St-Barthélémy (Farges-lès-Mâcon)
The village church Saint Barth is a Romanesque church in the area of the small town of Farges-lès-Mâcon in the Saône-et-Loire in the region of Bourgogne Franche-Comté . The village is located about two kilometers west of the right bank of the Saône and six kilometers south of Tournus . There are large quarries made of good quality light-colored limestone, which was also used for the construction of the church.
History
The village was founded in the 10th century. From this time came a forerunner of today's church, a chapel, which is dated in the sources to the year 930, built at the instigation of Alberich I , later the first Count of Mâcon , who was installed by Bishop Bernon of Mâcon . The sources give no information about the dimensions, appearance and location of this chapel.
Today's Saint-Barthélémy church is dedicated to the Apostle St. Bartholomew and was probably built in two phases. The choir and transept were built at the beginning of the 11th century, possibly on the foundation walls of the original chapel. The second construction phase, the three-aisled nave , followed in the second half of the 11th century.
According to another source, the construction of the church is dated to 1050 without any differentiation. Because of the clear internal differences between the transept and the nave, this is rather unlikely.
The sources do not provide any information about the time when the bell tower was erected above the crossing . It was probably built between the end of the 11th century and the 12th century. The external decorations, especially on the west facade (columns and capitals), can be classified into this period.
The execution of the frescoes in the calotte of the choir date back to the 15th or 16th century.
The church was inscribed on the list of historic monuments of the Saône-et-Loire department in 1913 .
Building
Floor plan, elevations and dimensions
External dimensions , without buttresses
- Overall length: 23.60 m
- Length of nave and transept: 15.00 m
- Width of the nave: 9.05 m
- Width of central nave: 3.85 m
- Width aisles: 2.62 m
Outward appearance
The structure stands on a small hill, which stands out from the surrounding slope, which slopes slightly south-east, and forms a steep slope on its south side, which is supported by a retaining wall from half a meter to a good two meters high. The retaining wall on the south and east sides and the outer walls of the church on the west and north sides border directly on the paved streets and plazas of the village. The cemetery of the village probably used to be on the level ground on the north side of the church.
The best overview of almost the entire structure is obtained from the southeast with the south side of the nave, the transept, the high bell tower and the choir.
All external building elements consist of small to medium-sized light limestone in irregular layers. Component corners and pillars are made of ashlar in larger formats.
Longhouse
The three-aisled nave is completely covered by a shared gable roof with a roof pitch of a good thirty degrees. The roofing consists of light, flat limestone slabs, the material of which corresponds to that of the masonry. The eaves slabs are slightly cantilevered on the clearly projecting, sharp-edged eaves cornice , which is supported by a row of corbels, the outward-facing sides of which are grooved . The gable roof hits the gable wall of the facade in the west , the verges of which with an inclination of almost thirty degrees protrude slightly above the roof covering. On the east side, the roof surfaces in the middle area meet the bell tower and protrude further down over the west wall of the bell tower, where they rest on the verges of the nave east walls across their entire width.
The long walls of the nave are the outer walls of the aisles . They are divided into four yokes by sharp-edged buttresses according to the internal structure . They reach a good half a meter below the eaves and are beveled on the top. On the south side, the cross-sections of three pillars increase below about two thirds of their height and again about one meter above the ground. The widenings are beveled on the top.
The original slit-like arched windows with widened walls are cut out in the middle of the yoke and extend to the upper edge of the buttresses. On the south side in the third yoke, the original window was significantly enlarged in width and height and its edges were framed with large-format stone. The same thing happened on the north side in yokes two and four. On the south side, in the fourth yoke, directly next to the eastern buttress, you can see the contours of a single-winged rectangular door that has been walled up flush with the surface.
The nave is closed off in the west by the gable wall of the facade, the ends of which end with the outer edges of the buttresses. Their verges end below about half a meter above the long house eaves with double projecting cornices, the lower ones of which are bevelled. Their overlapping stone slab covers protrude slightly over the outer edge of the gable wall.
In its axis is the two-winged main portal of the church, the wings of which are clad with simple planking. The portal opening is rectangular with sharp-edged reveals , the upper ends of which protrude into the opening made of large-sized stone and the lower corners of which are fluted. They carry a rectangular, pink-colored, neatly smoothed lintel beam that extends far beyond the width of the opening.
