Assumption") of today was erected 1150 - 1272, from east to west. The crypt, under the risen choir, is probably the oldest part of the cathedral. The architectural concept is very similar to that of neighbouring St. Luzius, built the same time. The massive bundle piers along the nave offer much room for complex capitals. Here in the center is (probably) Daniel, the Master of Beasts. To the right some strange dragonlike creatures. Some scholars have connected these works with thatone of Benedetto Antelami, who worked in Parma (Italy) around 1200.

The "Abbazia di Chiaravalle della Colomba" was founded in 1136. It was one of the earliest Cistercian monasteries in Italy. It was a "filiation" of the famous abbey Clairvaux (and maybe even Bernard of Clairvaux was involved). "Chiaravalle" = "claravallis" - just like "Clairvaux". The abbey was sacked and burned in 1248 by Frederick II of Swabia (aka "Frederick the One-Eyed") during his siege of Parma. In 1805 Napoleon's rule led to suppression of the order. In 1810, properties were assigned to the Civil Hospital of Piacenza. The archives and library were sold. Cistercian monks returned in 1937 and by now the abbey has joint ownership with the state. The church was erected during the 12th and 13th centuries, but was refurbished during the 15th century. The abbey has an estraordinary cloister added within the 13th century. At that time, the strict Cistercian soberity, still visible in the church´s interior, must have softened, as here are even sculpted capitals, or as Bernard of Clairvaux called them "ridicula monstruositas". The monkey on the capital near the portal of the chapter room (previous upload) was already a surprise. Here is a second monkey, eating grapes (?) and bitten by snakes. To the right is a "Master of Beasts".

For centuries this town was known as "Le Montet-aux-Moines" but after the French Revolution the name was shortened. Archambault II of Bourbon founded a Benedictine monastery here, as a burial ground for himself and his successors. This priory, dependent on Saint-Michel-de-la-Cluse in Piedmont ("Sacra di San Michele" near Turino, Italy) developed well and was soon after one of the largest of the area. The vast former abbey-church dates to the 12th century, it got modified in the 14th century and severely damaged in 1567, when during the Wars of Religions Huguenot troops burned down and sacked town and convent. The church was in very bad conditions after the Revolution and in 1871 the large apse, the ambulatory and the radiating chapels were pulled down. The building lost nearly half of its former length. The nave has some extraordinary capitals. (Dancing?) Daniel in the lions' den, a "Master of Beasts". The lions have wings, strange manes and human faces.

This museum holds a large collection of the works of art. Here are the originals, many of which are meanwhile replaced with replicas all around he Piazza dei Miracoli, as many of them crumbled and weathered. The museum is well worth a visit, but was closed (for a year?) in autumn 2014. This relief was once part of a frieze, running on the cathedral´s facade. A man, holding the cross, flanked by beasts from hell. It is now replaced by a more durable and less fragile copy.