Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: winged snake

Brive´s parish church is a former collegiate church. The large church was erected in the 12th/13th century, where already Gregory of Tours mentions a church. This was built over the tomb of missionary "Saint Martin l'Espagnol" (aka "Saint Martin den Brive") at the end of the fifth century. Legends tell, that he was a disciple of Saint Martin of Tour. For the first two centries the collegiate, founded end of the 11th century, prospered, supported by the Bishops of Limoge, but it entered financial difficulties later. The cloister of the collegiate was destroyed in 1764, after the Augustin canons living here, joined the Priory of Port-Dieu. After the Revolution the the conventual buildings were bought by City and demolished in 1835. Many capitals line nave. A woman playing with two winged snakes. This species of snakes is meanwhile extinct.

Saint-Genès, erected in the 11th and 12th century, was the church of the priory Saint-Etienne, dependent from the important Abbaye Notre-Dame in Déols. This abbey, now in ruins, had been founded in 917 and developed into one of the most powerful regional institutions. It was one of the first in the Cluniac network. Odo of Cluny (+ 942) was abbot of three monasteries: Cluny, Massy and Deols. This is important, as Saint-Genès has architectural parralells to Cluny II and Cluny III. The building got severely damaged, when Louis VII (aka "Louis le Jeune", 1. husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine) burnt down the town in 1152 during a feud with Abbo II de Déols, a supporter of Henri Plantagenêt (aka Henry II, "Curtmantle", 2. husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine). In 1569 the Huguenots set fire here - and many restorations followed that. During the French Revolution the bell tower was destroyed and the church became a "Temple of Reason". The carvings inside were created by (at least) two different workshops. There are rough and archaic capitals, that are probably older than the more elaborated, "sophisticared" ones. This one is probably from a third workshop. A huge (winged?), (crowned?) snake, that looks like the serpent in Paradise", is devouring a quadruped (dog), the hind feet are already in the snake´s mouth, while the head of the dog (?) is attacked by a second, smaller snake. To the side stands a giant swinging a club. He will kill the snake. Most of the capital´s left side is lost. There may be two small men - and a smaller snake..