Cathédrale Saint-Julien - Le Mans, France
N 48° 00.578 E 000° 11.882
31U E 291033 N 5321169
[FR] L'architecture de la cathédrale cumule deux arts majeurs : l’art roman pour la nef et l'art gothique pour le chœur et transept. [EN] The cathedral combines a Romanesque nave and a High Gothic choir.
Waymark Code: WM11642
Location: Pays de la Loire, France
Date Posted: 08/22/2019
Views: 10
[FR] En 1134, un orage s’abat sur la ville du Mans. Toutes les maisons placées sur la « colline Plantagenêt » sont détruites dans un incendie. Les toits étant alors de chaume et de pailles, les éclairs embrasent les « demeures rouges » et La cathédrale. On reconstruit rapidement les parties sinistrées, mais quatre ans plus tard, un autre incendie vient frapper la ville et l’édifice. La nef centrale et la tour sud sont alors refaites. La nef centrale devient un édifice superbe : 55 mètres de long sur 23 de largeur sont nécessaires pour créer cette pièce en style roman.
[EN] The current nave is of a typical Romanesque basilica form, with round-arched arcades and single aisles either side of a larger central vessel lit by clerestory windows. Following a fire in 1134, a major rebuilding programme was begun by Bishop Guillaume de Passavant (reg.1142–1186). The new works were partly funded by King Henry II of England, whose father, Geoffroy of Anjou, was buried here in 1151. Whereas the previous buildings had all featured a wooden roof, Bishop Guillaume's new nave, which today survives largely intact, incorporated stone vaults. This feature required considerable thickening of the old walls and the addition of flying buttresses along the flanks of the nave.
The capitals of the nave piers are richly carved, some with classical acanthus leaves, others with more naturalistic vegetation, and incorporating a range of animals and human figures. Around the walls, the springers and corbels are similarly decorated with a rich variety of naturalistic or grotesque (and sometimes humorous) figures.
Web site proof of Romanesque or Pre-Romanesque features: [Web Link]
Date of origin: 12th century.
Type of building (structure): Church
Address:
2 Place Saint Michel, 72000 Le Mans
Romanesque or Pre-Romanesque: Not listed
Architect(s) if known: Not listed
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