St-Martin (Chapaize)
As a former priory church, St-Martin (Chapaize) is one of the most beautiful churches in Burgundy. It stands in the middle of the village of Chapaize , which consists of only a few houses and farms , about 15 km west of Tournus (on the Saône ) and about 15 km north of Cluny , in the hilly landscape of the Charollais and northern Mâconnais.
meaning
The early Romanesque church is worth seeing for its age and its simple beauty alone, but it is famous for its art-historical importance, which is mainly related to the nearby Cluny Abbey . It is particularly impressive for its harmonious architecture, from which the surprisingly high bell tower stands out, which has Lombard influences. Stonemasons from the northern Italian region around Milan were famous all over Europe at the turn of the millennium.
history
Conveniently located near the intersection of two Roman roads , a spring (Source St-Léger) and the Brioux brook, Chapaize was already known in ancient times . The earlier name Capasia, Campasia or Chapasia probably goes back to the Latin "campus" (= field). The place was probably named that way by the Benedictine monks who first founded a small hermitage here in the 10th century . A century later this was expanded into a monastery - under canon law a priory of St-Pierre in Chalon-sur-Saône . At that time, the village of Chapaize was under the feudal rule of the lords of Uxelles Castle, 2 km to the west.
No written data has survived on the founding and construction of Saint-Martin de Chapaize. However, the emergence of the church around "around 1030" can be conclusively inserted into the chronology of the nearby St-Philibert (Tournus) . The ground plan and pillar shape as well as the dimensions match those of the Michael Chapel of St-Philibert, as well as those of Romainmôtier (Switzerland) and the reconstructed dimensions of Cluny II.
In a scientific treatise by Didier Méhu and David Girard from the University of Laval on August 1, 2007, there is a floor plan of the church on page XIV, in which the dates of construction of the individual structural elements are identified (see hand sketch).
The oldest components are dated to "around 1030". They are the two rows of round columns under the partition walls between the aisles, supplemented by the partition walls above the arcade arches . In addition, after the vaulting, there are the belt arches of the south aisle and probably also the groin vaults on top . The ones in the north aisle are only partly from this period and fell victim to a fire around 1100.
The blinded facade and the belt arches in front of and behind the tower yoke, together with its domed vault, are dated "around 1040/1050".
The outer wall of the north aisle was obviously renewed after the above-mentioned fire "around 1100". The outer wall of the south aisle was completely renewed in the first two bays, in the remaining bays only the outer shell of the wall was renewed.
As a result of the collapse of the original round barrel of the central nave , the vault of yokes 1 to 5 was renewed as a sharpened barrel, together with the belt arches, namely "after 1125". At the same time, the outer buttresses of the " transept " were added, which extend above the roofs up to the tower.
The choir head with its three apses is dated "beginning of the 12th century", including short wall connections of the outer walls and the partitions. There is no information about the shape of the original choir head. The considerable amount of quarry stone masonry in the south apse shows, however, that at least the lateral apsidioles have taken over the original floor plan. This probably also applies to the choir apse.
The partial renovation of the vault of the north aisle with its belt arches is dated to the 14th century.
Difficulties in the mother abbey forced the monks to leave the monastery in the 16th century. The abbots of St-Pierre de Chalon had suffered greatly from the wars of religion and had to leave the area of Chapaize as early as 1556. In 1603 the abbots of Chalon are forced to dispose of Chapaize, "since it is the furthest from Chalon, most ruined and least profitable".
The descendants of the previous owners, the lords of Uxelles, received the right to hold court, the interest, the tax, the tithe, the arable land, meadows and forests for 3,360 livres and an annual pension of 255 livres. The monks only committed themselves to patronage and representation in the rectory of the church. The existing rectory on the edge of the forest was expanded and restored in 1740. Abbot Nicolas Genost de Laforest, pastor of Chapaize, lived there from 1751 to 1783 and is famous for his passion for hunting. He was immortalized under the name of Abbot Duverger in the novellas of the Marquis de Foudras "Pauvre défunt Monsieur de Curé de Chapaize" (Poor late pastor of Chapaize) and "Hommes des bois" (The men of the woods). At the end of the 17th century the abbots had great difficulties collecting the annual tax and therefore repeatedly demanded, but unsuccessfully, the return of the area of Chapaize.
But this was not to remain dependent on the feudal rule of Uxelles for much longer, as it was sold to a farmer after the revolution.
