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History Visit Saint Maur Romanesque Bestiary Information History Visit Saint Maur Romanesque Bestiary Information History Visit Saint Maur Romanesque Bestiary Information History Visit Saint Maur Romanesque Bestiary Information ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ English Glossary The Saint Maur congregation The ’s Romanesque bestiary Montmajour Chevet: in 13th-century France, apses were built Reformist monks The symbolic role of animals as radiating chapels, known as chevets when The Saint Maur congregation arose from a The 12th-century sculptors depicted an animal the structure was very complex. 2013. janvier Stipa, Enclosure: the inner area of a , closed reform movement, which started in 1618 in the world of complex symbolism designed for the From Provençal Romanesque off to lay people, where monks lived in great Parisian abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, edification of the monks and in praise of the impression to Classical splendour seclusion as set out by the Rule. before spreading to the great Benedictine abbeys Creator. Each animal refers to a character trait in France. and feelings which are comparable to those of Ex-voto, plural ex-voti: painting, object or text pla- Monks and builders ced in a church in thanks for a vow obtained or Saint Maur was one of the companions of Saint men, amounting to a symbolic reflection of grace accorded. et cætera. Caractères Benedict, who drew up the Benedictine Rule a spiritual reality embodying the confrontation In the 10th century, Hundred Years’ War: a series of conflicts between observed by most Western abbeys during the between good and evil, with cats, bears, donkeys, a community of the Kings of France and from 1337- traduction Middle Ages, but which after the Wars of Religion goats, and so on. Their depiction on the consoles Benedictine monks 1453. In times of peace, the Great Companies, was frequently followed only laxly. The Saint expresses their subjugation to man. The abbey settled on a rocky island bands of mercenaries, finding themselves Maur congregation worked to have the Rule There was no distinction between exotic and in 1846, by Révoil rising up from the without pay, would pillage the kingdom. strictly observed, and was particularly active mythical animals in a society in which men Marie-Hélène Forestier. marshes just outside , the Mont Majour*. Mason’s marks: distinctive signs left by stone in the 17th century. travelled but little. The bestiary includes hybrid In the mid-11th century they built the Chapel of masons in order to claim payment. animals and man-eating monsters such as the

réalisation , and then an abbey church. The relic Mont Majour: big mountain. Cultivated and open-minded monks Tarasque. The legend says that this monster of the True Cross kept in its crypt attracted large Chapter house: place where monks assembled - half dragon and half lion - devoured people numbers of pilgrims, leading to the construction The Rule promoted intellectual work by monks, who wanted to cross the Rhône marshes: in under the authority of the abbot to hear a François Brosse. of the reliquary Chapel of the Holy Cross outside reading from a chapter of their Rule. which relaunched spiritual reflection and led to the cloister it is depicted with a victim between the enclosure in the 12th century. In the late works of scientific research. its jaws. * illustration 13th century the abbey’s influence extended In 1739, there were 2,346 works catalogued Practical information from the valley of the Isère to the Mediterranean, in the library at Montmajour, and over 4,600 The presence of human figures via 56 . The abbey was fortified during in 1790. The Montmajour monks read Molière,

Average length of visit: 1 hour Anders. Plein Sens, the Hundred Years’ War*. Reforms carried Guided tours in French. Crébillon, Fontenelle, and Cervantes, as well as As in Ancient art, man is depicted amidst the out by the Saint Maur congregation in the Tours are suitable for disabled visitors. Diderot’s and d’Alembert’s Encyclopaedia. plant decor of the Corinthian capitals on the conception 18th century resulted in a phase of renewed columns. This can take the form of a head vigour and the construction of a new monastery. Monks and builders surrounded by foliage, or of a Biblical scene. Bookshop-Giftshop The capital opposite the entrance to the chapter The guide to this monument is available in the ‘Itinéraires’ collection Organised into a network, the Maurists Exhibition venue in 4 different languages, in the bookshop-giftshop. house, for instance, represents the Temptation conducted a systematic reconstruction campaign of Christ, an exhortation to free oneself from The medieval buildings were listed as historic Centre des monuments nationaux of monastic buildings. At Montmajour their the bonds of sin, which the monks had to monuments in 1840 and restored from 1862 on. Abbaye de Montmajour veritable palace, built in the Classical style, acknowledge during the reading of the chapter. Route de Fontvieille The abbey became State property in 1945. It 13200 Arles singled it out as a major site in the south-east A Pentecostal scene in the south gallery

