Romanesque Art in Southern Manche: Alb.u.m.

by Marie Lebert.

MARIE LEBERT

WITH PHOTOS BY ALAIN DERMIGNY AND CLAUDE RAYON

[Author's note: Please forgive my mistakes in English, if any. My mother tongue is French. This alb.u.m is also available in French, with the t.i.tle "Art roman dans le Sud-Manche: Alb.u.m (2)". Each paragraph ends with its a.s.sociated image filename.]

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001. In this alb.u.m, there are no monuments described in all touristic guides. On the contrary, these twelve Romanesque churches are little known. They are located in Southern Manche, that is to say in the southern part of the department of Manche, in Normandy, along the coast or in the countryside. These churches were built in the 10th, 11th and 12th century by villagers and parishioners, with local stones--schist and granite--on the medieval roads used by pilgrims to reach Mont Saint-Michel, their final destination after travelling for many months.

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002. Southern Manche. The map of the region. From north to south, these blue spots show the churches of Saint-Martin-le-Vieux, Breville, Yquelon, Saint-Pair-sur-Mer, Angey, Saint-Jean-le-Thomas, Dragey, Genets, Saint-Leonard-de-Vains, Saint-Loup and Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme, without forgetting the beautiful Romanesque gate in Sartilly. This map was digitized by Georges Cercel.

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003. Southern Manche. An old map of the region. This region has belonged to Cotentin for its northern part and Avranchin for its southern part. The limit between Cotentin and Avranchin is the small river Thar, that flows into the Channel at the south of Granville. In the Middle Ages, this region was rich, with more people living on the coast than inside the land. The economic life was active, with fisheries, salines near Saint-Martin-de-Brehal, Breville and Saint-Leonard-de-Vains, pitch sand and kelp used as fertilizers, and a number of intensive cultures. This old map belongs to the collection of the city library in Granville. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-02]

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004. Southern Manche. The deanery of Saint-Pair. The parishes of Saint-Martin-le-Vieux, Breville, Yquelon and Saint-Pair-sur-Mer were part of the deanery of Saint-Pair, one of the five deaneries of the archidiachone of Coutances. The archidiachone of Coutances was one of the four archidiachones of the diocese of Coutances, the other ones being the archidiachones of Cotentin, Bauptois and Val-de-Vire. Map by Marie Lebert.

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005. Southern Manche. The deanery of Genets. The parishes of Angey, Sartilly, Saint-Jean-le-Thomas, Dragey and Genets were part of the deanery of Genets and the archidiachone of Avranches, like the priory of Saint-Leonard-de-Vains. The archidiachone of Avranches included three other deaneries: the deanery of Avranches, the deanery of Tirepied (that included the parish of Saint-Loup) and the deanery of the Chretiente (Christendom). The deanery of the Chretiente included nine parishes around the episcopal town of Avranches, including the parish of Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. Map by Marie Lebert.

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006. Southern Manche. The medieval roads going to Mont Saint-Michel.

This region was crossed by several roads used by pilgrims to reach Mont Saint-Michel. At the north of Avranches, we had from west to east the sh.o.r.e road coming from Saint-Pair-sur-Mer, the road coming from Saint-Pair-sur-Mer (with a different route), the road coming from Coutances, the road coming from Saint-Lo, and the road coming from Caen. At the south of Avranches, a medieval road was used by the pilgrims coming from Tinchebray, Conde-sur-Noireau, Falaise or Lisieux to reach Mont Saint-Michel. Map by Marie Lebert.

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007. Southern Manche. Geological map. All these churches were built in granite and schist, which were the local stones. Sedimentary grounds formed by schist rocks surround two large granite grounds, those of Vire and Avranches. Laying down from east to west, the granite ground of Vire is around five kilometers large, and ends on the west with the cliffs of Carolles and Champeaux. Laying down from west to east, the granite ground of Avranches is narrower, and only from two to four kilometers large. These granite grounds are both surrounded by a metamorphic ring formed with schist rocks and grauwack (a kind of schist) rocks. The ground of Saint-Pair is a flysch (detritic ground) formed with grauwack rocks, silt.i.t rocks et black argilit rocks with some schist inside. The ground of Granville is a flysch formed with grauwack rocks alternating with schist rocks. Map by Marie Lebert.

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008. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. Location. The village of Saint-Martin-le-Vieux is located between Brehal and the sea, near the haven of the Venlee, 2 kilometers west of Brehal and 9 kilometers north of Granville. The village was situated on the medieval road coming from Cherbourg and going to Saint-Pair-sur-Mer to reach Mont Saint-Michel, the final destination for many pilgrims.

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009. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The church, in ruins, stands on a hill. The church was under St Martin's patronage, and the second saint was St.

Eutropius. The parish belonged to the deanery of St-Pair and the archidiachone of Coutances. Foulques Paynel, probably a relative of Guillaume Paynel, founder of the Abbey of Hambye in 1145, gave to the abbey part of the t.i.the of the parish of Saint-Martin-le-Vieux, a donation mentioned in the cartulary of the Abbey of Hambye. During the French Revolution, the church was used as an a.r.s.enal and all its furniture was sold. It became a church again in 1801 but, as it was threatening to collapse around 1804 or 1805, it was no longer used.

Since that time, the parish of Saint-Martin-le-Vieux is part of the parish of Brehal. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-01]

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010. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The Romanesque ruins, with a double belfry added in the 16th century. The ruins were overgrown by vegetation for a while. The masonry is made of irregular blocks in schist and granite.

The arches and abutments of the openings are in granite. The schist is the local stone. The granit could come from the granite ground of Vire a few miles south. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-002]

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011. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The Romanesque ruins. Between the choir and the nave, a double belfry (double because intended for two bells) was added in the 16th century, and built in pink granite from Chausey (an island not far from Granville). Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-003]

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012. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The church plan. Regularly oriented from west to east, the rectangular building is formed by a long nave and a flat apse choir. The whole building has an external length of 26,5 meters and an external width of 6,4 meters (width of the front). The double belfry added in the 16th century rises between nave and choir.

Plan by Marie Lebert.

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013. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The south wall of the Romanesque nave. The large bay with a lowered centering was probably added in the 16th century, during the building of the double belfry. On the right of this large bay, the centering of the small Romanesque bay is carved in a granite block. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-004]