The Church Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul of Comps

According to the legend, a Lord of Comps which drove out is one day mislaid on the hill covered with wood. He knelt and swore in front of God that if he managed to leave himself there alive, he would build a vault on the site where he was…
And it held word.

When I arrived, I was accomodated by some horses. The church appeared to me through the trees. Beautiful introduction…

This priory is superbly isolated on a small headland, in front of a broad landscape. One is astonished by this building in Greek cross. 

At last century, the Jouve canon had seen an Eastern influence in the plan in Greek cross and A.Lacroix, taking up this idea, had deduced from it that it had being built with the return of the first crusade.  It is quite simply about a church whose nave and bell-tower remained unfinished.

A church existed before the current church. Comps was in 1031 the seat of a “vicaria”, or viguery, civil division old, which depended on the Holy roman Empire Romain Germanique.  It depended on the Benedictine abbey of Savigny, close to Arbresle, in the Rhone (which is quoted in a donation of 1032). This abbey had also the churches of Bézaudun, Bourdeaux and Crupies.  It is what explains the importance of its Saint-Paul church.

The seigniory of Comps pledged by was probably évêché of Valentinois in reward of the services rendered by the family of Comps to the crusades, in particular that of 1095 in which took part Odon de Comps.

The church is still quoted like a dependence of Savigny at the beginning of the XII ème century in 1107, by the pope Pascal II, but, on an unknown date, perhaps to the XIII ème century, the priory of Comps passes to the Augustins canons of the abbey of Saoû.

The seigniory of Comps was a stronghold of the counts Valentinois. The first, Aymar, were the natural son of Guillaume IX, count de Poitiers about 1120. The family of Comps died out with the XIII ème century has by the marriage of the last heiress with Dalmas I of Vesc. Its descendants thus became lords of Comps and Dieulefit.

At the time of a visit in 1509, the bishop of Valence and Die authorizes his enlarging and orders the repair of the gate and the glazing to the top of the door of entry. In 1534, the inhabitants of Comps lend his bell to those of Dieulefit.

The church was classified historic building in 1938. In 1947, its roof entirely was remade and covered with slate roofing stones. The adjacent building, presbytery and school, were destroyed.

The single nave, broad 5,10 m 3,89 m is long only.

You will notice the occulus slightly shifted on the line. A dedication, or a chock on a star?

The outside is built in small regular sandstone apparatus. In the facing, in the south of the semicircular apse, one guesses that a southernmost absidiole disappeared, the northern absidiole being replaced by a vault with ribbed vault of XVe century. A door, perhaps of XIVe century, opens in the west in the embryo of nave.  The stock of the solid bell-tower is reinforced naked pilasters intended to carry an element which existed forever. Inside, which strikes, it is the height of the vaults, in particular of the cupola carried by the arcs of framing of crossed and by their pilasters with multiple splash plates. Side of the nave the arc falls down on two imbedded columns, that of the south having an only outlined base. The nave is reduced to a small span and one recognizes in the pilot wheels the entries of the absidioles.

The cupola passes from the basic rectangle to the octagone thanks to broad horns where XIXe had placed reasons. The moulding in quarter of round which runs to the bottom of the octagone, the perfection and the width of the cupola, the broken layout of the arcs of framing and the vaults assign at the building one posterior time in the middle of XIIe century.

The site in itself cuts the breath. The beauty and elegance are of setting. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the entry of the church remains closed throughout the year, except during the day of the inheritance. The least worse, it is that one can open the door and take some photographs through a grid…

http://www.centcols.org/les_rendez-vous/damian/monuments_romans_suite.htm