P. Cadet © Centre des monuments nationaux, Paris. nationaux, des monuments Cadet © Centre P. now serves as a venue for exhibitions, and tél. 04 90 54 64 17 of the kingdom for this new congregation. represents the Holy Spirit descending upon each summer takes part in the Rencontres the apostles via a ribbon linking them. www.monuments-nationaux.fr de la photographie d’Arles. crédits photos

*Explanations overleaf. abbaye de monmajour EN_montmajour 09/11/12 15:32 Page5

History Visit Saint Maur Romanesque Bestiary Information ▲ 19 4 The abbey church of Notre Dame The cloister and conventual buildings N stripped. It was only listed as a historic monument 6 in 1921 and was partially restored in 1994. 1 The crypt has a dual function, acting as the 7 The cloister’s north gallery was used for foundations of the abbey and as the lower church. burials, as may be seen from the wall-niche The exterior 20 It is adapted to the land, compensating the slope, tombs, tomb stones, and floor paving. Its 6 3 18 with the southern side almost entirely dug into Ancient style is similar to that found at 5 16 14 The lower courtyard has a fine viewing point the rock. To the north, double arches reinforce Saint-Trophime in Arles, with fluted 2 over the marshes, which were drained in 1642. 17 the barrel vaulting, a construction method used pillars and Corinthian capitals, restored 1 9 15 The gatehouse was once the main entrance to for amphitheatres in Roman days. Its strength by Henri Révoil in 1862. 8 the abbey. drew this part 7 means it can bear the weight of the abbey church. 8 The east gallery houses the wall-niche of the site as well as the surrounding countryside tombs of the Counts of , who on several occasions when staying in Arles in Mason’s marks* may be seen on the pillars and 12 vaults. The transept and ambulatory lead to seven were major donors to the abbey. It is 11 1888-1889. These drawings are held by the radiating chapels, which were all used for mass, the only gallery to have retained its in . as the Montmajour monks were also priests and Romanesque capitals, including a 16 The Pons de l’Orme tower, work on which celebrated private services. Temptation of Christ opposite the started in 1369, illustrates how the abbey was chapter house . modified for defensive purposes during the 2 The slope carved out from the rock leads up * 21 13 to the abbey church. 9 The chapter house* was where 10 Hundred Years’ War*. The panoramic views 3 The nave, completed in 1153, is an example of the monks and abbot held their 14 from the top show the strategic position the Provençal Romanesque architecture at its peak, daily assembly. place occupied just outside Arles. with a simple layout in a Latin cross and a single, 10 The south gallery, a Romanesque 17 The Chapel of Saint Peter, dating from the barrel-vaulted, very tall nave. In order to have an structure, has sculptures that are mid-11th century, is the oldest part of the abbey. uninterrupted wall against the rock, the interior typical of late 14th-century 15 Its entrance is indicated by a door and a bas-relief is lit by the windows of the choir and by the tall Gothic iconography. depicting Saint Peter. The building is undergoing 19 bays above the crossing which were added in the 11 The refectory is partially restoration. 13th century. Only two of the originally planned built into the rock. The 18 The rock cemetery is where the monks were five bays were built. spiral staircase near the buried. 4 The Chapel of Notre-Dame-la-Blanche in the door leads to the dormitory. 19 The Chapel of the Holy Cross, to the east of the north transept still has two wall-niche tombs, 12 The west gallery contains enclosure*, is another masterpiece of Provençal one of which housed the sepulchre of Bertrand many 12th-century marine graffiti Maurists normally entrusted building works Romanesque architecture. It was built in the de Maussang, an abbot of Montmajour in the discovered in 1993, including ex-voti* and to a member of their community with knowledge late 12th century for people on the “Pardon de 14th century. depictions of major events such as a departure of architecture. After it was damaged by a fire, Montmajour” pilgrimage, which was held on 5 The sacristy was added in the 15th century. for the Crusades. The sculpted 12th-century Jean-Baptiste Franque was put in charge of a the feast of the Cross, 3 May. The lay cemetery 6 The archives room, which also dates from the consoles and capitals depict fantastic beasts. second series of works between 1726 and 1728. developed all around it. 15th century, opens to the north so as to protect The two final building campaigns, carried out in 20 A doorway in the chevet* of the polygonal it from the mistral, the prevailing wind, making 13 The Saint Maur monastery 1747 and 1776, gave the monastery its definitive abbey church leads back to reception via the it suitable for reading and writing work. shape with 16 bays on the facade. During the crypt. This was built by the Avignon architect Pierre II the monastery was used 21 The audiovisual room was designed by the Mignard between 1703 and 1719, though as a stone quarry and its roof and roof timbers architect Rudy Ricciotti in 2001.

*Explanations overleaf.