Provence romane: l’abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque
One of the three Cistercian sisters of Provence (with Le Thoronet, which we have already visited, and Silvacane, which we will visit soon), the abbey of Sénanque was founded in 1148 by a group of monks from the abbey of Mazan in Auvergne.
Located not far from the very fashionable, modern-day village of Gordes in the Lubéron mountain, the abbey is still active today.
Although one would think that mainstream Benedictines are more relaxed than their Cistercian offshoot brothers, it is the Cistercians of Sénanque that gave me, by far, the warmest welcome. They agreed completely with my taking photos wherever I wanted (subject of course to my not disturbing their regular life), contrary to the stark refusal I suffered in Ganagobie. It is true that Sénanque counts among its community a talented amateur photographer, Brother Pierre-Yves, and maybe this played a role, too.
This large room served both as the chauffoir, the monks’ room which was the only place (with the kitchen) where there was a fire, and as the scriptorium, which was installed in the part near the windows. The two small stone tablets on each side of the hearth were repositories for ink bottles, so that ink would always be kept liquid by the warmth of the fire.
Three-exposure panorama shot stitched with PTGui software.
Provence romane: l’abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque
One of the three Cistercian sisters of Provence (with Le Thoronet, which we have already visited, and Silvacane, which we will visit soon), the abbey of Sénanque was founded in 1148 by a group of monks from the abbey of Mazan in Auvergne.
Located not far from the very fashionable, modern-day village of Gordes in the Lubéron mountain, the abbey is still active today.
Although one would think that mainstream Benedictines are more relaxed than their Cistercian offshoot brothers, it is the Cistercians of Sénanque that gave me, by far, the warmest welcome. They agreed completely with my taking photos wherever I wanted (subject of course to my not disturbing their regular life), contrary to the stark refusal I suffered in Ganagobie. It is true that Sénanque counts among its community a talented amateur photographer, Brother Pierre-Yves, and maybe this played a role, too.
This large room served both as the chauffoir, the monks’ room which was the only place (with the kitchen) where there was a fire, and as the scriptorium, which was installed in the part near the windows. The two small stone tablets on each side of the hearth were repositories for ink bottles, so that ink would always be kept liquid by the warmth of the fire.
Three-exposure panorama shot stitched with PTGui software.