Mortuary lantern of Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron
The death lantern of Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron ( French Lanterne des morts de Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron ) belongs to the type of death lantern (in German sometimes also called 'death lights'), which is particularly widespread in western France ; it is the tallest of its kind and one of the most important medieval monuments in the country. It has been classified as a Monument historique since 1886 ; in 1906 and 1995 it was extensively restored.
location
The death lantern stands at the northeast end of an open space, the former cemetery of the municipality, in the middle of the village of Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron on the Atlantic island of Oléron .
function
Very little is known about the historical function of the lights for the dead and the practical use of them. Since they stood in cemeteries (or in individual cases still stand), one suspects a relationship to the (presumably Christian) cult of the dead. It is completely unclear whether an eternal light burned in the lanterns or whether one or more lights were only lit on special days (e.g. on the Christian holidays of All Saints 'Day , All Souls ' Day and Good Friday as well as on funeral days and days of remembrance of the dead). Nothing is known about the type of lights (torches, candles or the like).
Dating
The funeral lantern from Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron shows clear high Gothic elements such as slim, high bundle pillars with capitals at the corners and slightly pointed arches at the upper end of the shaft. The lantern attachment, on the other hand, shows more Romanesque styles. These aspects make a dating to the late 12th or early 13th century probable, when the island was under English control after the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Heinrich Plantagenet (1152).
Architectural structure
The altogether around 25 meters high lantern (the heights vary between 23.40 and 28 meters) from Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron consists of four parts: a base area , which is now hidden under an embankment , the octagonal shaft (approx. 4.50 meters Diameter), the pentagonal lantern (about 3.80 meters in diameter) and a pyramidal - also five-sided - roof structure with a non-figurative cross at the top. The former ossuary of the cemetery is also located under the earth fill around the base area.
The entrance and two small window openings to illuminate the inner spiral staircase (vis) are on the north side of the building. About halfway up the south side there is a narrow cornice , the purpose of which is not clear.
The eight corners of the Gothic shaft are graduated several times with pillars, pilaster strips and set columns and thus accentuated. In contrast, the pentagonal lantern shows rather simple Romanesque forms with round arches, solid-looking set columns without capital and undecorated, superimposed arches . The triangular surfaces of the pointed stone helmet are framed by bulges.
Number symbolism
It is not known whether the unusual combination of eight shaft sides with a five-sided lantern attachment hides a number symbolism that is no longer comprehensible today .
meaning
Even more than the Hosanna crosses of western France, the death lanterns are impressive, but also enigmatic testimonies to medieval popular belief , in which pre- or extra-Christian ideas and ways of thinking mix with biblical-Christian to form a unity that is difficult to resolve.
See also
literature
- René Crozet: Les lanternes des morts. in: Bulletin de la société des antiquaires de l'Ouest , 1943, pp. 115–144
Web links
- Death lantern, north side - photo and information (French)
- Death lantern - detail photo
- Death lantern - photo around 1910
- Lanterns of the dead in Poitou-Charentes - photos and information (French)
- Death lanterns in France - photos
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lanterne des Morts, Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 45 ° 56 ′ 43.25 " N , 1 ° 18 ′ 19.9" W.