Romanesque Art in Southern Manche: Album Part 11

168. Saint-Leonard-de-Vains. The Romanesque tower. On three sides--north, east and south--the second floor is adorned with two twin semi-circular arches, with a double grain formed by two rows of granite quoins. The arch rests on plain abutments through a square abacus, that goes on as an horizontal band along the wall. The cornice is supported by modillions carved with rough human heads or molded in quarter-round.

Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-090]

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169. Saint-Leonard-de-Vains. The Romanesque tower. The second floor of the tower and its saddleback roof. Two birds are resting. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-51]

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170. Saint-Leonard-de-Vains. The base of the Romanesque tower and its north wall. This wall is strengthened by a central b.u.t.tress surrounded by two semi-circular bays with an arch formed by a row of granite quoins. The lowered arch and abutments of the door are made of large blocks of granite. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-091]

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171. Saint-Leonard-de-Vains. The base of the Romanesque tower and its north wall. The lower part of the wall consists of an opus spicatum (fishbone masonry) characterizing the 11th or early 12th century. The masonry of the upper part of the wall is made of regular blocks of granite. A row of badly damaged modillions is still visible above the bays. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-092]

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172. Saint-Leonard-de-Vains. The base of the Romanesque tower, and its gate with its semi-circular arch and abutments in granite. The opus spicatum (fishbone masonry) of the masonry is a sign the church is early Romanesque. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-52]

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173. Saint-Leonard-de-Vains. The base of the Romanesque tower. Inside, the tower rests on ma.s.sive piers. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-53]

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174. Saint-Loup. Location. Saint-Loup (also called Saint-Loup-sous-Avranches) is located south-east of Avranches, only 6 kilometers from the town, in a hilly region close to the granite ground of Avranches, making granite stones easily accessible.

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175. Saint-Loup. The church is the only entirely Romanesque building remaining in the region. Built by the lords of Saint-Loup, the church was under St. Loup's patronage. The second saint is St. Gilles. The parish belonged to the deanery of Tirepied and the archidiachone of Avranches. The nave has three rows. The north and south walls are strenghtened by four b.u.t.tresses on each side. Three small semi-circular bays are still visible, two in the south wall and one in the north wall. The other bays were opened or enlarged thereafter. The church was granted the t.i.tle of (French) Historic Monument in 1921. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-093]

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176. Saint-Loup. The church plan. Regularly oriented from west to east, the building is formed by a two-row nave and a three-row choir with a semi-circular apse. The whole building has an external length of 31 meters and an external width of 8.2 meters (width of the front). The tower rises above the first row of the choir. The north side chapel along the second row of the choir was added in 1602 by the lords of Saint-Loup. Plan by Marie Lebert and Bernard Beck.

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177. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque west front. Strenghtened by two b.u.t.tresses, the front wall is topped by a slight glacis behind which rises the gable wall. The bay with a triangular arch above the Romanesque gate is probably from the 13th century. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-094]

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178. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque west gate. Its semi-circular arch is formed of two grains surrounded by a archivolt, which is a chamfered band. Each grain has the following moldings: a thick angle torus, a listel, a shallow cavetto and a row of carved hollow saw-teeth. The grains rest on four attached columns. Molded in quarter-round, the capital abaci go on as an horizontal band along the wall. The baskets are carved with rough sculptures: angle hooks or angle heads whose features were erased with the test of time. The square bases are adorned with a torus topping a chamfer carved with barely visible small claws. They rest on a small stone wall going on along the whole length of the front. The lintel is a big monolith block of granite, and it is topped by an opus reticulatum (diamond-shaped masonry) of diamond-shaped stones. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-095]

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179. Saint-Loup. Sketch of the Romanesque west gate. Sketch by Marie Lebert.

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180. Saint-Loup. The south wall of the choir. In the first row, the south gate is flanked by two flat b.u.t.tresses. Between these b.u.t.tresses, above the gate, the masonry is supported by a cornice with three large carved modillions. The first modillion is a grotesque human being putting his right hand to his mouth while folding his left arm. The second modillion is a human head. The third modillion is a crouched human being, with his hands on his knees. Photo by Alain Dermigny.

[Alain-097]

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181. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower rises above the first row of the choir. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-096]

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182. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. The masonry of its walls is made of regular granite blocks, that are smaller than for other parts of the church. The granite was extracted from the granite ground of Avranches, that is close to Saint-Loup. In the foreground, on the right, this b.u.t.tress belongs to the north side chapel adjacent to the second row of the choir. This chapel was added in 1602 by the lords of Saint-Loup. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-098]

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183. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. This square tower consists of two floors topped by a spire. The first floor is ornated north and south with large blind arcades. The second floor is opened by a bay on each side. The level between the two floors is underlined by a chamfered band. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-099]

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184. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. The upper floor is opened by a bay on each side. This bay is surrounded by a semi-circular arch formed by two grains surrounded by a chamfered band. Each grain is molded with a thick angle torus followed by a listel and a broad shallow cavetto.