bay on each side. This bay is surrounded by a semi-circular arch formed
by two grains surrounded by a chamfered band. Each grain is molded with
a thick angle torus followed by a listel and a broad shallow cavetto.
On both sides of the bay, the grains rest on four small attached
columns. The basket capitals are carved with geometric designs--angle
hooks, half-circles--or human heads. These baskets are topped with a
square abacus going on as a square horizontal band along the wall. The
square base of the small columns is topped by a double torus. These
bays are similar to the west and south gates, with the same moldings
for the grains and similar sculptures for the capital baskets. Photo by
Marie Lebert. [Marie-22]
[Illustration]
185. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. The lower floor is adorned north
and south by a double blind semi-circular arch toped by a prominent
band going on as an horizontal band on the bare wall and then on the
east and west sides. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-100]
[Illustration]
186. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. On the lower floor, a small opus
reticulatum (diamond-shaped blocks) is present at the corner between
the twin arches. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-101]
[Illustration]
187. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. The upper floor is opened by a
similar bay on each side. The semi-circular arch of the bays is formed
of two grains surrounded by a chamfered band and resting on four small
attached columns. The capital baskets are carved with geometric designs
such as angle hooks and half-circles, while other baskets are carved
with human heads. These bays are similar to the west and south gates,
with the same moldings for the grains and similar sculptures for the
capital baskets. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-102]
[Illustration]
188. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. The cornice rests on modillions
carved with human heads or molded in quarter-round. Most of the cornice
was rebuilt during the rebuilding of the octagon spire on a square
base, with skylights. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-103]
[Illustration]
189. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. Detail of the cornice and its
modillions carved with human heads. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-104]
[Illustration]
190. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque south gate, in the first row of the
choir. The semi-circular arch is formed of an grain surrounded by an
archivolt made of a chamfered band. The grain is molded with a thick
angle torus followed by a listel and a large shallow cavetto. The grain
rests on two attached columns. The capital baskets carved with human
heads are topped with abaci molded in quarter-round. Photo by Marie
Lebert. [Marie-21]
[Illustration]
191. Saint-Loup. Sketch of the Romanesque south gate, in the first row
of the choir. Sketch by Marie Lebert.
[Illustration]
192. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. Location. The village of
Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme is located 5.5 kilometers south-east of the
town of Avranches, in the hills of the river Sélune. Saint-Quentin was
situated on the medieval road taken by pilgrims from Tinchebray,
Condé-sur-Noireau, Falaise or Lisieux to reach Mont Saint-Michael. The
parish of Saint-Quentin was one of the nine parishes around the
episcopal church of Avranches, grouped in the deanery of Chrétienté
(Christendom). This deanery was part of the archidiachoné of Avranches.
[Illustration]
193. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The large church has a rectangular
narthex (wide porch) along the entire length of the front. The base of
the tower and the nave are Romanesque--probably from the second half
of the 12th century--and have similarities with the church of
Saint-Loup. Several parts are from the 13th century: the narthex before
the church front, the two floors of the tower, the three-row choir, and
finally the south side chapel of the choir. The north side chapel was
built later on, in the 15th or 16th century. The walls of the nave
still bear the mark of the large bays that were opened in the 18th
century to replace the small Romanesque bays. The present bays date
from 1951, with a size similar to the original bays. Photo by Alain
Dermigny. [Alain-105]
[Illustration]
194. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The church plan. Regularly oriented
from west to east, the building is formed of a three-row nave and a
three-row choir with a flat apse. The whole building has an external
length of 47 meters and an external width of 9.6 meters (width of the
front). North and south, two large chapels are adjacent to the first
two rows of the choir. They are so large that they look like transept
arms. The tower is between choir and nave. The church front has a
narthex (wide porch) on its entire length. Plan by Marie Lebert.
[Illustration]
195. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The large tower, between choir and
nave, rests on four thick piers that receive east and west two
semi-circular arches with a double ring. The row between choir and nave
is topped by a groin vault with an oblong plan. In the foreground, the
wooden barrel vault of the nave was rebuilt in 1926 and 1927. The nave
pavings were laid in 1929. The church walls were covered with lime
plaster in 1953. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-24]
[Illustration]
196. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The large tower has a Romanesque base
and two floors from the 13th century, with a saddleback roof. In the
foreground rises a Romanesque wayside cross. Photo by Alain Dermigny.
[Alain-106]
[Illustration]
197. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. Detail of the Romanesque wayside cross
situated near the church. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-107]
[Illustration]
198. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The church front is adorned on its
entire length with a rectangular narthex (wide porch) from the 13th
century, topped by a balustrade with an openwork design. Photo by Alain
Dermigny. [Alain-108]
[Illustration]
199. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The Romanesque gate of the church
front. This gate is surrounded by a semi-circular two-groin arch and an
archivolt. The grains rest on four attached columns, with square bases
adorned with a torus topped by a chamfer. The capitals baskets are
carved with balls, heads with a prominent chin, and a human being on
all fours. These rough sculptures are in high relief. Photo by Alain
Dermigny. [Alain-109]
[Illustration]
200. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The tower base and its Romanesque
gate. This walled-up gate is similar to the south gate of the church of
Saint-Loup. His semi-circular arch is formed by a grain surrounded by
an archivolt with a chamfered band. The grain is molded with a thick
angle torus followed by a listel and a shallow cavetto. The grain
rests on two thick columns through a band modled in quarter-round
forming the abacus of the capitals and going on along the bare wall.
The capital baskets are carved with a tree on the right and two human
heads on the left. The bases are square. The left base is topped with a
chamfer adorned with tiny triangular claws and a torus. The right base
is topped by a double torus. The tympanum is formed by a large monolith
block of granite resting on inside abutments through a band molded in
quarter-round. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-110]
[Illustration]
201. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. Sketch of the south gate, that is
walled-up at the base of the tower. Sketch by Marie Lebert.
[Illustration]
202. Sartilly. Location. The town of Sartilly is located on the road
between Granville and Avranches, 15 kilometers south of Granville and
11 kilometers north of Avranches. Sartilly was on the medieval road
going from Saint-Lô to Mont Saint-Michel, the final destination for
many pilgrims. The parish of Sartilly belonged to the deanery of Genêts
and the archidiachoné of Avranches. The church is under St. Pair's
patronage.
[Illustration]
203. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate was the west gate of the Romanesque
church, and is now the south gate of the church that replaced it. The
Romanesque church, which was ready to collapse, was demolished and
replaced in 1858 by a much larger building of Gothic inspiration. Photo
by Marie Lebert. [Marie-10]
[Illustration]
204. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The capital baskets are carved with
various designs like oak leaves, acanthus leaves, scrolls framing an
acanthus leaf at the corner, or corner curls. The sculptures, carved in
high relief in granite, are much more elegant than in any other small
church in the region. The square base of the columns is topped by a
double torus. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-11]
[Illustration]
205. Sartilly. The old Romanesque church, demolished in 1858, in a
drawing from the journal Revue de l'Avranchin dated 1924-1926. This
church was described in the Minute Book of the City Council (Registre
des Délibérations du Conseil Municipal) of Sartilly of 1837-1864: "The
church we should replace is an old building (...) composed of: 1) a
dark nave which is 19 meters and 60 centimeters long and 7 meters wide,
with the lower part of its walls soaked with moisture and cracked in
several places, and not standing straight anymore, particularly towards
the end of the church; 2) a tower between the nave and the choir (...);
3) a choir which is 9 meters long and 6 meters wide (...)." Photo by
Alain Dermigny. [Alain-118]
[Illustration]
206. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate is in granite, which is the local
stone, Sartilly being located at the heart of the granite ground of
Vire. This gate, probably from the second half of the 12th century, is
the most beautiful Romanesque gate in the region. The moldings of the
arch and archivolt are the result of meticulous work, as well as the
sculptures of the capital baskets, with oak leaves, acanthus leaves and
scrolls. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-111]
[Illustration]
207. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. Sketch of the arch, the archivolt
and a column. This gate, which was the west gate of the Romanesque
church, is now the south gate of the church that replaced it. Sketch by
Marie Lebert.
[Illustration]
208. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The arch of the gate is formed of
three grains: a grain with a lower centering, and two semi-circular
grains surmounted by a archivolt. The first grain is molded with a
thick angle torus followed by a listel and a large cavetto adorned with
large and slightly rounded bezants. The second grain is molded with a
thick angle torus. The third grain is molded with two tori surrounding
a listel. The archivolt is a prominent cordon ornated with saw-teeth in
high relief carved with a hollow row of triangular sticks. It rests on
both sides on two carved heads with well designed features. Photo by
Alain Dermigny. [Alain-112]
[Illustration]
209. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The left columns. On each side of
the gate, the three grains rest on three attached columns through an
impost molded with a cavetto. The square part of the impost is adorned
with a small hollow molding. The impost goes on above the external pier
supporting the archivolt. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-113]
[Illustration]
210. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The left side of the archivolt. The
archivolt is formed by a band adorned with saw-teeth in high relief
carved with a row of triangular sticks. On either side of the arch, it
rests on a head carved in the granite. Photo by Alain Dermigny.
[Alain-114]
[Illustration]
211. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The left side of the archivolt.
Detail showing the same carved head, in profile. Photo by Alain
Dermigny. [Alain-115]
[Illustration]
212. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The right side of the archivolt.
Detail showing the second carved head on which the archivolt rests.
Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-116]
[Illustration]
213. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The right side of the archivolt.
Detail showing the same carved head, closer. Photo by Alain Dermigny.
[Alain-117]
[Illustration]
214. End of this album, with a cap and its angel holding a shield, in
the church of Saint-Pair-sur-Mer. Special thanks to Alain Dermigny and
Claude Rayon for their beautiful pictures. Many thanks to Bernard Beck,
Danièle Cercel, Georges Cercel, Philippe Dartiguenave, Al Haines,
Nicolas Pewny, Martine Valenti, Marie-Noëlle Vivier and Russon
Wooldridge for their kind help over the years. Photo by Claude Rayon.
[Claude-22]