The
Basilica of St. Sernin in
ToulouseToulouse is a city in southwest France on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With 1,102,882 inhabitants as of Jan...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, is the former abbey church of the
Abbey of St. Sernin or
St. Saturnin, and was built in the
RomanesqueRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe, characterised by semi-circular arches, and evolving into the Gothic style, characterised by pointed arches, beginning in the 12th century...
style between about 1080 and 1120. It is located on the site of a previous
basilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building , usually located in the forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC.Basilicas were also used for religious purposes...
of the 4th century which contained the body of
Saint SaturninSaint Saturnin of Toulouse , with a feast day entered for November 29, was one of the "Apostles to the Gauls" sent out during the consulate of Decius and Gratus to Christianize Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities...
or Sernin, the first bishop of Toulouse in c. 250.
The abbey of St. Sernin was an ancient foundation, but its importance increased enormously after
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe...
donated a quantity of relics to it, as a result of which it became an important stop for pilgrims on their way to
Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the north west of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, it was a "European City of Culture" for the year 2000...
, and a
pilgrimageIn religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of many major religions participate in pilgrimages...
location in its own right.
The
Basilica of St. Sernin in
ToulouseToulouse is a city in southwest France on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With 1,102,882 inhabitants as of Jan...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, is the former abbey church of the
Abbey of St. Sernin or
St. Saturnin, and was built in the
RomanesqueRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe, characterised by semi-circular arches, and evolving into the Gothic style, characterised by pointed arches, beginning in the 12th century...
style between about 1080 and 1120. It is located on the site of a previous
basilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building , usually located in the forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC.Basilicas were also used for religious purposes...
of the 4th century which contained the body of
Saint SaturninSaint Saturnin of Toulouse , with a feast day entered for November 29, was one of the "Apostles to the Gauls" sent out during the consulate of Decius and Gratus to Christianize Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities...
or Sernin, the first bishop of Toulouse in c. 250.
History
The abbey of St. Sernin was an ancient foundation, but its importance increased enormously after
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe...
donated a quantity of relics to it, as a result of which it became an important stop for pilgrims on their way to
Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the north west of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, it was a "European City of Culture" for the year 2000...
, and a
pilgrimageIn religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of many major religions participate in pilgrimages...
location in its own right. The current building was built to accommodate these pilgrims.
The plan of the abbey church here was also used in the construction of the
cathedral of Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de Compostela Cathedral is situated in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral is the reputed burial-place of Saint James the Greater, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. It is the destination of the Way of St...
, "begun in 1082, too direct a copy to have been done by any but St. Sernin's own architect or his favorite pupil", but finished much earlier.
The stone that killed
Simon de MontfortSimon IV de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort-l'Amaury, 5th Earl of Leicester , also known as Simon de Montfort the elder, was a French nobleman who took part in the Fourth Crusade and was a prominent leader of the Albigensian Crusade...
in 1218, while he was besieging Toulouse, was thrown from the roof of St. Sernin's.
In 1860,
Viollet-le-DucEugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc was a French architect and theorist, famous for his "restorations" of medieval buildings...
restored the church, but his changes are currently being removed to restore the original appearance.
Features
Despite being called a
basilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building , usually located in the forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC.Basilicas were also used for religious purposes...
, St. Sernin's deviates from the basilica plan of early Christian architecture in a few ways. It is much larger compared to earlier churches. It is also constructed mostly of brick. It is a cruciform building. The ceilings are
vaultedA Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert a thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
, unlike many of the earlier churches. St. Sernin's contains radiating chapels which were used to display important relics. Another deviation from the earlier Christian churches is the addition of an
ambulatoryThe ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar.-Architectural context:Aisles that line the nave extend through the transept and continue in a half-circle that...
, a walkway that goes around the nave and side aisles to allow for viewing of the radiating chapels (which could be done while mass was being held without interrupting the ceremony). For these and other reasons, St. Sernin's is often said to follow the "pilgrimage plan" instead of the traditional basilica plan.
Exterior
On the exterior, the
bell towerA bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
, standing directly over the
transeptFull descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram.
For the periodical go to The Transept....
crossing, is the most visible feature. It is divided into five tiers, of which the lower three, with Romanesque arches, date from the 12th century and the upper two from the 14th century. The
spireA spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from Anglo-Saxon, so it is related to "spear," rather than the Romance languages and "spirit."...
was added in the 15th century.
The chevet is the oldest part of the building, constructed in the 11th century, and consists of nine chapels, five opening from the
apsethumb|250px|Triple apse of [[Basilica di Santa Giulia]], northern [[Italy]].In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
and four in the transepts.
The exterior is additionally known for two doorways, the
Porte des Comtes and the
Porte des Miégeville. Above the
Porte des Comtes is a depiction of
Lazarus and DivesDives and Lazarus, also called Lazarus and Dives or The Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus, is a narrative attributed to Jesus. Recorded only in the Gospel of Luke , it tells of the relationship between an unnamed rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus...
. Dives in
hellIn many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless...
can be seen above the central column. The doorway gets its name from a nearby
alcoveAlcove is an architectural term for a recess in a room, usually screened off by pillars, balustrades or drapery....
in which the remains of four
Counts of ToulouseThe first comites of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians. No succession of such royal appointees is known, though a few names survive to the present...
are kept. The
Porte des Miégeville is known for its elaborate sculpture above the entrance.
Interior
The interior of the basilica measures 115 x 64 x 21 meters, making it vast for a Romanesque church. The central
naveIn Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
is
barrel vaultA barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
ed; the four
aisleAn aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on either side or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other. Aisles can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings such as churches, Cathedrals...
s have
rib vaultThe intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib-vault or ribbed vault when they are edged with an armature of piped masonry often carved in decorative patterns; compare groin vault, an older form of vault construction...
s and are supported by
buttressA buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. Directly under the tower and the transept is a marble altar, consecrated by
Pope Urban IIPope Blessed Urban II , born Otho de Lagery , was Pope from 12 March 1088 until his death...
in 1096 and designed by Bernard Gilduin.
As well as Saint Saturnin, Saint Honoratus is also buried here. The crypt contains the relics of many other saints.
The basilica also contains a large three-manual Cavaillé-Coll
pipe organThe pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and loudness throughout the keyboard compass...
built in 1888. Together with the Cavaillé-Coll instruments at
Saint-SulpiceSaint-Sulpice is a church in Paris, France, on the east side of the Place Saint-Sulpice, in the Luxembourg Quarter of the VIe arrondissement. At 113 metres long, 58 metres in width and 34 metres tall, it is only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame and thus the second largest church in the city. It...
in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and the
Church of St. Ouen, RouenThe Church of St. Ouen, Rouen is a large Gothic church, famous for both its architecture and its large, unaltered Cavaillé-Coll organ, which Charles-Marie Widor described as "a Michelangelo of an organ"...
, it is considered to be one of the most important organs in France.
Sources
- O'Reilly, E.B., 1921: "How France Built her Cathedrals". London and New York: Harper and Brothers
External links