Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2024

Monastic Architecture and Liturgical Uses: from Solignac to L’Artige in the Limousin. Well-Documented Examples in the 12th century

Résumé

Documentation on the functional use of spaces in French medieval monasteries is poor, and it is exceptional to be able to combine documentary and architectural/archaeological evidence. The following paper examines two exceptions to this. The Benedictine abbey of Solignac, founded in 638, is evidenced both by its architectural remains and by ancient plans, engravings and obituaries. Exceptionally, an illuminated Chapter Book of c. 1155 also survives. This liturgical codex brings together all the readings necessary for the office of Prime as celebrated in the Chapter House, among which are the martyrology of Usuard and the rule of St. Benedict. These two texts are accompanied by obits recording the anniversaries to be celebrated each day, in which examples of nearby tombs serve as location markers. When examined in the light of the chapter book and early plans, the architecture of Solignac’s monastic church (c. 1130-1150) is revealed as not very practical for liturgical circulation. The monastic church of L’Artige – a recent foundation with austere pretensions consecrated in 1198 – was even less practical liturgically, given its very long and narrow nave. Nevertheless, we can see here how the designers accommodated the circulation of the brethren, particularly between the choir and the east walk of the cloister. L’Artige also raises the question of the general layout, which is entirely homogeneous, and based on terraces across several enclosures. What Solignac and L’Artige have in common is that the spaces were essentially defined by the location of the dead, memory of place and the memory of the monks complementing each other. Another link between the two monasteries perhaps helps explain the parallelism: the designer of the installation and construction of L'Artige, Prior Hélie de l'Hort (1174-1202), was a former monk of Solignac.

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Dates et versions

halshs-04997043 , version 1 (19-03-2025)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : halshs-04997043 , version 1

Citer

Claude Andrault-Schmitt. Monastic Architecture and Liturgical Uses: from Solignac to L’Artige in the Limousin. Well-Documented Examples in the 12th century. Congrès international bisannuel Romanesque Conference : Romanesque and the Monastic Environment, British Archaeological Association (BAA), Apr 2024, Valladolid, Spain. ⟨halshs-04997043⟩
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