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In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flander's fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, tho poppies grow
In Flander's fields.
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)
Im Winter, besonders bei Schnee und Eis, findet man im Kölner Zoo viele hungrige Graureiher, die sich nicht scheuen, den regulären Zoobewohnern ihr Futter zu stehlen.
grey herons quarreling over the prey II
In winter, especially when there is snow and ice, you can find many hungry grey herons in the Cologne Zoo who are not afraid to steal their food from the regular zoo residents.
he wrote upon it:
Return to sender, address unknown
No such number, no such zone
We had a quarrel, a lover's spat
I write I'm sorry but my letter keeps coming back
MirageDoll
MirageDoll.Leyla Fatpack
Reborn,Legacy, LaraX
(12 COLORS)
flowers-
Bento hold for both hands
Animation for left and right hands
Resize
Wear together in your AO
all info in the blog
Smile on Saturday theme: poppies
Thank you everyone for your kind comments and favs. All are greatly appreciated. HSoS
In Flanders Fields
BY JOHN MCCRAE
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
It is almost two months since I last posted on Flickr. There are a few reasons, but going back to work part time to pay for planned holidays has definitely reduced my free time. Given the number of enquiries I have received from Flickr pals asking if I was well I appreciate that I should have posted earlier. So, thank you to those who have dropped me a line. I am perfectly fine but seemingly very busy. Going forward I fully intend to keep using Flickr but I will have to restrict my interaction somewhat.
Given such a long break I do have a good number of varied photos that I can upload. As a starter here's one of a couple of quarrelling Mute Swans that was taken on a recent lovely winters walk around the Potteric Carr Nature Reserve.
La Chaise Dieu, a millennial story - Haute-Loire - Auvergne - France - Europe
Érigée au XIe siècle, sur un plateau granitique à plus de 1 000 mètres d’altitude au cœur de l’Auvergne, l’abbaye de La Chaise-Dieu domine la route qui vient de l’est, de Brioude, veillant et guettant le pèlerin. Cette abbaye a été fondée par Robert de Turlande, chanoine de Brioude, qui voulait s’établir en un lieu isolé pour vivre avec Dieu seul dans le silence et la prière. L’abbaye de La Chaise-Dieu est fermée à la Révolution en 1790 et son église abbatiale devient église paroissiale. Au XXe siècle, une nouvelle communauté religieuse s’installe dans ses murs pour renouer avec la vie religieuse tout en accueillant pèlerins et touristes.
De 1043 à 1168 : L’élan monastique
Aux XIe et XIIe siècles, la société féodale en Auvergne est dominée par le comte d’Auvergne, lui-même suzerain du duc d’Aquitaine, par différentes familles (Mercœur, La Tour, Montboissier), par l’évêque de Clermont et par les chanoines-comtes de Brioude.
L’Église est marquée par un grand élan monastique. Dès le VIe siècle, saint Benoît de Nursie avait fondé le monastère du Mont-Cassin où la vie était réglée autour de la devise : « prier et travailler » ; un siècle plus tard, Benoît d’Aniane codifie cette règle bénédictine qu’il impose, à la demande du roi, à tous les monastères. Cluny est fondée en 910 et saint Robert s’inscrit dans ce mouvement en fondant l’abbaye de La Chaise-Dieu en 1043. Saint Bruno fonde les Chartreux en 1089 et saint Bernard entre à Cîteaux en 1112.
Le conflit entre les papes et les empereurs romains germaniques avait commencé avec la querelle des investitures (ingérence des pouvoirs laïcs dans les nominations ecclésiastiques). C’est ainsi que Grégoire VII doit affronter l’Empereur d’Allemagne Henri IV, à Canossa en 1078, et que le Pape Alexandre III doit subir l’élection d’antipapes soutenus par l’empereur et se réfugier en France.
Le fondateur, saint Robert de Turlande (1043-1067)
Robert, chanoine de Brioude, arrive avec deux compagnons en décembre 1043 sur ce haut-plateau du Livradois pour une vie d’ermite. Ce sont les débuts de la vie religieuse à La Chaise-Dieu qui ne porte pas encore ce nom.
Ses successeurs et leur action
Durand (abbé de 1067 à 1078, mort en 1095)
Désigné par saint Robert pour lui succéder, il fut choisi par les moines comme abbé. Il œuvra pour la canonisation de saint Robert et se fit confirmer les privilèges dont l’abbaye bénéficiait. Le comte d’Auvergne, Robert II, jura de défendre l’abbaye contre tout adversaire. En 1076, il est nommé évêque de Clermont mais il resta abbé jusqu’en 1078, date à laquelle il démissionna ayant compris qu’il ne pouvait cumuler les deux charges sans nuire à l’abbaye. Il mourut le 19 novembre 1095 et le pape Urbain II présida ses obsèques. Pendant son abbatiat, La Chaise-Dieu se fit connaître dans de nombreuses régions de la Saintonge à la Savoie.
Saint Adelème (abbé en 1078, mort en 1097 en Espagne)
Maître des novices, Adelème fut élu en 1078 par les moines abbé de La Chaise-Dieu, pour succéder à Durand à cause de sa sainteté. Mais, trouvant la charge d’abbé trop lourde, il y renonça au bout d’un an. Appelé par le roi Alponse VI de Castille, pour aider à rétablir le rite romain en Espagne alors que la reconquête progressait, Tolède en 1085. Il fonda le monastère Saint-Jean à Burgos, qui resta rattaché à La Chaise-Dieu jusqu’en 1436. Appelé San Lesmes, il fut déclaré patron de Burgos au XVe siècle. Son corps fut transporté dans l’église qu’on lui construisit alors.
Seguin d’Escotay (abbé de 1078 à 1094, date de sa mort)
Cadet d’une famille noble, il entra au chapitre de Saint-Jean de Lyon, mais la vie canoniale ne le satisfaisant pas, il quitta celle-ci pour entrer à La Chaise-Dieu. Savant, de mœurs sévères, fort habile dans les affaires, ses frères le remarquèrent rapidement et le choisirent comme abbé. Il défendit l’indépendance de l’abbaye face aux pouvoirs féodaux, obtint en 1079 pour l’abbaye le rôle de chef de congrégation et étendit son influence vers le Rouergue (Saint-Théodard et Gaillac), le Languedoc (Saint-Baudille de Nîmes) et enfin les Apennins de Modène. Habile pour la gestion des affaires temporelles, il avait aussi l’humilité du moine et, en dix-sept années de gouvernement, avait fait de la fondation de saint Robert une des plus grandes abbayes de France, connue jusqu’en Italie et en Castille.
Étienne de Mercœur (abbé de 1111 à 1146, date de sa mort)
Extension de la congrégation à Montferrand, dans le Forez, à Chanteuges, Sainte-Livrade d’Agenais, Faverney en Bourgogne, Saint-Sixte de Plaisance dans la plaine du Pô et Montepeloso en Basilicate. Ces rattachements étaient souvent de convenance politique mais reposaient sur l’autorité morale de La Chaise-Dieu.
