Images et société au début du xie siècle : le décor sculpté de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire et Saint-Germain-des-Prés

The porch tower of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and the nave of Saint-Germain-des-Prés have a common history : both were raised in the years 1020-1030, by clerics close to the Capetian power. The analysis of the carved decorations of these two buildings, among the first known works of the Romanesque age,...

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Main Author: Barbara Franzé
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Centre d'Études Médievales Auxerre
Series:Bulletin du Centre d’Études Médiévales d’Auxerre
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/cem/15013
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author Barbara Franzé
author_facet Barbara Franzé
author_sort Barbara Franzé
collection DOAJ
description The porch tower of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and the nave of Saint-Germain-des-Prés have a common history : both were raised in the years 1020-1030, by clerics close to the Capetian power. The analysis of the carved decorations of these two buildings, among the first known works of the Romanesque age, confirms the close links between the two protagonists, the ecclesiastical sponsors and the sovereign : they give to see and put forward a certain ideology, relative to the society and its organization. Formulated during the Carolingian period and still valid at the time the decorations were created, this ideology is based on a tripartite articulation of society, in which each order (oratores, bellatores, agricolantes) acts in complementarity in an eschatological perspective. This ideology also designates the ruling elites : the clerics and the king, dedicated to collaborate for a just governance. In Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire both powers are highly valued, inside the porch tower but also on the north façade, opposite the town. In Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in a double space shared by clerics and laymen, the prerogatives of each are characterized : to the first the management of the sacred and intermediation with the divine, to the sovereign the defense of Christianity. In the two examples studied, the ideological intentions pursued by the designers require the formulation of a new rhetoric, by the image. The ideological intentions pursued by the designers require the formulation of a new rhetoric, by the image. This enters into coherence and takes advantage of the metonymy now established between the ecclesial building, made of stones, and the Ecclesia, the community of the faithful.
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spelling doaj.art-b5d7005ecdbf4da09218181d619ece162024-02-14T13:55:59ZfraCentre d'Études Médievales AuxerreBulletin du Centre d’Études Médiévales d’Auxerre1623-57701954-309322110.4000/cem.15013Images et société au début du xie siècle : le décor sculpté de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire et Saint-Germain-des-PrésBarbara FranzéThe porch tower of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and the nave of Saint-Germain-des-Prés have a common history : both were raised in the years 1020-1030, by clerics close to the Capetian power. The analysis of the carved decorations of these two buildings, among the first known works of the Romanesque age, confirms the close links between the two protagonists, the ecclesiastical sponsors and the sovereign : they give to see and put forward a certain ideology, relative to the society and its organization. Formulated during the Carolingian period and still valid at the time the decorations were created, this ideology is based on a tripartite articulation of society, in which each order (oratores, bellatores, agricolantes) acts in complementarity in an eschatological perspective. This ideology also designates the ruling elites : the clerics and the king, dedicated to collaborate for a just governance. In Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire both powers are highly valued, inside the porch tower but also on the north façade, opposite the town. In Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in a double space shared by clerics and laymen, the prerogatives of each are characterized : to the first the management of the sacred and intermediation with the divine, to the sovereign the defense of Christianity. In the two examples studied, the ideological intentions pursued by the designers require the formulation of a new rhetoric, by the image. The ideological intentions pursued by the designers require the formulation of a new rhetoric, by the image. This enters into coherence and takes advantage of the metonymy now established between the ecclesial building, made of stones, and the Ecclesia, the community of the faithful.https://journals.openedition.org/cem/15013Saint-Benoît-sur-LoireSaint-Germain-des-PrésCarved DecorationThree-Orders IdeologyCapetian RoyaltyImage Rhetoric
spellingShingle Barbara Franzé
Images et société au début du xie siècle : le décor sculpté de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire et Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Bulletin du Centre d’Études Médiévales d’Auxerre
Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Carved Decoration
Three-Orders Ideology
Capetian Royalty
Image Rhetoric
title Images et société au début du xie siècle : le décor sculpté de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire et Saint-Germain-des-Prés
title_full Images et société au début du xie siècle : le décor sculpté de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire et Saint-Germain-des-Prés
title_fullStr Images et société au début du xie siècle : le décor sculpté de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire et Saint-Germain-des-Prés
title_full_unstemmed Images et société au début du xie siècle : le décor sculpté de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire et Saint-Germain-des-Prés
title_short Images et société au début du xie siècle : le décor sculpté de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire et Saint-Germain-des-Prés
title_sort images et societe au debut du xie siecle le decor sculpte de saint benoit sur loire et saint germain des pres
topic Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Carved Decoration
Three-Orders Ideology
Capetian Royalty
Image Rhetoric
url https://journals.openedition.org/cem/15013
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