The portal opening is laterally limited by a smooth column each and next to it by sharp-edged slim wall pillars. The slightly conical upwardly tapering columns are equipped with slender, plant-based capitals , which are covered on the top by profiled transom plates . Their bases are decorated with double beads and stand on square plinths . The pillars stand together with the pillars on angular pedestals that are almost one meter high and protrude slightly from their loads. The pillars have capitals-like ends with roughly the same cross-section as the pillars, but which expand slightly towards the top. Their visible sides are decorated with regular roll patterns. Their upper edges correspond to those of the capitals and are covered by striker plates of equal height. Their lower edges are marked by profiles, but they are arranged differently. The lower edge of the left pillar corresponds to that of the neighboring capital, while the lower edge of the right pillar is almost halfway up the capital.
The pillars and pillars together support a five-tiered archivolt with different profiles . The two inner arches partially stand on the ends of the lintel beam. The outer arch is covered by a gable-roof-like closure, which stands on both sides of the wall pillars and is flush with the surface. The sloping verge slopes of a good thirty degrees are covered by profiled, slightly cantilevered cornices.
Just above the archivolt ridge, a horizontal, slender cantilevered cornice is walled in, the length of which is significantly less than the entire width of the portal. Its meaning can hardly be explained. Maybe there was another wooden shelter over the portal. A small, circular ox's eye is recessed above the cornice , the wedge of which almost touches the cornice below.
A Latin stone cross crowns the gable ridge of the nave .
Transept with bell tower
The south and north walls of the transept are flush with the side walls of the nave. Their eaves remain well below those of the nave. Your sweeping eaves cornice is not supported by corbels. Their roof surfaces have the same inclination as that of the nave. The west wall of the transept ends in the outer area under the roof covering of the nave. The opposite east wall is at the same height as the west wall and covered with stone slabs at the same incline. In the south wall of the transept, as in the nave, the formerly small window was enlarged and framed with large ashlar. In the north wall there is still the small window and, in addition, next to the east wall a small round arched portal, which formerly led out to the cemetery, but is now walled up on the inside.
In the middle area of the transept, the crossing, the bell tower rises up with an almost square floor plan. The tower is divided into three floors, on the north and south sides the lower one is almost as high as the two upper ones combined. They are subdivided with strong cantilever profiles, which are also called Lombard bands. Above the upper cantilever profile, there is a narrow strip of masonry above the strong and multi-profiled eaves cornice, above which the wooden spire construction of a pointed pyramid roof rises. The covering is made of small-sized dark slate shingles .
In the middle of the two upper floors, on each side, a twin window is cut out as a sound arcade with slender, arched openings, the cantilevered parapet cover resting on the cantilever cornices. The arches rest on both sides on transom profiles or plates. The latter rest on a central column that is reinforced on the inside by a pillar . On the top floor, a slender arched frieze is embedded on both sides of the sound arcades, each with two arches, as well as a Lombard style element . On the second floor, a horizontal decorative strip is embedded between the twin window and the cantilever profile, in which flat bricks are lined up flush with the surface in a zigzag pattern. They end at the same distance from the tower corner as the outer arch of the frieze above. In the lower tower basement there is centered on the north, east, and south walls just above the adjoining roof faces each have a slot-like embrasure . A round arched opening is left out on the west side, slightly shifted to the north from the center. It is obviously used to allow maintenance purposes to be reached on the roof of the nave. But it could also be the entrance to the bell tower. Otherwise no inner ascent is known.
In the tower walls there are square holes of the same height, which are intended for scaffolding the tower during repair work.
Choir head
The choir head consists of the choir adjoining the east wall of the transept and two smaller extensions on both sides, the sacristy in the south and a storage room (?) In the north. The floor plan of the choir is a rectangle that is followed by a semicircle. Accordingly, the roof shape consists of a gable roof inclined to the nave roof and a half- conical roof in transition-free transitions. The eaves are roughly designed as in the nave. The choir apse is supported by four strong buttresses, which were added later, the sloping roofs ending just below the eaves. The rectangular sacristy integrates the southern buttress, flush with the surface on the outside. It is covered by a roof , an extension of the choir's gable roof. The cantilevered cornice has no corbels. The extension of the storage room on the north side remains with its pent roof ridge under the eaves of the choir. The roof coverings correspond to that of the nave.
