Mount Saint-Michel, Pt II

Gentle Friends I am really happy that you are enjoying my "Travel Log" and so it continues......  today's Post will be interior and art from Mount St-Michel.  Here are some snaps......  there is lots of stone carving about the Abbey, these bas-relief sculptures were set apart and lots of them here are a couple..

"Adam et Eve chasses du Paradis" - c. 1500 - Bas -Relief

"Le Christ descendant aux limbes" - 1547 - bas relief

"Vierge et l'enfant" - 13th century - Polychrome stone

These three pieces of art where just spectacular and so fitting for the space.  

Moving from the Abbey you go out into the......

The Cloister - The cloisters are entered from the church. They are the most beautiful part of the Abbey. They are early Gothic (finished in 1228) and are the last part of the complex known as the Merveille to be completed. They are situated above the Knight's Hall. Unlike Romanesque antecedents it does not have figured capitals. The decoration is confined to a floral display on the squinches: roses or leaf-vine designs. Above the squinches runs a frieze of rosettes among which a few barn-owls are distributed (not in my snaps). The two rows of columnettes below are set in a staggered pattern (quite unusual). Soaring above the cloisters are a set of windows of the North Transept. A chapter house at the West side was never built. On the North the cloisters look out over the bay. The fourth side is next to the church as is the case in most cloisters (except here it is along the North not the South church wall).

....moving from the Cloisters into the Refectory....... marrying elements of Gothic and Romanesque design styles the refectory or frater off the cloisters is a magnificent, but simple chamber. The hall dates back to the early thirteenth century and its size – some thirty four metres in length and ten metres in width – indicates that communal meals must have been something special when an obviously large community of monks would have inhabited the church. Refectory sizes are a good indication of the wealth of an abbey, and from this it is evident that the abbey at Mont St Michel was well patronised. The arc vaulted ceiling supported on thick heavy limestone decorated and colonnaded walls resembles an upturned boat hull, and as is the cloister ceiling, is clad with timber slats., again to lighten the load on the buildings built below the Refectory.  Of distinctly Romanesque style are the simple seemingly narrow windows. Although not visible along the length of the salon, some half dozen windows along the length of the room let in an amazing amount of light. Although appearing to be narrow they are some five feet wide and twenty in height. This view to the northern window shows the austerity of decoration – a simple crucifix. The south end holds the pulpit from which a single monk would have recited Biblical texts whilst his colleagues would have eaten their twice daily meatless meals (in accordance with the rules of St Benedict) in otherwise complete silence. The acoustics are superb and his voice would have filled the air of the refectory.

 This large caving is....The archangel Michel convincing the bishop (St. Aubert) to build the monastery on this site by burning him on the forehead with his thumb - part of the early history of the building of the Abbey and why this Wonder of the World exists....

.....moving along from the Refectory you go into... Les Salle des Hotes - Room of hosts (13th century): it is located on the 2nd and last floor of Le Mervielle.  It is a room in which the Nobility and Aristocracy vising the Abbey would have been received. It is separated into two naves by a row of six columns on octagonal bases with double windows at one end and.....

.... two large fireplaces, for cooking and warmth.

Descending deeper and further back in the building history you come to the crypts where you see gigantic pillars holding everything up....

.. it's very hard to get the feel for how big these columns are, but trust me they are huge.

... part of the oldest and earliest of spaces this is the Chapel des Trent Cirges (Chapel of 30 Candelabra), and is buried under all the other much later construction.

... The Salle Des Chevaliers is an exceptional case of Gothic Norman architecture.Located Underneath the cloister, the Salle Des Chevaliers is on level two of the Merveille and was built a little time after the Salle des Hotes.  Built out of granite the Salle Des Chevaliers as seen the photo appears spacious with two considerable sized fireplaces. The large hoods of the fireplaces are supported by two long granite brackets which help the heat to radiate around this great room. Next to the fireplaces are small windows which over look the bay.  The Granite columns with their decorated tops and the cross vaulting of the ceiling make the Salle Des Chevaliers a must see when visiting Mont Saint Michel.

 .... as you leave the Abbey you go down some back way and can look up and see all the different building levels and additions....

... and then you can walk along the walls and here is view looking up at the Abbey.

That wraps up Mount Saint-Michel - and the travel log continues next week.....  thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

Mount Saint-Michel, Pt I

Gentle Friends there are many things I am sure that we all have on our own Private "Bucket Lists."  My Bucket list of things to do and see, before checking out, contains many buildings and sites around the world....  Pavlovsk Palace, Russia, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Machu Picchu, Peru, Heian Palace, Kyoto.... and the list goes on and on....  I have seen and done many things on my list over the years, and one of them I can check off from this trip... seeing and walking around Mount Saint-Michel.  I took lots of snaps so I'll be breaking them up across two days......

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It was another over cast day with sporadic sunny breaks, so the pictures fluctuate back and forth.  Finding the Mount is very easy as there are lots of signs and it is a famous pilgrimage site with lots of tourists visiting year round.  There is a new car park/information Centre about 2 km from the Mount and a "free" shuttle from the Car park to the Mount and back.  Free is a relative term since you pay for parking I would think you are indirectly paying for the "Free Ride."  But, it is a nice gesture and if a shuttle ride is not what you want there is a sort of horse drawn cart type ride or you can walk the distance across the causeway - all to get to the Mount....

The Mount from the car park.... I was totally excited at this point and didn't come off the cloud until we were leaving!!!!

Today I'll show the snaps going up the Mount and the Main Abbey Sanctuary at the top.....

