St-Theudère (Saint-Chef)
The former abbey church Saint-Theudère in Saint-Chef , a municipality in the department of Isère in the French region of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes , was built in the 12th century. In three chapels are Romanesque frescoes preserved.
history
The name Saint-Theudère is reminiscent of Theudarius von Vienne († approx. 575), who founded a monastery in Saint-Chef and was buried there after his death. The history of the abbey and the life of the saint are in the life of St. Theudarius, which Archbishop Ado von Vienne wrote around 870. After the monastery was destroyed during the Norman invasions, Archbishop Barnoin von Vienne had it rebuilt and settled by monks who had fled the Normans from Montier-en-Der in Champagne . Saint-Chef developed into an important abbey that was subordinate to several priories and exercised the right of patronage over numerous churches.
From the second half of the 10th century, new monastery buildings were erected, which, like the church, were completed in the 12th century. In the 14th century the abbey lost its independence and was subordinate to the Archbishop of Vienne. In 1536 the abbey was converted into a canons' monastery, which was abandoned in 1774.
The convent buildings were largely destroyed during the French Revolution . The remaining buildings had to give way to the construction of a street around 1850. Only the church remained. It was added to the list of Monuments historiques as a protected monument in 1840 .
architecture
Exterior construction
A transversely rectangular tower rises above the southern transept , which is broken through on the third floor by arched openings and a triplet arcade on the south side. The outer sides of the inside semicircular choir circumscribe a triangle. The Romanesque portal of the west facade was replaced by a Gothic portal in the 15th century .
inner space
The church has a three-aisled nave with seven bays and a narrow transept . The vault of the nave rests on arched arcades supported by octagonal pillars . It was built in the 15th century when the central nave was raised. The transept arms are divided into two bays and open in the east to two chapels with semicircular apses . The two inner yokes of the transept have barrel vaults , the two outer yokes have groin vaults . There are two chapels on each side above the transept arms.
Frescoes
Romanesque frescoes have been preserved in the Saint-Clément chapel in the north transept and in the Saint-Theudère chapel in the south transept, as well as in the Chapelle des Anges (angel chapel) above the Saint-Clément chapel.
The frescoes in the two lower chapels are incomplete. They were discovered in 1884 under multiple layers of plaster and restored in 1972. The rivers of Paradise can be seen on the groin vault of the Saint-Clément chapel. On the west side the Archangel Gabriel Zacharias announces the birth of John the Baptist and on the north side Mary the birth of Jesus . The enthroned Christ is depicted on the dome of the apse .
In the chapel of Saint-Theudère, a figure can be seen who is known as St. Theudarius who is holding a model of his church in his hand.
The upper chapel, Chapelle des Anges, is only accessible via a steep spiral staircase and is completely frescoed. In contrast to the frescoes in the lower chapels, they had never been plastered over. In the 16th century, the canons set up their archives in the chapel and the medieval frescoes behind the archive cabinets were preserved intact. They were restored between 1959 and 1961.
The theme of the frescoes is the Secret Revelation of John of Patmos and his vision of the Heavenly Jerusalem . In the middle of the ceiling, Christ is enthroned as judge of the world in a mandorla . To his right and left are seven angels, some holding banners in their hands. The outer angels are six-winged seraphs . At his feet stands Mary, wrapped in a dark cloak, surrounded by seven angels. On the opposite side, above the head of Christ, the Lamb of God hovers in a medallion . A Carolingian church symbolizes the heavenly Jerusalem. In the four windows you can see the heads of chosen ones who have entered Paradise. To the left of this an angel points to a figure with a halo, which can be interpreted as John of Patmos, the author of the Apocalypse , the heavenly city. On the right, an angel points to two smaller figures representing Adam and Eve. These are represented twice, before and after the fall, as indicated by the stylized tree of knowledge in their midst.
On the scenes on the walls, in addition to the twelve apostles, twelve people from the Old Testament are depicted who point to King David and are interpreted as prophets . They symbolize the transition from the Old to the New Testament . Further scenes show chosen people, holy women dressed in white, bishops and prophets.
In the middle of the apse arch the Lamb of God is enthroned, surrounded by two angels. The representation of Christ enthroned and the symbols of the evangelists John and Matthew , eagle and winged man, on the half-dome are only fragmentary. The archangels Gabriel, Michael and Raphael as well as Saint George , whose head is sculptured, are depicted on the walls .
literature
- Marion Vivier: Les fresques romanes . Musée & Patrimoine, 2nd edition, Grenoble 2008, ISBN 978-2-35567-019-0 .
- Thorsten Droste : Dauphiné and Haute-Provence. Discovery trips between the Rhône and the Alps, from Lyon to the Verdon Gorge . DuMont, Cologne 1992, ISBN 3-7701-2408-1 , p. 99-101 .
Web links
- Église Saint-Theudère in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 45 ° 38 ′ 3.6 ″ N , 5 ° 22 ′ 0 ″ E