The four outer buttresses of the south aisle are said to have been added in 1846.
Towards the end of the 20th century, a careful restoration brought out the freshness of the original concept without destroying the patina of the old stones, even without interfering with the somewhat faded charm of the church square with its graves, the old maple trees and the half-decayed ones Farmhouses whose walls still give an idea of medieval manors. The upper clad windows were opened again.
Buildings
Under the heading of history, the total length is given as 34.50 m and the width as 13.20 m. The height of the bell tower should be 35.00 m.
General
The three-aisled church has a basilica elevation . The lower aisles are surmounted by a significantly higher central nave. The nave is five bays. The floor plans of the central nave bays are wide rectangles, those of the side aisles are square. The Vierungsjoch is a little deeper than the yokes of the ships, it is crowned inside by a dome, above which the high bell tower rises. Since the side aisles run through to the choir in the same dimension, the Vierungsjoch cannot be referred to as a transept. In the east, a three-part choir bay is connected, which is closed by a staggered choir, whose semicircular apses take over the width of the ships. On the other hand, their heights remain well below those of the ships.
The known sources do not provide any information about the location and extent of the convent buildings . However, the two doorways on the south side of the church suggest that the cloister of the monastery was located on this side , which enclosed a courtyard and was surrounded by the convent rooms such as the chapter house , refectory , kitchen, dormitory , workrooms, toilets and others. Nothing is left of any of this. Possibly these rooms still existed before the revolution (1789).
Outward appearance
Nave and facade
The eaves of the central nave are about twice as high as those of the side aisles. The rainwater drips off them freely. They protrude well beyond the outer walls and lie on wide eaves cornices supported by strong corbels, the visible sides of which are rounded inwards.
The gable roof of the central nave and the pent roofs of the side aisles have inclines of about thirty degrees and are covered with gray stone slabs. The facade wall of the central aisle protrudes a short distance over the roof surfaces and is covered like this. The roofing of the monopitch roofs just overhangs the verges . The ends of the facade walls protrude slightly beyond the longitudinal walls of the ships.
The division of the longitudinal walls of the ships into five bays is done by strong buttresses with a slightly rectangular cross-section, the tops of which are mostly covered with stone slabs in the slope of the roofs. The buttresses of the side aisles end just below the roofing, those of the central nave end a short distance under the eaves corbels. The pillar between yokes four and five on the south side ends approximately at the height of the window arches. Some pillars on the north side have gable roof-shaped covers. On the ground floor, about midway up the side aisle walls, a slender, arched window is cut out in the middle in yokes 1 to 5, the walls of which are widened outwards. The originally existing window in the first yoke of the north side was not restored when the outer wall was renewed. On the inside of the wall in the first yoke, the contour of a reveal edge of the former window can be seen. In the fourth yoke of the south side, the parapet of the window is a little higher in order to create sufficient height for a rectangular south portal. Immediately above the ridges of the monopitch roofs, a window similar to the one on the ground floor is cut out in each yoke, with a slightly lower height.
On the outer wall of the north aisle, a short piece of the original outer wall with three arches of an arched frieze under the eaves is still preserved in the first yoke, as it once existed on all the longitudinal walls of the aisles, but which was destroyed except for this in a fire around 1100 and has not been renewed afterwards.
The facade of the church, the west wall of the nave, consists of a central section that clearly protrudes from the head walls of the side aisles and covers the end of the central nave. Its gable rises above the ship's gable roof by a good half a meter, parallel to the roof pitch. The verges of the monopitch roofs in front of the side aisles are covered by the stone slabs of the roof cladding in a slightly cantilevered manner. In the center of the middle section, a double-winged, round-arched, slightly pointed main portal is cut out. Its inner arcade is marked with fighters at the arches. It is enclosed by an outer blind arcade that runs parallel to the sides and becomes increasingly wider and higher at the top from the arches. In the upper section of the gable a flat blind niche is embedded, which is bordered on the sides by pilaster strips a good half a meter wide . At the bottom, about halfway up the ridge, the back of the niche runs horizontally. The top of the niche runs like a gable roof with an inclination of around 20 degrees and is divided into an arched frieze consisting of a total of eleven arches with vertical arch extensions. In the center of the niche, a slender, arched window is cut out, which stands on the niche parapet and has greatly expanded walls. Its outer arch is set in recessed wall recesses on both sides with smooth columns with simply carved capitals and bases . Shortly below this window, the contours of a former window opening can be seen, which was later walled up flush with the surface. In the upper area of the head walls of the side aisles, a less slender round-arched window is cut out with slightly flared walls. Only on the head wall of the north aisle is a round arched side portal cut out under this window, about the width of the window.
