Saintonge romane: Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens in Thaims
If you are not French, it’s likely you haven’t ever heard the word “Saintonge”, and have no clue what it means. If you are French, it’s probably the same thing. Unless, that is, you are a fan of Romanesque, in which case you know that Saintonge, that small region of France centered around the town of Saintes (hence the name), not far from the Atlantic Ocean, just North of Bordeaux... features the highest density of Romanesque churches of all the country!
I had never visited that area of France, and so in the middle of October 2021, I took that long overdue trip and stayed two weeks in Saintes, driving left and right daily to photograph all the most significant Romanesque churches... and unfortunately leaving out many others, as they are so thick on the ground!
The church that we examine today is dedicated to saint Pierre-ès-Liens (Saint Peter-in-Chains) and is located in the village of Thaims.
There are several reasons why this church is truly unique and stands out among all those other Saintonge Romanesque churches.
The first reason is that it has doors on almost all sides: there is one on each arm of the transept, and if we can admit that the door at the end of the northern arm is a porte des morts leading into the cemetery (as we saw yesterday in Corme–Écluse), the one leading out of the southern transept arm is a lot more curious, especially since it is significantly decorated —as far as decorations go on this very simple church. I would have leaned towards a door opening onto a cloister if this church had, at any point in time, been an abbey or priory church, but there is absolutely zilch historical evidence of that.
Neither is there any mention of relics that would have been the subject of a pilgrimage, with the need to organize the flow of pilgrims entering through one door and exiting via another and besides, there is no ambulatory inside the church, whose floor plan remains very simple, even though it is in the shape of a Latin cross, which is rather unusual in Saintonge, as we have seen repeatedly.
The second reason is that it features a nicely rounded apse, also unusual in Saintonge where three-sided or five-sided apses are the norm. Note that the apse collapsed in the 20th century and had to be rebuilt, but that was done using the same stones whenever possible, and the job was very nicely done, and is virtually undetectable.
The third reason, and the most significant, is that this church is about the only one in the whole region that was built over a Roman villa, and a large and tall one, with big parts of it still showing, as you will see in some of the photos. The church itself is older than most of its Saintonge sisters, having been built, for the most part, during the 1000s.
The sole occurrence of a sculpted capital inside the church, that can actually be dated from the time of the erection or the oldest parts, i.e., in my opinion, before 1050. It is a very simple and very archaic motif, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone more knowledgeable than me dated it from several centuries before, i.e., Merovingian! A truly magnificent piece it is.
Saintonge romane: Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens in Thaims
If you are not French, it’s likely you haven’t ever heard the word “Saintonge”, and have no clue what it means. If you are French, it’s probably the same thing. Unless, that is, you are a fan of Romanesque, in which case you know that Saintonge, that small region of France centered around the town of Saintes (hence the name), not far from the Atlantic Ocean, just North of Bordeaux... features the highest density of Romanesque churches of all the country!
I had never visited that area of France, and so in the middle of October 2021, I took that long overdue trip and stayed two weeks in Saintes, driving left and right daily to photograph all the most significant Romanesque churches... and unfortunately leaving out many others, as they are so thick on the ground!
The church that we examine today is dedicated to saint Pierre-ès-Liens (Saint Peter-in-Chains) and is located in the village of Thaims.
There are several reasons why this church is truly unique and stands out among all those other Saintonge Romanesque churches.
The first reason is that it has doors on almost all sides: there is one on each arm of the transept, and if we can admit that the door at the end of the northern arm is a porte des morts leading into the cemetery (as we saw yesterday in Corme–Écluse), the one leading out of the southern transept arm is a lot more curious, especially since it is significantly decorated —as far as decorations go on this very simple church. I would have leaned towards a door opening onto a cloister if this church had, at any point in time, been an abbey or priory church, but there is absolutely zilch historical evidence of that.
Neither is there any mention of relics that would have been the subject of a pilgrimage, with the need to organize the flow of pilgrims entering through one door and exiting via another and besides, there is no ambulatory inside the church, whose floor plan remains very simple, even though it is in the shape of a Latin cross, which is rather unusual in Saintonge, as we have seen repeatedly.
The second reason is that it features a nicely rounded apse, also unusual in Saintonge where three-sided or five-sided apses are the norm. Note that the apse collapsed in the 20th century and had to be rebuilt, but that was done using the same stones whenever possible, and the job was very nicely done, and is virtually undetectable.
The third reason, and the most significant, is that this church is about the only one in the whole region that was built over a Roman villa, and a large and tall one, with big parts of it still showing, as you will see in some of the photos. The church itself is older than most of its Saintonge sisters, having been built, for the most part, during the 1000s.
The sole occurrence of a sculpted capital inside the church, that can actually be dated from the time of the erection or the oldest parts, i.e., in my opinion, before 1050. It is a very simple and very archaic motif, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone more knowledgeable than me dated it from several centuries before, i.e., Merovingian! A truly magnificent piece it is.