The pre-Romanesque church of Saint-Martin-des-Puits
We are now nearing the end of our voyage through the southern French provinces of Languedoc and Roussillon, and the penultimate monument we will visit is the very small and humble parochial church in the out-of-the-way village of Saint-Martin-des-Puits (i.e., “of the wells”) in the département of Aude. The village numbers less than 30 inhabitants, according to the 2021 census.
Small and humble, but how remarkable and outstanding this small church is! Its very old age (it was originally part of a Carolingian monastery), the way it still retains most of its architecture from the 800s, its astounding alfresco paintings, make it definitely worth a visit —and as an added bonus, you will most likely be alone, as the place is totally and blessedly ignored by the tourist trade.
For those of you who can read French and are interested in a detailed account if this monument, the study published in 1971 by Marcel Durliat is of primary importance; it can be accessed for free online here: www.persee.fr/doc/crai_0065-0536_1971_num_115_4_12692. For the others, I will try to summarize the history of this little jewel I have discovered.
The existence of the Carolingian monastery is first confirmed in writing in 897. At that time, it has possessions even in nearby Spain. Misappropriated by the Durfort family of local lords around 1050, it is returned to the religious world in 1093, but is from then on demoted from independent abbey and attached to the abbey of Lagrasse as a priory. It will remain so until the French Revolution. In the photographs, I will show elements re-used from Merovingian times, which tells us that an even older monument existed on this place, as I doubt there would have been enough financial resources to procure such elements and have then shipped from afar: the apparel itself tells us, as we will also see, how destitute the builders were.
Aside from its pre-Romanesque elements (the most significant of which is the splendid horseshoe arch, which Durliat dates from the Carolingian period in the Wisigothic tradition), the church was modified in the 1000s by the addition of a chapel to the South, acting like a sort of false transept arm.
As regards the alfresco paintings in the choir and apse, there are no less than four layers of them. The latest is from the 18th century, but the former ones go back to the 12th and 13th centuries. We will also look at them closely.
One last closeup view of the wall paintings in the apse: in this lovely scene, we see Mary receiving a blessing from a haloed character which may be an angel, in which case this would be an Annunciation... but I am not quite sure about that. If you have any clue...
The pre-Romanesque church of Saint-Martin-des-Puits
We are now nearing the end of our voyage through the southern French provinces of Languedoc and Roussillon, and the penultimate monument we will visit is the very small and humble parochial church in the out-of-the-way village of Saint-Martin-des-Puits (i.e., “of the wells”) in the département of Aude. The village numbers less than 30 inhabitants, according to the 2021 census.
Small and humble, but how remarkable and outstanding this small church is! Its very old age (it was originally part of a Carolingian monastery), the way it still retains most of its architecture from the 800s, its astounding alfresco paintings, make it definitely worth a visit —and as an added bonus, you will most likely be alone, as the place is totally and blessedly ignored by the tourist trade.
For those of you who can read French and are interested in a detailed account if this monument, the study published in 1971 by Marcel Durliat is of primary importance; it can be accessed for free online here: www.persee.fr/doc/crai_0065-0536_1971_num_115_4_12692. For the others, I will try to summarize the history of this little jewel I have discovered.
The existence of the Carolingian monastery is first confirmed in writing in 897. At that time, it has possessions even in nearby Spain. Misappropriated by the Durfort family of local lords around 1050, it is returned to the religious world in 1093, but is from then on demoted from independent abbey and attached to the abbey of Lagrasse as a priory. It will remain so until the French Revolution. In the photographs, I will show elements re-used from Merovingian times, which tells us that an even older monument existed on this place, as I doubt there would have been enough financial resources to procure such elements and have then shipped from afar: the apparel itself tells us, as we will also see, how destitute the builders were.
Aside from its pre-Romanesque elements (the most significant of which is the splendid horseshoe arch, which Durliat dates from the Carolingian period in the Wisigothic tradition), the church was modified in the 1000s by the addition of a chapel to the South, acting like a sort of false transept arm.
As regards the alfresco paintings in the choir and apse, there are no less than four layers of them. The latest is from the 18th century, but the former ones go back to the 12th and 13th centuries. We will also look at them closely.
One last closeup view of the wall paintings in the apse: in this lovely scene, we see Mary receiving a blessing from a haloed character which may be an angel, in which case this would be an Annunciation... but I am not quite sure about that. If you have any clue...