Jourdain de Montboisier (abbé de 1146 à 1157, date de sa mort)
Entré à La Chaise-Dieu au début du XIIe siècle, Jourdain était prieur depuis 1141 quand il fut élu abbé. Les Montboisier étaient de grands bienfaiteurs des églises et plusieurs frères de Jourdain étaient hommes d’Église. Le plus célèbre d’entre eux est Pierre le Vénérable, abbé de Cluny depuis 1122. Personnage effacé, Jourdain bénéficia du rayonnement de ce dernier pour consolider certains acquis de l’abbaye.
De 1168 à 1306 : Le difficile maintien de la congrégation casadéenne
À l’époque de Philippe-Auguste (1180-1223), l’Auvergne, est marquée par les rivalités entre les Capétiens auxquels l’abbaye de La Chaise-Dieu reste loyale et les Plantagenets. La France de saint Louis (1226-1270) et de Philippe le Bel (1285-1314) voit l’affermissement du pouvoir royal. Au XIIIe siècle, l’Église est préoccupée d’une part par la querelle entre l’Empereur et le Pape et d’autre part par l’organisation des croisades.
Sous le pape Innocent III (1198-1216) de nouvelles formes de vie religieuse apparaissent avec François d’Assise, fondateur des franciscains, et saint Dominique de Guzman, fondateur des dominicains, qui entreprend de convertir les Albigeois, ou cathares.
Prépondérance du temporel
Pendant cette période, la congrégation de La Chaise-Dieu n’élit aucun abbé doté d’une personnalité marquante. L’abbaye voit son rôle de seigneurie du Livradois s’accroître, le pouvoir temporel tendant à prendre une part croissante. Par ailleurs, les abbés consacrent une énergie importante à maintenir des liens avec l’ensemble des abbayes et des prieurés qui lui sont rattachés, liens volontiers contestés par les seigneurs ou les évêques locaux. La croissance de la congrégation est achevée. L’organisation de la congrégation devient plus structurée, avec une règlementation des chapitres et la définition du rôle des officiers claustraux.
De 1306 à 1518 : Le déclin doré
En 1348, la peste noire ravage la France. Elle sévit jusqu’en 1419 et décime la moitié de la population. La guerre de Cent Ans entre les fidèles des rois de France et ceux du roi d’Angleterre commence en 1336. En 1429, Charles VII est sacré à Reims sous la conduite de Jeanne d’Arc, qui est brûlée à Rouen en 1431.
De 1305 à 1378, jugeant Rome peu sûre du fait des conflits entre différentes factions, la papauté s’installe en Avignon. Deux papes d’Avignon compteront dans l’histoire de La Chaise-Dieu : Clément VI (1342-1352) qui s’y fait enterrer, et Grégoire XI, son neveu (1370-1378), qui fait construire la tour Clémentine 1.
Le Pape Jules II (1503-1513) entreprend la construction du palais du Vatican et de la basilique Saint-Pierre.
Des abbés grands seigneurs
Paradoxalement, cette période désolée fut brillante pour La Chaise-Dieu. Grands seigneurs, les abbés, choisis parmi de riches et puissantes familles, ne réformaient plus mais présidaient à de grands travaux.
Jean de Chandorat (1318–1342)
Réputé pour son savoir et son énergie, il s’efforça de mettre en application les principes disciplinaires que demandait le Pape à un Ordre bénédictin qui se sclérosait en donnant de nouveaux statuts à l’abbaye. Il devint ensuite évêque du Puy. Il fut le compagnon de noviciat de Pierre Roger devenu pape en 1342 sous le nom de Clément VI qui le nomma évêque du Puy dès son avènement au siège de Pierre.
de 1342 à 1377
Pendant cette période, les abbés ne furent pas élus en chapitre général, mais nommés par le Pape, à commencer par Clément VI : ils étaient appelés « réservataires ». Ce fut le cas de Renaud de Montclar qui fut chargé de suivre le début des travaux de construction de la nouvelle abbatiale.
Si pendant cette époque troublée, les moines se trouvèrent à l’abri derrière leurs murailles, de nombreux prieurés souffrirent.
Hugues de Chauvigny de Blot (1420-1465)
La danse macabre fut réalisée sous son abbatiat.
Un abbé annonçant la Renaissance, Jacques de Saint-Nectaire (1491-1518, date de sa mort)
Jacques de Saint-Nectaire est né en 1461 d’une famille auvergnate riche et puissante. Les liens que cette famille entretenait avec l’abbaye étaient nombreux. Il entra à l’abbaye à l’âge de 12 ans. Devenu profès et prêtre, il fut d’abord nommé prieur de Saint-Pantaléon (Limousin), puis en 1483 de Saint-Gemme (Saintonge). Il fut élu abbé en 1491 et mourut en 1518. Il se distingua par le goût des arts et la munificence. Il fit achever le réfectoire et le cloître, reconstruisit la toiture de l’abbatiale et commanda les « draps imagés ». Il réalisa également des travaux importants (chapelle et maison de l’abbé) au prieuré de Chanteuges où il aimait résider.
De 1518 à 1640 : L’abbaye en commende
Si la Renaissance évoque une nouvelle vision de l’homme et des changements profonds dans l’art, cette époque est marquée, surtout en France, par les guerres de Religion. Nées de la Réforme (Martin Luther est excommunié en 1517), elles ensanglantent la France à partir de 1562 (Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy en 1572). La promulgation de l’Édit de Nantes par Henri IV en 1598 ramène la paix civile. Le Concile de Trente en 1562 est à l’origine d’un sursaut disciplinaire de l’Église catholique en réaction aux critiques des réformés. Mais la monarchie française n’accepte pas l’existence de minorités protestantes et le problème perdure jusqu’à la révocation de l’Édit de Nantes par Louis XIV en 1685 qui oblige la majorité des protestants à émigrer.
La commende
Devenu roi en 1515, François Ier (1494-1547) signe un an plus tard, à Bologne, un concordat avec le Pape Léon X par lequel le roi de France peut nommer les évêques et abbés. Les rois abusent rapidement de cette facilité pour récompenser des proches, en particulier à La Chaise-Dieu. Les abbés nommés par le roi n’étaient pas tous ordonnés. S’ils venaient à La Chaise-Dieu au moins une fois pour prendre possession de leur charge, ils ne s’intéressaient guère à l’abbaye et se faisaient représenter par un vicaire général. Ainsi Henri d’Angoulême, fils naturel d’Henri II, fut abbé de 1562 à 1586. Son successeur, Charles de Valois, était, lui, le fils naturel de Charles IX ; il résigna en 1597 pour se marier. Son fils, Louis de Valois, devint plus tard abbé de 1609 à 1629 avant de, lui aussi, abandonner la charge. Son successeur fut le cardinal Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu.