... getting closer, walking up the causeway after getting dropped off the Shuttle...... there is always lots of scaffolding all over these sites so that little bit to the right I expected.

... closer still, as it looms over the mud flats... I could imagine a pilgrim slowly approaching this wonderful place!!

... the mud flats of quick sand that have protected this place for centuries.....  they are being restored to let the tidal flow return to a more natural state....

I just liked this shot because the breeze caught the lovely tri-coloured French flag and unfurled it snapping and cracking with the wind.....

...  after entering The Porte de l'Avancée, the main gate at the end of the causeway, 

..  this leads straight to the Grande Rue, which is packed chock-a-block with souvenir shops and tourists.....

... after passing through all the streets of town you pass onto the actual church grounds and more steps and climbing.....  it's like walking to heaven, up,up,up,up.... (a bit dramatic, but you get the idea)...

... looking down from the ramparts onto the causeway we had so recently walked across, you can see the shuttle park  in the mid distance..... and the dam on the Coueson River that controls the flow into the tidal basin and the historical removal of silting up around the island.

 ... at the very top you are confronted with the Abby of St Michel.  And, when you turn around and look out to Sea.....

.... you see the tidal flats and water flowing out into the English Channel.

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Turning back around and going into the Abby itself you are confronted with.....

... a very simple grand barrel vaulted nave.....

... and this beautiful triple Romanesque Clerestory of arches.... holding up the "light" wooden vault....

.... the vaults are all of wood instead of stone to keep the weight down.  With every space being built on top of an older piece or building the weight load was an essential component to the building...

... the Chancel and Apse of the Abby....  notice the lovely tile floor....

..... this is one of the many side chapel that line the nave, all have decorative tiled floors.

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Here's a little History from Wikipedia... "Mont Saint-Michel was used in the sixth and seventh centuries as an Armorican stronghold of Gallo-Roman culture and power until it was ransacked by the Franks, thus ending the trans-channel culture that had stood since the departure of the Romans in AD 460. From roughly the fifth to the eighth century, Mont Saint-Michel belonged to the territory of Neustria, and in the early ninth century was an important place in the marches of Neustria.  Before the construction of the first monastic establishment in the 8th century, the island was called Mont Tombe (Latin: tumba). According to legend, the Archangel Michael appeared in 708 to St. Aubert, the bishop of Avranches, and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. Aubert repeatedly ignored the angel's instruction until Michael burned a hole in the bishop's skull with his finger.

Unable to defend his kingdom against the assaults of the Vikings, the king of the Franks agreed to grant the Cotentin peninsula and the Avranchin, including Mont-Saint-Michel, to the Bretons in the 867 Treaty of Compiègne. This marked the beginning of the brief period of Breton possession of the Mont. In fact, these lands and Mont Saint-Michel were never really included in the duchy of Brittany and remained independent bishoprics from the newly created Breton archbishopric of Dol. When Rollo confirmed Franco as archbishop of Rouen, these traditional dependences of the Rouen archbishopric were retained in it.

The mount gained strategic significance again in 933 when William "Long Sword" annexed the Cotentin Peninsula from the weakened Dukes of Brittany. This made the mount definitively part of Normandy, and is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, which commemorates the 1066 Norman conquest of England. Harold, Earl of Wessex is pictured on the tapestry rescuing two Norman knights from the quicksand in the tidal flats during a battle with Conan II, Duke of Brittany. Norman Ducal patronage financed the spectacular Norman architecture of the abbey in subsequent centuries.

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In 1067, the monastery of Mont Saint-Michel gave its support to Duke William of Normandy in his claim to the throne of England. This he rewarded with properties and grounds on the English side of the Channel, including a small island off the southwestern coast of Cornwall which was modeled after the Mount and became a Norman priory named St Michael's Mount of Penzance.

During the Hundred Years' War, the English made repeated assaults on the island, but were unable to seize it due to the abbey's improved fortifications. The English initially besieged the Mont in 1423-4, and then again in 1433-4 with English forces under the command of Thomas Scalles. Two wrought-iron bombards that Scalles abandoned when he gave up his siege are still on site. They are known as les Michelettes. Mont Saint-Michel's resolute resistance inspired the French, especially Joan of Arc.

  

Abbey design - In the 11th century, William de Volpiano, the Italian architect who had built the Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy, was chosen by Richard II of Normandy to be the building contractor. He designed the Romanesque church of the abbey, daringly placing the transept crossing at the top of the mount. Many underground crypts and chapels had to be built to compensate for this weight; these formed the basis for the supportive upward structure that can be seen today. Today Mont Saint-Michel is seen as a Romanesque style church.

Robert de Thorigny, a great supporter of Henry II of England (who was also Duke of Normandy), reinforced the structure of the buildings and built the main façade of the church in the 12th century. In 1204, the Breton Guy de Thouars, allied to the King of France, undertook the siege of the Mount. After having set fire to the village and having massacred the population, he was obliged to beat a retreat under the powerful walls of the abbey. Unfortunately, the fire which he himself lit extended to the buildings, and the roofs fell prey to the flames. Horrified by the cruelty and the exactions of his Breton ally, Philip Augustus offered Abbot Jourdain a grant for the construction of a new Gothic-style architectural set which included the addition of the refectory and cloister.

Charles VI is credited with adding major fortifications to the abbey-mount, building towers, successive courtyards, and strengthening the ramparts."

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There's lots more to come.  I hope you are enjoying my little Travel Log.  I usually keep one when I travel, but thought about it and decided to turn these Blog Posts into my Log of the trip.....

Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar