Church of Notre Dame de la Couture ( fr. Église Notre-Dame de la Couture ) - a church in Le Mans . It occupies the building of the former abbey church of Saint Pierre de la Couture, in the center of the modern city. Its creation dates back to around the XII century on the basis of many similarities with the Le Mans Cathedral and St. Mauritius Cathedral in Angers , built around the same time. Its large western is framed by two towers of various designs, other buildings of the former abbey are adjacent to the church, and the prefecture of the Sart Department is located on the south side of the church. Notre Dame de la Couture was recognized as a historical monument in 1840.
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History
The abbey was founded after 605 thanks to the generosity of Bishop Bertehramn , a supporter of the Franks king Chlothar II . Then it was located near Le Mans , but outside its city walls. The abbey church was then known as the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul ( Fr. Basilique Saints-Pierre-et-Paul ). In his testament of 616, Bertehramn transferred the monastery "Couture Land" to the monastery, which gave the abbey and the current church its name [2] . In 865 and 866, the Bretons and Normans sacked Le Mans, including the abbey, which was also partially destroyed. Around the year 1000, the abbey was rebuilt and rebuilt, and the church was renamed Saint Pierre de la Couture by Bishop Siegefroy. The ruins of the original church can still be seen at an altitude of 18 meters in the southern part of the former abbey.
For most of the eleventh century, the church and the city were in a state of relative peace and prosperity, especially under the rule of Abbot Anselin. After his death in 1072, the situation became complicated, and his successor Renault faced a number of problems. Construction work continued in the church: a nave, a transept, and a five chapel deambulatory appeared. All of these chapels, except one, are now lost, and the surviving, dedicated to St. Joseph, is located south of the choir. Another surviving part of the old church now forms the outer northern wall of Notre Dame de la Couture. Like the nave of Le Mans Cathedral, the nave of the old church consisted of 14 spans, separated by columns and double arches. In the first flight on the north side of the current temple is a statue of Christ of the late XI century.
A major fire of 1180 destroyed most of Le Mans and severely damaged Notre Dame de la Couture. The church was restored during the XII century, taking into account the artistic identity, born at the Plantagenet court. The choir , including the vaults, and the former building were completely rebuilt. A caryatid was placed between each window, resting on a half-column. They depict figures from the Old and New Testaments, which were probably the first of their kind, even before the Plantagenets distributed them on their lands in Maine and Anjou . Previously, columned statues were more common in doorways than in interiors.
The nave has a length of 42 meters and three square spans, being similar in this to the Cathedral of St. Mauritius in Angers . Some columns have a height of more than 5 meters, which is why the outer walls were thickened. An unusual detail is that the central nave has double windows and is crowned with an oculus . Two western towers date from the 13th century. The original porch had a triple arcade with a central column depicting Christ, but this column was destroyed in the 19th century and was never restored due to difficulties in finding a suitable stone of a sufficiently high quality, part of the lintel is also missing. The first sculptures of the porch were carved in 1245 and many of them were well preserved, including two angels, four prophets and eight virgins [3] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 base Mérimée - ministère de la Culture , 1978.
- ↑ Margarete Weidemann, Das Testament des Bischofs Berthramm von Le Mans vom 27. März 616. Untersuchungen zur Besitz und Geschichte einer fränkischen Familie im 6. und 7. Jahrhundert, Mayence, 1986.
- ↑ L'Histoire de l'abbaye de la Couture