François de Tournon, premier abbé commandataire
En 1533, alors qu’il est en route vers Le Puy en compagnie de la reine Éléonore d’Autriche, François Ier s’arrête à l’abbaye de La Chaise-Dieu où il est accueilli par le premier abbé commendataire, François de Tournon.
Turbulences
En 1562, les Huguenots envahissent l’abbaye et la saccagent alors que les moines s’étaient réfugiés dans la tour Clémentine. Grâce au four et au puits dans la tour, ils purent tenir 15 jours de siège en attendant les renforts. Pendant ce temps, les tombes étaient profanées, les statues brisées ainsi que le gisant de Clément VI.
Le cardinal de Richelieu (1582-1642)
Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (1582-1642), ministre de Louis XIII de 1624 à 1642, est nommé abbé de La Chaise-Dieu et de Cluny en 1629. Devançant les projets de réorganisation de l’Ordre bénédictin par le pape, il veilla à regrouper l’ensemble des monastères de cet Ordre dans le royaume dans une seule congrégation : la Congrégation des Bénédictins de Saint-Maur2 dont la maison-mère était à l’origine aux Blancs-Manteaux à Paris. Le déclin de l’abbaye était évident et le nombre de moines réduit à une cinquantaine. En 1640, il signa l’ordre de rattachement de l’abbaye de La Chaise-Dieu à la Congrégation de Saint-Maur.
De 1640 à 1790 : Les Mauristes
Le rattachement aux Mauristes ne fut pas accepté facilement par les bénédictins de La Chaise-Dieu : la congrégation mauriste était très centralisée et La Chaise-Dieu perdait une réelle autonomie. De plus, les Mauristes prenaient possession de l’abbaye au détriment des moines du lieu, lesquels étaient alors appelés les « anciens » et recevaient une pension jusqu’à leur décès. S’ils souhaitaient intégrer la Congrégation, les moines de La Chaise-Dieu devaient recommencer un noviciat selon les principes des Mauristes et prononcer de nouveaux vœux. Beaucoup refusèrent et on vit se côtoyer deux communautés : celle des Robertiens logés dans les bâtiments qui existaient place de l’Écho et celle des Mauristes qui s’installèrent dans les ailes des bâtiments existants qu’ils entreprirent de reconstruire. Ils se partageaient aussi l’église3. En 1643, après la mort du Cardinal de Richelieu, les moines casadéens tentèrent de remettre en cause ce rattachement. Cette démarche fut vaine, d’autant qu’ils étaient affaiblis en nombre et en moyens financiers.
Les Mauristes attachaient une très grande importance aux études. Désireux de s’inscrire dans l’histoire du monastère qu’ils « reprenaient », ils en écrivaient l’histoire grâce à leurs archives et cartulaires. À La Chaise-Dieu, ce travail de bénédictin s’est traduit par la publication de l’ouvrage de dom François Gardon sur la Vie de saint Robert et l’histoire de l’abbaye 4 , de l’Histoire générale de la congrégation de dom Victor Tiolier en 1652 et, en 1667, d’une histoire de l’abbaye en latin par dom Simon Genoux.
En même temps, ils entreprenaient de remettre en état l’abbatiale ravagée par les huguenots. Le tombeau du pape Clément VI fut reconstruit au milieu du chœur et le gisant put y être replacé. Le maître-autel, ceux des chapelles latérales ainsi que les retables datent de cette époque. Les bâtiments de la place de l’Écho (et donc la salle de l’Écho elle-même) ont été reconstruits à la fin du XVIIe siècle à la suite d’un incendie qui avait détruit les bâtiments datant de l’abbé Jacques de Saint-Nectaire. Ils reconstruisirent également le grand escalier de l’entrée de l’abbatiale et l’aile ouest des bâtiments abbatiaux.
Le jansénisme
La doctrine du jansénisme apparaît en 1640. Jansenius déclare dans son livre appelé « Augustinus » que la grâce n’est accordée qu’aux seuls élus. Cette théorie, condamnée par le Pape et la Sorbonne, est soutenue par le Parlement de Paris et les solitaires de Port-Royal (Antoine Arnaud, Blaise Pascal,..) Cette querelle s’apaise en 1668 quand tous les jansénistes acceptent de signer un Formulaire de Foi. Elle se rallume à l’occasion de la publication de la bulle Unigenitus en 1713.
L’abbaye devint un foyer d’accueil pour les jansénistes. La communauté casadéenne accueillit notamment Jean Soanen, évêque de Senez, l’un des plus farouches appelants, qui avait été suspendu de ses fonctions épiscopales et que le roi avait contraint à se retirer à La Chaise-Dieu, où il vécut de 1727 à sa mort en 1740 à l’âge de 93 ans.
Deux abbés de cette époque
Hyacinthe Serroni, abbé de La Chaise-Dieu de 1672 à 1687
Né en 1617 à Rome, il entre chez les dominicains. En 1645, il vient en France où il est nommé évêque d’Orange, puis de Mende en 1661. En 1672, prenant la suite de son protecteur le cardinal François-Marie Mancini, neveu de Mazarin, il est nommé abbé de La Chaise-Dieu. En 1676, il est nommé archevêque d’Albi et devient lui-même cardinal. En 1684, il vient à La Chaise-Dieu ; il offre à l’abbaye le magnifique buffet d’orgue et fait modifier le jubé pour permettre à la musique d’être mieux entendue dans le chœur. Ses libéralités pour la cathédrale d’Albi et l’abbaye de La Chaise-Dieu le ruinèrent. Il mourut en 1687. Il écrivit de nombreux livres religieux.
Louis-René-Édouard, prince de Rohan-Guéménée,
cardinal-archevêque de Strasbourg,
abbé de La Chaise-Dieu de 1756 à la Révolution
Né en 1734 à Paris, il succède à son oncle en devenant le dernier abbé de La Chaise-Dieu en 1756. En 1761, il est élu à l’Académie française. Ami de Buffon et d’Alembert, c’était un prélat philosophe. En 1772, il est envoyé comme ambassadeur à Vienne où il scandalisa l’impératrice par son mode de vie. En 1777, il est nommé coadjuteur, puis grand aumônier de France, puis il est créé cardinal et enfin nommé prince-évêque de Strasbourg. Il se compromet dans l’affaire du collier de la reine : Louis XVI l’oblige à « purger à La Chaise ». Il n’y vient que 4 mois en 1786. Il ne put jamais retourner à la Cour. En 1789, il est désigné pour représenter le Clergé aux États Généraux puis à la Constituante. Refusant la Constitution civile du Clergé puis l’abolition de la monarchie, il s’exile dans la partie allemande de son diocèse. Il se démet de ses fonctions lors du Concordat de 1801 et meurt en 1803.
Ce renouveau mauriste, spirituel et intellectuel, avait suscité des vocations plus nombreuses. Mais le XVIIIe siècle se traduisit par une désaffection de la vie monastique. En 1790, les moines n’étaient plus qu’une trentaine et la règle n’était plus appliquée avec la même ferveur.
