Gentle Friends, our next destination was a visit to Le Mans, and the Catherderal of St Julian de Man. The Cathedral's construction occurred in two main phases - the first stone church replaced an earlier building in the 6th century and then the next major expansion in the 14th century. It is dedicated to Bishop Julian. It is believed he was born a Roman nobleman. He was consecrated a Bishop at Rome in the middle of the 3rd century and then sent to Gaul to preach the Gospel. He performed quite a few miracles... they include... during a drought he thrust his staff into the ground and at the spot, water gushed forth, a second miracle was the resurrection of a dead man. He made many conversions to the Christian faith, he cared for the poor, helped the infirm and orphans...
His feast day is January 27..... now back to the visit...
... when we arrived it was cloudy and overcast...this is a view of the wonderful Gothic ambulatory and choir and the small chaplets that line the ambulatory... the longer chapel sticking out is the Chaple of the Virgin Mary - more about that later...you can also see the flying buttresses that hold everything up...
... a closer look at the chaplets... at the east end looking west, the flying buttresses on the outside of the choir look like a forest of stone, owing to their unique bifurcating design. Each of the sloping flyers splits in two, presenting a "Y" shape with each arm engaging on a separate upright buttress...
... by the time we were leaving the weather had turned beautifully blue and sunny!! From this angle, you can see the bell tower and some of the old Roman walls that are incorporated into the foundation of the Cathedral... what's so interesting about this place is that the cathedral combines both a Romanesque nave and a High Gothic choir/ambulatory...
as with all the sites, there was some restoration going on and so I peeked behind the wooden fence and got this snap of the Roman walls and their construction...
... so we walked up these 19th-century steps on the left and as you move along the side you can see all the Gothic parts of the building and then ...
... as you walk past the bell tower...
... the heavier Romanesque part of the church... thicker walls, small windows and smaller buttresses, then there is...
... this superior and substantial Romanesque porch... this porch opens into the south aisle of the nave and dates to around 1150. The tympanum (the section above the door) features the Majestas Domini (Christ surrounded by the four evangelist symbols), over the twelve evangelists on the lintel. The doorposts feature St Peter and St Paul and are flanked by eight Old Testament figures. The archivolts (the arched carving around the tympanum) are carved with scenes from the life of Christ.
...I was standing in the transept looking west down the nave... the nave is a typically Romanesque basilica design form with round-arched arcades and single aisles on either side and lit by clerestory windows that are small. Following a fire in 1134 a rebuilding programme was partly funded by Henry II, whose father Geoffrey of Anjou, was eventually buried there in 1151. The original nave had a wooden roof that burned and was replaced by the stone vaulting you can see now. The capitals of the nave piers are richly carved with leaves and other vegetation and also incorporate animals and human figures...
... the west door at the end of the nave still retains the ghost images of the original frescos that covered the walls...
... over the main door (above) in the west facade is this super stained glass window depicting Julian of Le Mans and 16 episodes of his life (created in the 12th century, restored 1897)
... I turned around in the transept and took this shot looking east towards the choir and into the glorious High Gothic section of the cathedral...
... the single-aisle showing the small windows, thick walls and acanthus top columns, retaining some original paint...
... I can't find my notes but I think this snap is of the bas-relief of Geoffrey d'Anjou, Duke of Normandy and his burial spot...
... the rose window in the north transept...
... I loved walking around this choir space... the pink glow from the windows was ethereal and as the sun came out the pinker it got!!
... the cathedral is packed with some super stained glass windows... here is a really pretty one...
... and I found this WWI memorial tablet....and then I did some research and found this bit of info.... between 1923 and 1936, the Imperial War Graves Commision erected a series of memorial tablets in French and Belgian cathedrals to commemorate the British Empire Dead of the First World War. The tablets were erected in towns in which British Arny of Empire troops had been quartered. This tablet was unveiled on January 28, 1925. The coats of arms on top are from the Dominions of the Empire... starting with the one in the 9 o'clock position are the Arms of Canada, Arms of South Africa, Arms of New Zealand, Arms of Newfoundland and the Arms of Austrailia.
... more of the gorgeous stained glass...
The Chapel of the Virgin Mary...
... the vaulted ceiling in the Chapel depicts forty-seven angel musicians. The paintings, which date from the 14th century, had been covered over with white wash and plaster and were only rediscovered in 1842... so with the glorious 12th century stained glass windows and the beautiful 14th-century frescoed ceiling this space was just sumptuous!!
... looking at the high altar you can just see the Chaple of the Virgin and the pink glow of the windows... those chandeliers where huge, but look so small in these pictures...
... another great window shot...
... the West facade and the front door of the cathedral...
.... on the right-hand corner of the west facade is a 4.5-meter high prehistoric Menhir (a tall upright stone of a kind erected in prehistoric times in Western Europe) locally know as the "St Julians Stone." Natural weathering has given it a surface that looks like drapery. The stone was moved here in 1778. I found all this info about the stone after the fact, when I was there I thought what an odd chunk of rock just leaning up against this great church.... oh well, silly me!!
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... once again after touring it was time for a walk around the old city and then on to lunch...
... I had an open-faced Croque Monsieur with frites and salat...
... then a great espresso with a couple of macaroons, one was lime and the other was orange, yummy!!
One of the unique features of Le Mans is the city wall. The original and lowest section of the wall are the walls built by the Romans and are the best preserved outside of Roma and Byzantium (Istambul) With no real foundations the wall has stood for over 1700 years. The wall's richly decorative brickwork has over 26 feet of geometric designs. The red sandstone bricks are held together by pink mortar. They are now fully built upon with houses and building. using these ancient
... this little map shows the extensive wall system in orange and the dark brown additions from later years. The red arrow is where I took the picture above and below
... the old city is built on a hill and they ran the highway through a tunnel under the city instead of through it and tearing everything down...
... another shot of the back Gothic side in the bright sunlight... it's a beautiful cathedral a really beautiful city and they have a famous car race!!!
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There you go sports fans, thanks again for coming along on this journey...
there's more to come....
Take care,
edgar
My husband and I both enjoyed today's post - thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt fascinates me to see the work of so very long ago. How did they do the fitting and cutting and create such massive elaborate structures. How many if any lost their lives. Fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI suppose you mean Le Mans in France
ReplyDeleteYour tours never cease to amaze me. Thank you once again for the pictures and the explanations. Sorry I did not win the big lottery so you two could simply travel in style and show me the world.
ReplyDeleteThat is an absolutely amazing cathedral. The windows alone would take one's breath away. Thank you for sharing. I's fun to see the food!
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