The three arched windows of the choir apse with widened walls, in the middle between the buttresses, are all of different sizes. The window at the top of the apse is the smallest and its arch extends almost to the eaves cornice. The south-east window is slightly larger, and above all higher. The northeastern one is much larger and higher. The sacristy receives its light from a small rectangular window in the south wall, just below the eaves.
Interior
The inner structural elements of the church consist of exposed limestone brickwork similar to that of the outer structural elements.
Longhouse
The three-aisled and four-bay nave consists of a towering central nave without direct window exposure, which is flanked by significantly lower side aisles, with some original small windows that were later expanded (see section on external appearance).
The central nave is covered by a slightly tapered barrel vault, which merges from the partition walls over its entire length without any caesura. These are each supported by four slightly pointed arches, each standing on three smooth pillars with a diameter of eighty centimeters, which are closed off by round, profiled transom plates. The outer arches stand on angular corbels in the walls, with equally profiled spars.
The two aisles are divided by sharp-edged semicircular girders into four slightly rectangular yokes, which are covered by ribbed vaults . Opposite the round pillars are semicircular pillars of the same diameter with profiled spars on the outer walls. The semicircular columns of the south aisle change their diameter about halfway up by a few centimeters. In the fourth yoke of the south aisle you can see the contours of the former doorway, which can also be seen on the outside. There may also have been grave sites on this side of the church.
The rectangular opening of the main portal is left open in the west wall. Immediately above it, a round-arched niche rises across the whole width. The little ox-eye can be found just under the top of the vault. In the east wall, a round arched arcade opens into the crossing, the apex height of which corresponds to that of the side arcades. Just below the top of the vault, an earlier round arched opening was walled up flush with the surface. The meaning of this opening is unclear as it opened into the lower floor of the bell tower. Perhaps it was once an inner entrance into the tower.
North aisle
South aisle
Partition on pillar
Groin vault in the aisle
Transept
The interior design of the transept indicates an earlier construction phase. The central arcade opening to the choir corresponds roughly to that to the central nave. However, your bow shows a back offset. The crossing is covered by a longitudinally aligned barrel vault, which is arranged entirely above the apex of the arcades. The crossing opens into the transept arms with round-arched arcades that merge into the walls and the transverse barrel vaults without any caesuras. In the south arm of the transept there is a later extended round arched window, in the north arm there is still the original small window and the contours of the walled up round arched doorway. In the east wall of this arm a small circular ox eye opens.
Choir head
The floor plan of the choir should actually be based on a rectangle that is followed by a semicircle. The builders did not quite succeed. The flat north wall spreads out clearly when it joins the east wall of the transept. The chancel is covered by a barrel vault, to which a half domed dome adjoins the apse without a break. The vault and dome approaches are marked with a profiled cantilever cornice. The three windows of different sizes with the widened walls protrude into this cornice with their flat arches. In the south wall a door into the sacristy opens on a rectangular floor plan. It is lit by a small rectangular window in the south wall. The small storage room next to the north wall adopts its inclined arrangement in the floor plan.
Interior decoration / frescoes
Baptismal font
A stone baptismal font is set up in front of the first column under the southern partition . Its shell is widened all around in eight round bulges, which are decorated in different ways. So there is a mask with a radiant smile. The bowl is crowned by an octagonal column that is erected on a widened foot.
Frescoes
In the vault and in the dome of the choir there are remains of heavily damaged frescoes from the 15th or 16th century.
In the middle of the dome is the Majestas Domini , the enthroned Christ with the open book of life and with the right hand raised in a gesture of blessing.
On the northern half of the barrel vault, two of the four evangelist symbols can be seen, the eagle of St. John and the winged lion of St. Mark.
Fresco in the choir
Fresco in the choir. middle left
Fresco in dome
Sources and literature
- French text with drawings, hanging in the church, without indication of the author
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 30 '43.6 " N , 4 ° 53' 55.5" E