1790 : Fermeture de l’abbaye
Dès 1789, l’Assemblée nationale prend les décisions qui mettent un terme à la vie monastique :
le 2 novembre, les biens ecclésiastiques sont mis à la disposition de la Nation
le 13 novembre, les communautés doivent déclarer leurs biens mobiliers et immobiliers
le 13 février 1790, les vœux monastiques sont interdits et les ordres religieux supprimés
En 1792, la République décide la vente des biens nationaux.
La fermeture de l’abbaye de la Chaise-Dieu se fit sans incident en février 1790. Le dernier prieur, dom Pierre Terrasse, et tous les moines furent relevés de leurs vœux. La plupart se dispersèrent. Dom Pierre Terrasse fut désigné maire. Il veilla à ce que l’Inventaire fut établi en mars 1790 dans le calme. Il organisa la dispersion de l’importante bibliothèque de 5 853 volumes soit à l’évêché de Saint-Flour soit à la municipalité de Brioude. Le 3 mai 1790, jour de la prise de possession du monastère par le corps municipal, il demanda « de s’abstenir des fonctions municipales ».
Si l’église abbatiale fut relativement protégée par la population de La Chaise-Dieu, en revanche les bâtiments abbatiaux, abandonnés, furent pillés. En 1793, la plupart furent vendus aux enchères à des habitants du pays, dont certains moines rendus à la vie civile.
Le Concordat signé en 1801 par le Premier Consul Bonaparte et le Pape Pie VII, permet de rétablir une relative sérénité. L’évêché du Puy est alors rattaché à celui de Saint-Flour jusqu’à la Restauration.
En 1820, l’église abbatiale devint l’église paroissiale. Les trois anciennes églises paroissiales furent fermées et détruites.
Classement comme Monument historique
Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870), parallèlement à sa carrière d’écrivain, fut Inspecteur général des monuments historiques de 1834 à 1860, fonction à laquelle il donna un lustre exceptionnel. Dans ce cadre, il visita l’Auvergne en 1837 ; le rapport qu’il publia montre un désintérêt manifeste pour l’abbaye de La Chaise-Dieu. Ceci ne l’empêcha pas d’inclure les bâtiments abbatiaux en 1840 dans la liste des monuments nécessitant une intervention, ni de les classer comme “Monuments Historiques” en 1847. Il devint sénateur sous le second Empire où il bénéficiait d’un grand prestige mondain. Cette visite de Mérimée marqua le début de la prise en charge des bâtiments et du trésor (en particulier des tapisseries), propriétés de la commune, par l’administration des Monuments Historiques. De grands travaux y sont périodiquement entrepris.
L’abbaye accueille des visiteurs dès le XIXe siècle : George Sand fait le récit de sa visite en juin 1859 dans son Voyage en Auvergne, .
Au XXe siècle
Installation des tapisseries dans le chœur
Le nombre des visiteurs culmine en 1960 où il dépasse 60 000.
Genèse du Festival de musique
En 1966, Georgy Cziffra donna le premier concert de ce qui allait devenir le festival de La Chaise-Dieu. Son succès et sa notoriété allait faire de l’abbatiale un haut-lieu de la musique en Europe.
Vers un renouveau spirituel
En 1984, pour renouer avec la grande prière monastique qui avait résonné pendant plus de 700 ans et pour accueillir les touristes, Mgr Cornet, alors évêque du Puy, demande à la Communauté Saint-Jean qui venait d’être fondée d’ouvrir un prieuré à La Chaise-Dieu.
En 1990, Mgr Henri Brincard confirme cette mission des frères et leur confie la paroisse de La Chaise-Dieu et des villages alentour.
En 2017, Mgr Luc Crepy, nouvel évêque du Puy-en-Velay, demande aux catholiques de La Chaise-Dieu de s’investir dans la Pastorale du tourisme afin que l’Église et la bonne nouvelle de l’Évangile soient présentes sur le site réhabilité des bâtiments abbatiaux et que l’esprit du fondateur de ces lieux, saint Robert, continue d’y souffler.
Un site exceptionnel restauré
À partir de 2007, de grands travaux de réhabilitation du site sont entrepris sous l’égide de l’État, du département, de la Communauté de Commune, de la Commune de La Chaise-Dieu :
la chapelle des Pénitents,
une partie des écuries et granges de l’abbaye situées place Lafayette sont aménagées en auditorium,
le chevet de l’église abbatiale,
l’aile de l’Écho est aménagé pour créer un parcours muséal,
l’aile ouest est aménagé pour y installer l’accueil du public et des loges pour les musiciens du Festival,
une salle est construite à l’emplacement des petites cours entre le mur de l’abbaye et celui de la bibliothèque pour accueillir « l’Historial des bâtisseurs » consacré à la chronologie de la construction de l’abbaye.
En 2018, ces travaux de réhabilitation sont terminés. Le site peut ouvrir au public et lui proposer une découverte historique de l’abbaye de La Chaise-Dieu axée sur la personne du pape Clément VI.
La tenture de chœur est installée dans une salle dédiée de l’aile de l’Écho
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Built in the 11th century, on a granite plateau at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters in the heart of Auvergne, the abbey of La Chaise-Dieu dominates the road which comes from the east, from Brioude, watching and watching the pilgrim. This abbey was founded by Robert de Turlande, canon of Brioude, who wanted to settle in an isolated place to live with God alone in silence and prayer. The abbey of La Chaise-Dieu was closed during the Revolution in 1790 and its abbey church became a parish church. In the 20th century, a new religious community settled within its walls to reconnect with religious life while welcoming pilgrims and tourists.
From 1043 to 1168: Monastic momentum
In the 11th and 12th centuries, feudal society in Auvergne was dominated by the Count of Auvergne, himself overlord of the Duke of Aquitaine, by different families (Mercœur, La Tour, Montboissier), by the Bishop of Clermont and by the canon-counts of Brioude.
The Church is marked by a great monastic impulse. As early as the 6th century, Saint Benedict of Nursia had founded the monastery of Mont-Cassin where life was regulated around the motto: "pray and work"; a century later, Benoît d'Aniane codified this Benedictine rule which he imposed, at the request of the king, on all monasteries. Cluny was founded in 910 and Saint Robert was part of this movement by founding the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu in 1043. Saint Bruno founded the Carthusians in 1089 and Saint Bernard entered Cîteaux in 1112.
The conflict between the popes and the Holy Roman emperors had begun with the quarrel of investitures (interference of secular powers in ecclesiastical appointments). This is how Gregory VII had to face the German Emperor Henry IV, at Canossa in 1078, and Pope Alexander III had to undergo the election of antipopes supported by the emperor and take refuge in France.
The founder, Saint Robert of Turlande (1043-1067)
Robert, canon of Brioude, arrived with two companions in December 1043 on this high plateau of Livradois for a life of hermit. These are the beginnings of religious life in La Chaise-Dieu which does not yet bear this name.
His successors and their action
Durand (abbot from 1067 to 1078, died in 1095)
Appointed by Saint Robert to succeed him, he was chosen by the monks as abbot. He worked for the canonization of Saint Robert and had the privileges which the abbey enjoyed confirmed. The Count of Auvergne, Robert II, swore to defend the abbey against any adversary. In 1076, he was appointed bishop of Clermont but he remained abbot until 1078, when he resigned having understood that he could not combine the two charges without harming the abbey. He died on November 19, 1095 and Pope Urban II presided over his funeral. During his abbacy, La Chaise-Dieu became known in many regions from Saintonge to Savoy.
Saint Adelème (abbot in 1078, died in 1097 in Spain)
Master of novices, Adelème was elected in 1078 by the monks Abbot of La Chaise-Dieu, to succeed Durand because of his holiness. But, finding the charge of abbot too heavy, he gave it up after a year. Called by King Alponse VI of Castile, to help restore the Roman Rite in Spain as the reconquest progressed, Toledo in 1085. He founded the monastery of Saint John in Burgos, which remained attached to La Chaise-Dieu until 1436 Called San Lesmes, it was declared patron of Burgos in the 15th century. His body was taken to the church that was then built for him.
Seguin d'Escotay (abbot from 1078 to 1094, date of his death)
The youngest of a noble family, he entered the chapter of Saint-Jean de Lyon, but the canonical life did not satisfy him, he left it to enter La Chaise-Dieu. Scholarly, of severe morals, very skilful in business, his brothers quickly noticed him and chose him as abbot. He defended the independence of the abbey against the feudal powers, obtained in 1079 for the abbey the role of head of the congregation and extended his influence to Rouergue (Saint-Théodard and Gaillac), Languedoc (Saint-Baudille de Nîmes ) and finally the Apennines of Modena. Skilled in the management of temporal affairs, he also had the humility of a monk and, in seventeen years of government, had made the foundation of Saint Robert one of the largest abbeys in France, known as far as Italy and Castile. .
Étienne de Mercœur (abbot from 1111 to 1146, date of his death)
Extension of the Congregation to Montferrand, in the Forez, to Chanteuges, Sainte-Livrade d'Agenais, Faverney in Burgundy, Saint-Sixte de Plaisance in the Po plain and Montepeloso in Basilicata. These connections were often of political convenience but rested on the moral authority of La Chaise-Dieu.
Jourdain de Montboisier (abbot from 1146 to 1157, date of his death)
Having entered La Chaise-Dieu at the beginning of the 12th century, Jourdain had been prior since 1141 when he was elected abbot. The Montboisiers were great benefactors of the churches and several Jourdain brothers were churchmen. The most famous of them is Pierre the Venerable, abbot of Cluny since 1122. An erased character, Jourdain benefited from the influence of the latter to consolidate certain achievements of the abbey.
From 1168 to 1306: The difficult maintenance of the Casadean congregation
At the time of Philippe-Auguste (1180-1223), Auvergne was marked by rivalries between the Capetians, to whom the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu remained loyal, and the Plantagenets. The France of Saint Louis (1226-1270) and Philippe le Bel (1285-1314) saw the strengthening of royal power. In the 13th century, the Church was preoccupied on the one hand by the quarrel between the Emperor and the Pope and on the other hand by the organization of the Crusades.
Under Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) new forms of religious life appeared with Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans, and Saint Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Dominicans, who undertook to convert the Albigenses, or Cathars.
Preponderance of the temporal
During this period, the congregation of La Chaise-Dieu did not elect any abbot endowed with an outstanding personality. The abbey sees its role as lordship of Livradois increase, the temporal power tending to take an increasing part. In addition, the abbots devote considerable energy to maintaining links with all the abbeys and priories attached to them, links willingly disputed by the local lords or bishops. The growth of the congregation is complete. The organization of the congregation becomes more structured, with a regulation of the chapters and the definition of the role of the cloister officers.
1306 to 1518: The Golden Decline
In 1348, the Black Death ravaged France. It raged until 1419 and decimated half of the population. The Hundred Years War between the faithful of the kings of France and those of the king of England began in 1336. In 1429, Charles VII was crowned in Reims under the leadership of Joan of Arc, who was burned in Rouen in 1431.
From 1305 to 1378, judging Rome unsafe because of the conflicts between different factions, the papacy settled in Avignon. Two popes from Avignon will figure in the history of La Chaise-Dieu: Clément VI (1342-1352) who was buried there, and Grégoire XI, his nephew (1370-1378), who built the Clémentine 1 tower.
Pope Julius II (1503-1513) undertakes the construction of the Vatican Palace and Saint Peter's Basilica.
Great lord abbots
Paradoxically, this desolate period was brilliant for La Chaise-Dieu. Great lords, the abbots, chosen from rich and powerful families, no longer reformed but presided over great works.
Jean de Chandorat (1318–1342)
Renowned for his knowledge and his energy, he endeavored to apply the disciplinary principles that the Pope demanded of a Benedictine Order which was becoming ossified by giving new statutes to the abbey. He then became bishop of Le Puy. He was the novitiate companion of Pierre Roger, who became pope in 1342 under the name of Clement VI, who appointed him bishop of Le Puy upon his accession to the see of Pierre.
from 1342 to 1377
During this period, the abbots were not elected at the general chapter, but appointed by the Pope, starting with Clement VI: they were called “reservators”. This was the case of Renaud de Montclar who was responsible for monitoring the start of construction work on the new abbey.
If during this troubled time, the monks found themselves sheltered behind their walls, many priories suffered.
Hugues de Chauvigny de Blot (1420-1465)
The macabre dance was performed under his abbacy.
An abbot announcing the Renaissance, Jacques de Saint-Nectaire (1491-1518, date of his death)
Jacques de Saint-Nectaire was born in 1461 from a rich and powerful Auvergne family. The links that this family had with the abbey were numerous. He entered the abbey at the age of 12. Having become professed and a priest, he was first appointed prior of Saint-Pantaléon (Limousin), then in 1483 of Saint-Gemme (Saintonge). He was elected abbot in 1491 and died in 1518. He distinguished himself by his taste for the arts and his munificence. He completed the refectory and the cloister, rebuilt the roof of the abbey church and ordered the "imaged sheets". He also carried out important works (chapel and house of the abbot) at the priory of Chanteuges where he liked to reside.
From 1518 to 1640: The abbey as a commend
If the Renaissance evokes a new vision of man and profound changes in art, this period is marked, especially in France, by the Wars of Religion. Born of the Reformation (Martin Luther was excommunicated in 1517), they bloodied France from 1562 (Massacre of Saint-Barthélemy in 1572). The promulgation of the Edict of Nantes by Henri IV in 1598 brought back civil peace. The Council of Trent in 1562 is at the origin of a disciplinary burst of the Catholic Church in reaction to the criticisms of the Reformed. But the French monarchy did not accept the existence of Protestant minorities and the problem persisted until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685 which forced the majority of Protestants to emigrate.
the order
Having become king in 1515, François I (1494-1547) signed a concordat with Pope Leo X a year later in Bologna, whereby the King of France could appoint bishops and abbots. The kings quickly abused this facility to reward relatives, in particular at La Chaise-Dieu. The abbots appointed by the king were not all ordained. If they came to La Chaise-Dieu at least once to take up their duties, they had little interest in the abbey and were represented by a vicar general. Thus Henri d'Angoulême, natural son of Henri II, was abbot from 1562 to 1586. His successor, Charles de Valois, was the natural son of Charles IX; he resigned in 1597 to marry. His son, Louis de Valois, later became abbot from 1609 to 1629 before also giving up the charge. His successor was Cardinal Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu.
François de Tournon, first commissioning abbot
In 1533, while on his way to Le Puy in the company of Queen Éléonore of Austria, François I stopped at the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu where he was welcomed by the first commendatory abbot, François de Tournon. .
turbulence
In 1562, the Huguenots invaded the abbey and ransacked it while the monks had taken refuge in the Clémentine tower. Thanks to the oven and the well in the tower, they were able to hold out for 15 days of siege while waiting for reinforcements. During this time, the tombs were desecrated, the statues broken as well as the recumbent statue of Clement VI.
Cardinal de Richelieu (1582-1642)
Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (1582-1642), minister of Louis XIII from 1624 to 1642, was appointed abbot of La Chaise-Dieu and Cluny in 1629. Anticipating the Pope's plans to reorganize the Benedictine Order, he took care to bring together all the monasteries of this Order in the kingdom into a single congregation: the Congregation of the Benedictines of Saint-Maur2 whose motherhouse was originally at Blancs-Manteaux in Paris. The decline of the abbey was evident and the number of monks reduced to around fifty. In 1640, he signed the order linking the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu to the Congregation of Saint-Maur.
From 1640 to 1790: The Maurists
Attachment to the Maurists was not easily accepted by the Benedictines of La Chaise-Dieu: the Maurist congregation was very centralized and La Chaise-Dieu lost real autonomy. In addition, the Maurists took possession of the abbey to the detriment of the local monks, who were then called the "elders" and received a pension until their death. If they wanted to join the Congregation, the monks of La Chaise-Dieu had to start a novitiate again according to the principles of the Maurists and take new vows. Many refused and two communities rubbed shoulders: that of the Robertians housed in the buildings that existed on the Place de l'Écho and that of the Maurists who settled in the wings of the existing buildings which they undertook to rebuild. They also shared the church. In 1643, after the death of Cardinal de Richelieu, the Casadean monks tried to question this connection. This approach was in vain, especially since they were weakened in number and financial means.
The Maurists attached great importance to studies. Wishing to be part of the history of the monastery that they were "taking over", they wrote its history thanks to their archives and cartularies. At La Chaise-Dieu, this Benedictine work resulted in the publication of the work of Dom François Gardon on the Life of Saint Robert and the history of the abbey 4 , the General History of the Congregation of Dom Victor Tiolier in 1652 and, in 1667, a history of the abbey in Latin by Dom Simon Genoux.
At the same time, they undertook to restore the abbey devastated by the Huguenots. The tomb of Pope Clement VI was rebuilt in the middle of the choir and the recumbent could be replaced there. The high altar, those of the side chapels and the altarpieces date from this period. The buildings in the Place de l'Écho (and therefore the Salle de l'Écho itself) were rebuilt at the end of the 17th century following a fire which had destroyed the buildings dating from Abbé Jacques de Saint Nectaire. They also rebuilt the grand staircase at the entrance to the abbey and the west wing of the abbey buildings.
Jansenism
The doctrine of Jansenism appears in 1640. Jansenius declares in his book called “Augustinus” that grace is granted only to the elect. This theory, condemned by the Pope and the Sorbonne, is supported by the Parliament of Paris and the solitaries of Port-Royal (Antoine Arnaud, Blaise Pascal,..) This quarrel subsides in 1668 when all the Jansenists agree to sign a Form of Faith. It revives on the occasion of the publication of the bull Unigenitus in 1713.
The abbey became a home for the Jansenists. The Casadean community notably welcomed Jean Soanen, bishop of Senez, one of the fiercest appellants, who had been suspended from his episcopal functions and whom the king had forced to retire to La Chaise-Dieu, where he lived from 1727 to his death. died in 1740 at the age of 93.
Two abbots of this time
Hyacinthe Serroni, abbot of La Chaise-Dieu from 1672 to 1687
Born in 1617 in Rome, he joined the Dominicans. In 1645, he came to France where he was appointed bishop of Orange, then of Mende in 1661. In 1672, taking over from his protector Cardinal François-Marie Mancini, nephew of Mazarin, he was appointed abbot of La Chaise- God. In 1676, he was appointed archbishop of Albi and himself became a cardinal. In 1684, he came to La Chaise-Dieu; he donated the magnificent organ case to the abbey and had the rood screen modified to allow the music to be heard better in the choir. His liberalities for the cathedral of Albi and the abbey of La Chaise-Dieu ruined him. He died in 1687. He wrote many religious books.
Louis-René-Édouard, Prince of Rohan-Guéménée,
Cardinal-Archbishop of Strasbourg,
Abbot of La Chaise-Dieu from 1756 to the Revolution
Born in 1734 in Paris, he succeeded his uncle by becoming the last abbot of La Chaise-Dieu in 1756. In 1761, he was elected to the French Academy. A friend of Buffon and d'Alembert, he was a philosophical prelate. In 1772, he was sent as ambassador to Vienna where he scandalized the Empress by his way of life. In 1777, he was appointed coadjutor, then grand chaplain of France, then he was created cardinal and finally appointed prince-bishop of Strasbourg. He compromises himself in the affair of the queen's necklace: Louis XVI forces him to "purge at La Chaise". He only came there for 4 months in 1786. He was never able to return to Court. In 1789, he was appointed to represent the Clergy in the Estates General and then in the Constituent Assembly. Refusing the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and then the abolition of the monarchy, he went into exile in the German part of his diocese. He resigned from office during the Concordat of 1801 and died in 1803.
This Maurist revival, spiritual and intellectual, had given rise to more numerous vocations. But the 18th century resulted in a disaffection with monastic life. In 1790, the monks were only around thirty and the rule was no longer applied with the same fervor.
1790: Closing of the abbey
From 1789, the National Assembly took the decisions that put an end to monastic life:
on November 2, ecclesiastical goods are made available to the Nation
on November 13, communities must declare their movable and immovable property
February 13, 1790, monastic vows are prohibited and religious orders suppressed
In 1792, the Republic decided to sell national property.
The closure of the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu took place without incident in February 1790. The last prior, Dom Pierre Terrasse, and all the monks were released from their vows. Most dispersed. Dom Pierre Terrasse was appointed mayor. He ensured that the Inventory was established in March 1790 in peace. He organized the dispersal of the important library of 5,853 volumes either to the bishopric of Saint-Flour or to the municipality of Brioude. On May 3, 1790, the day on which the municipal body took possession of the monastery, he asked “to abstain from municipal functions”.
If the abbey church was relatively protected by the population of La Chaise-Dieu, on the other hand the abbey buildings, abandoned, were looted. In 1793, most were sold at auction to locals, including some monks returned to civilian life.
The Concordat signed in 1801 by First Consul Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII restored relative serenity. The bishopric of Le Puy was then attached to that of Saint-Flour until the Restoration.
In 1820, the abbey church became the parish church. The three old parish churches were closed and destroyed.
Classification as a Historic Monument
Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870), alongside his career as a writer, was Inspector General of Historic Monuments from 1834 to 1860, a position to which he gave exceptional luster. In this context, he visited Auvergne in 1837; the report he published shows a manifest disinterest in the abbey of La Chaise-Dieu. This did not prevent him from including the abbey buildings in 1840 in the list of monuments requiring intervention, nor from classifying them as “Historic Monuments” in 1847. He became a senator under the Second Empire where he enjoyed great prestige worldly. This visit to Mérimée marked the beginning of the management of the buildings and the treasure (in particular the tapestries), properties of the municipality, by the administration of the Historic Monuments. Major works are periodically undertaken there.
The abbey has been welcoming visitors since the 19th century: George Sand recounts her visit in June 1859 in her Voyage en Auvergne, .
In the 20th century
Installation of tapestries in the choir
The number of visitors peaked in 1960 when it exceeded 60,000.
Genesis of the Music Festival
In 1966, Georgy Cziffra gave the first concert of what was to become the La Chaise-Dieu festival. Its success and its notoriety would make the abbey church a Mecca for music in Europe.
Towards spiritual renewal
In 1984, to reconnect with the great monastic prayer that had resounded for more than 700 years and to welcome tourists, Mgr Cornet, then bishop of Le Puy, asked the Community of Saint John, which had just been founded, to open a priory at La Chaise-Dieu.
In 1990, Bishop Henri Brincard confirms this mission of the brothers and entrusts them with the parish of La Chaise-Dieu and the surrounding villages.
In 2017, Mgr Luc Crepy, new bishop of Puy-en-Velay, asked the Catholics of La Chaise-Dieu to invest in the pastoral care of tourism so that the Church and the good news of the Gospel are present on the site rehabilitated from the abbey buildings and that the spirit of the founder of these places, Saint Robert, continues to breathe there.
An exceptional restored site
From 2007, major site rehabilitation works were undertaken under the aegis of the State, the department, the Community of Communes, the Commune of La Chaise-Dieu:
the Chapel of the Penitents,
part of the stables and barns of the abbey located on Place Lafayette have been converted into an auditorium,
the apse of the abbey church,
the Echo wing is laid out to create a museum trail,
the west wing is fitted out to accommodate the reception of the public and dressing rooms for the musicians of the Festival,
a room was built on the site of the small courtyards between the wall of the abbey and that of the library to house the "Historial of the builders" devoted to the chronology of the construction of the abbey.
In 2018, these rehabilitation works were completed. The site can open to the public and offer them a historical discovery of the abbey of La Chaise-Dieu centered on the person of Pope Clement VI.
The choir hanging is installed in a dedicated room in the Echo wing.
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Ich hatte mich etwas mit meinen Freund gestritten und musste etwas spazieren gehen. Also ab zu meinen lieblingsfriedhof um etwas ruhe zu finden. Mittlerweile ist aber alles wieder gut.
I had a little quarrel with my friend and had to go for a walk. So off to my favorite cemetery to find some rest. But now everything is good again.
Mt Santubong Facts.
Mount Santubong, just 35 kilometers from Kuching, offers breathtaking views and thrilling hikes for adventure seekers. Rising 2,658 feet above sea level and overlooking the South China Sea, it’s a must-visit for nature lovers. This iconic peak, discovered in 1855, is now a protected national park, with nearby beaches boasting one of Borneo's largest wetland ecosystems. Perfect for capturing nature’s beauty at its finest.
Myth, Folklore and Legends.
Legend tells of two heavenly princesses, Santubong and Sejinjang, sent to Earth to resolve a village dispute. Known for their exceptional weaving and rice-pounding talents, both sisters fell in love with Prince Serapi, leading to a fierce rivalry. Their quarrel turned violent, and in anger, their father cursed them, turning Santubong and Sejinjang into mountains. The fragments of Sejinjang's broken head became islands scattered across the sea, including Pulau Satang and Pulau Talang-Talang. A mythical tale of love, jealousy, and nature’s creation.
Very early on a fall morning, I was chatting casually with a familiar fellow birder, scanning the water surface for migrant duck and other visitors. Before I had even really set up my camera, this young Heron flew in and landed at our feet, unaware or unconcerned that it was ten feet from two birders. It began to quarrel with some Geese and Wood Ducks, and march around creating a space to hunt in.
We both we a bit stunned by the arrival, and then dropped down on to the ground and trying to frame images. Because of the steep slope on the side of the Lake, at least in my opinion, there was little use trying to get the whole bird in the frame. We had no way to back up and stay level with the bird. The options for photography seemed to me to lie in using available backgrounds and body language for close-up portraits.
It was a funny lesson in birding and photography: it is common to wish one could get closer to the bird. Sometimes one finds oneself wishing the opposite.
They're not like peaches or squash. Plumpness isn't for them. They like being lean, as if for the narrow path. The beans themselves sit quietly inside their green pods. Instinctively one picks with care, never tearing down the fine vine, never not noticing their crisp bodies, or feeling their willingness for the pot, for the fire.
I have thought sometimes that something -- I can't name it -- watches as I walk the rows, accepting the gift of their lives to assist mine.
I know what you think: this is foolishness. They're only vegetables. Even the blossoms with which they begin are small and pale, hardly significant. Our hands, or minds, our feet hold more intelligence. With this I have no quarrel.
But, what about virtue?
Poetry by Mary Oliver
Photo taken of the poppies a few years ago while visiting the Essex Farm war cemetery near Ypres, Belgium. Within the grounds is a memorial site for Lieutenant - Colonel John McCrae of the Canadian Army Medical Corps who wrote the poem ' In Flanders Fields '
In Flanders fields the poppies blow. Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky the larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
The sun has not shined long enough to warm the air to temperatures north of -20. It's a typical February morning in the wilds of northern Minnesota, oppressively frigid, unbearably bitter, so cold that any patch of skin hapless to be exposed tingles with a burning that chills clear to the bone. But though daylight is only at its onset, Proctor is already bustling, indicative of the never-ending procession of rolling steel wheels on steel rails out of the Iron Range required to sustain the production of steel. Recently rolled taconite pellets, rich with moisture and warmth from furnaces in the north, quarrel with the deeply freezing air molecules to assemble a sheathing layer of steam a couple dozen feet above the snow covered grounds of the yard. A similar sensation is generated from hot diesel exhaust belched from the stacks of sedulous locomotives, each engaged in a task that keeps the transportation of ore flowing. Soon the elevating sun will warm the -20 degree air to more tolerable levels, but even with the radiant energy from the sun's glow, the ultimate high will be hard pressed to escape the negatives on this rugged winter day.
When the mating displays are over, that's usually a quarrel in mid-air.
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo).
© 2021 Marc Haegeman. All Rights Reserved
“In Flanders Fields “
By John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Apparently, Criccieth's Castle was built at the beginning of the 13th century, a rather late date for initiating a castle at a
site in Wales.
The earliest mention of a stronghold on the craggy outcrop is to be found in the Welsh chronicles, the Brut y Tywysogyon, in the year 1239, when Gruffrydd ap Llwelyn [ son of Llywelen ap Iorwerth or "The Great" was imprisioned in the castle by his half-brother, Dafydd. Most likely, Llwelyn the Great began the stone fortress just a few years before his sons' quarrel.
Fable
The mountain and the squirrel
Had a quarrel,
And the former called the latter ‘Little Prig.’
Bun replied,
‘You are doubtless very big;
But all sorts of things and weather
Must be taken in together,
To make up a year
And a sphere.
And I think it no disgrace
To occupy my place.
If I’m not so large as you,
You are not so small as I,
And not half so spry.
I’ll not deny you make
A very pretty squirrel track;
Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;
If I cannot carry forests on my back,
Neither can you crack a nut.’
By Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803 - 1882
Great Egret (wild) standing on the submerged tail of a captive American Alligator, Alligator Breeding Marsh and Wading Bird Rookery, Gatorland, Orlando, Florida
His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Onufriy addressed the faithful and citizens of Ukraine and called for intensified penitential prayer for Ukraine, for our army and our people, with a request to forget mutual quarrels and misunderstandings and unite with love for God and our Motherland. .
Скульптурна композиція «Гефсиманське боріння», або «Моління про чашу». Освячено 5 квітня 2007, відкрито 19 жовтня 2009 року. Автор композиції — Микола Перепелиця. У скульптурі поєднано бронзу і граніт.
В усіх єпархіях Української Православної Церкви моляться про мир в Україні.
Блаженніший Митрополит Київський і всієї України Онуфрій звернувся до вірних і до громадян України та закликав до посиленої покаянної молитви за Україну, за наше військо і наш народ, з проханням забути взаємні чвари і непорозуміння та об’єднатися любов’ю до Бога і до нашої Батьківщини.
The Palazzo dei Priori is a historic building in Perugia, Umbria, central Italy.
As in other Italian medieval communes, it was the seat of the priori ("first citizens"). This magistrature was established in Perugia in 1303: the palazzo had been called the Palazzo Nuovo del Popolo ("New Palace of the People") to that point. During intractable civic quarrels, a podestà might be established, housed in a separate structure, the Palazzo del Podestà, of which only the Loggia added by Braccio da Montone flanking the Cathedral of San Lorenzo e San Ercolano remains. When the palazzo of this rival to the power of the Priori burned in 1534, significantly, it was not replaced, but fragments from it were incorporated into the archbishop's palace, also fronting the main piazza.
The Magistratura dei Priori that was housed in the structure consisted of ten representatives of each of Perugia's main guilds from among the forty-four that existed, permitted a tenure of only two months. The money-changers, who were housed in their own adjoining quarters in the fifteenth century, had the privilege of always being represented among the Priori, and the merchants' guild was represented by two members instead of one. After the Salt War of 1540 with Pope Paul III, the Priori were renamed “Conservatori dell’Ecclesiastica Obbedienza” ("Keepers of Ecclesiastical Obedience") and, the Palazzo del Podestà having been destroyed, the Palazzo dei Priori became the seat of the Papal Legate, the new governor of Perugia. When Pope Julius III restored the Priori, the grateful Perugini commemorated him with the bronze statue next to the Cathedral.
The structure commands the corner where the main artery of medieval Perugia, Corso Vannucci, enters the city's main square; a first section was constructed in 1293-97, at first as the Palatium Novum Populi, the "new Palace of the People", with ten bays along the Corso and three facing the piazza. Two more bays and a grand entrance portal were added to the piazza façade in 1333-37, together with the arcaded loggia, where decrees were publicly read. Later in the fourteenth century the palazzo was extended along the Corso, with six bays and a richly carved entrance doorway worthy of a cathedral. Rising above, a tower surmounts and controls the arched access to Via dei Priori, the ancient way that descends to the Etruscan gateway, the Roman Porta Trasimena, which was Christianized as the Arca di S. Luca. A further section down the Corso was built in 1429-43, still keeping to the Gothic tripartite fenestration, to house the Collegio del Cambio, the "money exchange" that was the financial center of Perugia.
The perimeter of the roof was originally crenellated all around, less for actual defensive purposes than as a symbol of Perugia's independence. Significantly, the crenellations were removed in 1610, when Perugia had submitted at last to papal armies. When Perugia was joined to a united Italy, the crenellations were triumphantly restored.
The grand portal in the Piazza is surmounted by the city's symbols, the griffin of Perugia and the Imperial Guelf lion, in bronze; the originals were probably cast in the Arsenal of Venice, in 1274, the first European bronze castings in the round achieved since Antiquity. Above the door, strung on a bar hanging from chains the keys to the gates of Siena were triumphantly displayed, following the victory of Perugia at the battle of Torrita, 1358.
The portal leads to an austere vaulted undercroft with the stairs leading to the vaulted frescoed Sala of the former council chamber of the Priori on the piano nobile; the Sala was allocated to the notaries guild in 1582, as the Sala dei Notari, when their former quarters, the Palazzetto dei Notari, on the opposite side of the Corso were partially demolished in a street widening. On the left is the entrance to the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria one of the most outstanding provincial Italian collections of art.
A godwit male (Limosa limosa) almost successful in trying to woo his rival's girlfriend (-;
Interlocking bills during courtship is something I've never witnessed in all my years of godwit adventures. (Over 2500 images in the archives)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsjoByJt6z8
Cyanotype toned in tannic acid. Original image made with Wildgame Innovations game camera. Digital negative made with Pictorico Transparency Film printed on Epson R3000. Contact printed on Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag under Edwards Engineering 18x20 UV lightbox for 12 minutes.
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Lesser yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)
Sainte-Martine, Québec, Canada
Ich hatte mich etwas mit meinen Freund gestritten und musste etwas spazieren gehen. Also ab zu meinen lieblingsfriedhof um etwas ruhe zu finden. Mittlerweile ist aber alles wieder gut.
I had a little quarrel with my friend and had to go for a walk. So off to my favorite cemetery to find some rest. But now everything is good again.