On the facade about the height of the arch of the main portal you can see the contours of a black mourning ribbon (French: liter funéraire ) from the 17th century, which once ran around the whole church, which was decorated with coats of arms, probably with that of the lords of Uxelles. On the graphic above of the choir head from around 1830, these contours on its apses are even better preserved.
Vierungsjoch with bell tower
An unusually high bell tower rises above the crossing, which is rectangular in plan, with the same rectangular plan. The crossing contains a domed vault on trumpets , which is located in the tower base at the height of the nave roof. On the south and north side of this base, a round arched window is cut out, both of which illuminate the dome.
Two buttresses each adjoin the corners of the tower base on the south and north sides, which extend over the entire aisle and then significantly further beyond the outer walls of the aisles than the other buttresses. Their outwardly sloping upper sides, at the same slope as the roofs of the ships, are covered with stone slabs. These unusually wide buttresses are mainly used to transfer the heavy loads from the tall bell tower.
Between the buttresses, the walls and roofs are an extension of those of the ships. Immediately below the windows of the dome, the slightly protruding wall sections are covered by short roof slopes, the eaves of which are supported by arched friezes. In these wall sections, a round-arched window is cut out directly above the aisle roofs, as can be found in the yokes of the central nave. On the north side there is a window as an extension of the aisle wall, as in the neighboring yokes.
On the south side, a wall was subsequently drawn in between the ends of the buttresses, on the crown of which a stone staircase leads from a medium height from the eastern buttress up to the western buttress. This then swings 90 degrees to the north, where it extends on the crown of the buttress up to the tower base. Along the west side of the tower, a narrow staircase is then led up the slope of the roof covering to the ridge of the central nave. It ends under a round arched doorway that allows entry into the bell tower. The flights of stairs are accompanied on one side by a steel railing, which serves as a fall protection. Opposite it is another door through which you can get into the Vierungsjoch.
The bell tower is divided into three storeys on all four sides by flat blind niches, the heights of which decrease significantly towards the top. The sources do not reveal the extent to which these storey subdivisions correspond to the inner storeys.
The first floor above the tower base is relatively high compared to the other floors. The west and east sides are each divided into three slender wall fields that begin at the height of the base protrusion and are separated from one another by pilaster strips, the outer ones are wider than the two inner ones. The recessed wall fields are closed at the top by arched friezes, each with three arches. The narrower south and north sides are also divided into three recessed wall fields, each with two-arched friezes. The door opening mentioned above is left out in the west wall, and on the other three sides there is a slender, round-arched window opening, the apex of which is at the same height as that of the door.
On the second floor there is a wide blind structure on each side, the side pilaster strips of which are taken from the first floor. The lower setback is located just above the arched friezes on the first floor. The wall fields are closed on the top by six-arched friezes, the arches of which are smaller on the north and south sides than on the other sides. On the west and east sides, two twin sound arcades are cut out under the four inner arches . Their arches each stand together on a smooth pillar with a simply carved capital and a base on cantilevered window sills and wide transom profiles. On the north and south sides, there is only one such twin sound arcade in the middle.
On the third and top floor, the same twin sound arcades are cut out, but they are less high. Between the tower edges and the sound arcades there is a slender blind arcade the width of an arch, the lower edge of which is level with the window sills.
The projecting eaves of the stone-paved pyramid roof with an incline of about thirty degrees rests on an eaves cornice, the overhang of which has an almost square cross-section. It is supported by corbels, the outside of which is beveled inwards. The ridge of the tower roof is crowned by a towering ornately forged cross.
Striking are the numerous square holes in the wall surfaces of the bell tower, which are intended to simplify the assembly of scaffolding, especially for the maintenance and repair of this high component in the event of damage over the centuries.
Choir head
The transept is followed on its east side by a choir bay about the same width as that of the other nave bays. The elevation corresponds roughly to that of the nave, but the gable roof of the central area is slightly lower than that of the central nave. The roof pitches and the roofing correspond to those of the ships. The choir bay is bounded in the east by a wall that clearly extends beyond the contours of the roofs and walls of the choir bay parallel to them. The sloping tops are covered with slate shingles. The covers of the gable wall of the middle section merge at their ends into short horizontal pieces. The ridge of this pediment is crowned by a stone Latin cross . The lateral edges of the gable wall and its extension are marked by buttresses that are just too thick and reach down to the roofs of the apses. There are no window openings in the southern and northern walls of the Chorjoch. Instead, a round-arched window is cut out in the gable wall above the ridge of the choir apse. The windows of the three apses also contribute to the exposure of the choir bay.
The staggered choir consists of three apses which are semicircular in plan and which are connected to relatively short rectangles. The roofs accordingly consist of semicircular cones to which the short saddle roofs connect seamlessly. Their inclinations and roofs correspond to the other roofs of the church. The central choir apse is significantly wider and higher than that of the two chapels. The eaves of the choir apse rests on a cantilevered eaves cornice that is bevelled on the outside and is supported by an arched frieze. On the eaves cornice of the chapels, the front beveled corbels take over. The curved wall of the choir apse is stiffened by two buttresses sloping on the top. Between the buttresses and the walls of the chapels, a total of three arched windows are left open, the walls of which are slightly widened. In the rounded walls of the chapels, somewhat smaller and lower round arched windows have been cut out, with similar walls.
The south apse consists to a considerable extent of quarry stone masonry from the original structure of the 11th century.
Interior
Longhouse
Even today, the walls of the tall nave incline outwards in an almost adventurous way. This obviously comes from the first vault with a round barrel, which pushed the central nave walls outwards with its horizontal forces. After 1125, when the vault was renewed with a pointed barrel, the outwardly inclined central nave walls were not demolished and the walls of the nave were not rebuilt, which then produced significantly lower horizontal thrust forces that could be absorbed by buttresses.
The twelve strong circular pillars under the semicircular arcade arches of the thick partition walls are extremely dominant. They are crowned by "capitals" which have an upper outline of a square, with side lengths that correspond exactly to the diameter of the column. The vertical sides of the capitals consist of pointed equilateral triangles that only touch at one point at the corners of the square tops. The open space between the triangles and the rounding of the columns is enclosed by two pointed triangles of the capitals. The lower tips of the capital sides are formed from larger angular stones that are integrated into the pillar masonry.
On the sides of the square are the arches of the partition arcades with their sharp-edged wedge arches. The girdle arches of the aisles also stand on one side on these capitals, which in turn bear groin vaults, the ridges of which extend down to the arch approaches of the upper sides of the chapter and the outer pillars. The shield arches on the outer walls of the aisles are marked by protruding wedge arches. On the central nave sides of the capitals there are almost semicircular pillar templates, also called old services , which are as wide as the belt arches of the pointed vaults of the central nave. They are closed at the height of the vault approaches by double fighters , which are only stepped and profiled on the ship side. Their height corresponds to about twice the height of the piers. The vault of the central nave with its strong belt arches with right-angled cross-sections replaced the previously collapsed barrel vault after 1125, the semicircular shape of which can still be seen on the west and east walls. The height of the upper vaulted areas and their roofs has increased significantly as a result. This is also proven by the current location of the former western and eastern windows in the dome. Today they are covered by the ship's vault and the roof, which was not originally the case. The vault surfaces today show remains of paintings. In particular, there are ornamental bands along the top of the vault and across it in the middle of the yokes, some of which meet in a broadened ornament that is reminiscent of a keystone . The vault approaches are marked by the change from exposed brickwork to the plastered vault surface.
In each yoke of the central nave, a slender round-arched window is recessed in the middle of the outer walls, the walls of which are widened, the mean height of which corresponds approximately to the vaulting. In each yoke of the aisles, a semicircular window is cut out in the middle in the upper area of the blind arcade, the walls of which are widened. The parapet of this window in the fourth yoke on the south side is arranged a little higher so that a sufficient height is reached shortly below for a rectangular opening of the south portal.
The west wall of the central nave is enclosed by a blind arcade, the side templates of which are still exactly vertical, as they were not exposed to the lateral thrust of the previous barrel vault. The shape of the older semicircular vault can also be seen here. The main portal, which is rectangular on the inside, is centrally located. The arched passage of the portal opening can only be seen when the portal wing is opened. Arched wall niches are embedded on both sides of the portal, the apex of which is about halfway up the portal. In the upper part of the wall there is a large, arched window with flared walls. On both sides of the window opening, smooth columns are set back, with simply carved capitals and bases. Shortly below the window parapet you can see the contours of a former, smaller, arched window that was walled up flush with the surface. In the western end of the side aisles, a round arched window is cut out with flared walls. In the north aisle there is a round arched side portal under the window.
Tower yoke
The arms of the transept do not protrude beyond the aisles. It is a laced-off transept, the arms of which are significantly lower than the central nave. It is wider than that of the nave yokes. Arched arcades open into his arms on the ground floor, which, like the nave bays, stand on the square pillar capitals and support the walls that are an extension of the partition walls of the ships. As in the central nave, almost semicircular old services are hidden in front of these walls in the pillar axes, the widths of which, however, taper somewhat towards the outside and are plastered. These templates are crowned by half capitals similar to those of the nave capitals on the ground floor. They are a little lower than the fighters in the central nave. On top of these are semicircular arcades made of wedge stones, which carry walls of equal width that extend under the adjoining vaults. In each of them there is a partially covered window opening in the crown of the vault, which originally supplemented the light of the dome. In the north and south walls of the tower yoke, arched windows are recessed in the middle, the same size and height as those in the upper central nave. Not far above these windows there is a blind arch in the width of the bay, almost at the same height as the arcade arches to the central nave and choir bay. Above are the arches of the dome bearings and the trumpets.
The octagonal dome inserted into the rectangle of the tower yoke rests in the four corners on rather wide trumpets, in the form of half hollow cones that taper downwards and are bordered on their edge arches with stone profiles. Between the trumpets, these are connected to one another with two and three blind arches. This creates support arches all around, on which the dome shell rises. The dome was originally illuminated through four arched windows, of which only two let in daylight after the central nave was raised.
Choir head
A choir bay is inserted between the transept and the choir and chapel apses, the width of the ship bay. Its elevation almost corresponds to that of the nave. The vault of the central section is, however, a groin vault and is slightly lower than that of the central nave and slightly higher than the crossing arcade. The side walls in extension of the ship's walls have no windows. Instead, the yoke is illuminated through a round arched window above the choir arcade, which is indirectly supplemented by the windows in the apses. The slightly pointed arcades to the apses are slightly narrower than the naves but significantly lower than their heights. The ground plan of the staggered choir consists of three semicircular apses which are followed by short rectangles. Half spherical caps seamlessly connect over the curved walls of the apses, which merge over the rectangles into straight wall sections and short semicircular barrel vaults. In the curves of the apse walls there are three arched windows in the choir and two in the apses with flared walls, which let the white plastered rooms of the choir and the chapels shine brightly.
literature
- Klaus Bussmann : Burgundy. Art, history, landscape. Castles, monasteries and cathedrals in the heart of France: the country around Dijon, Auxerre, Nevers, Autun and Tournus (= DuMont documents. DuMont art travel guide ). 11th edition. DuMont, Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-7701-0846-9 , p. 51.
- Thorsten Droste : Burgundy. Monasteries, castles, historic cities and the culture of viticulture in the heart of France (= DuMont art travel guide ). 3rd, updated edition. DuMont Reiseverlag, Cologne 2003, ISBN 3-7701-4166-0 , p. 134.
- Rolf Tomann (Ed.): Burgundy. Architecture, art, landscape. Text by Ulrike Laule. Photographs by Achim Bednorz. Könemann, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-8290-2707-9 , p. 254.
- Eliane Lustolle: Chapaize. In: Christian Sapin (ed.): Saône-et-Loire. Bresse bourguignonne, Chalonnais, Tournugeois. = Monuments de Saône-et-Loire. Congrès Archéologique de France, 166e session, 2008. Société Française d'Archéologie, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-901837-34-3 , pp. 151–176.
Web links
- French website with pictures
- French treatise with dates (PDF; 3.2 MB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ This source exists to this day. There is still an old wash house there.
- ↑ according to a document from the 14th century
- ^ Rolf Tomann (Ed.): Burgundy. Architecture, art, landscape. Text by Ulrike Laule. Photographs by Achim Bednorz. Könemann, Cologne 2000, p. 254.
- ^ A b Didier Méhu, David Girard: L'église Saint-Martin de Chapaize. (PDF; 3.2 MB) Université Laval, August 1, 2007.
- ^ Klaus Bussmann: Burgundy. Art, history, landscape. 11th edition. DuMont, Cologne 1990, p. 51.
Coordinates: 46 ° 33 ′ 0 ″ N , 4 ° 45 ′ 0 ″ E