11 juin 2007
The Saint-George church of Bourbon Archambault
Archambault
bourbon-from which the name is drawn at the same time from the Celtic
god from the sources, Borvo, and of the first family of the Bourbons,
Archambault, is known since Antiquity for the virtues of its thermal
spring. Located on the Roman way coming from Bourges (Avaricum),
Archambault Bourbon-the was the chief town of a châtellenie on which
Franchesse and Saint-Aubin-the-Monial depended.
It is in this city
that at XIIème century the “Novel of Flamenca is located”, history of
love written in language of oc. Bourbonnais, founded as of Xème century
starting from the fortress of the lords, then dukes of Bourbon,
constitutes the border between the kingdom of France and the duchy of
Aquitaine. This key position explains the impressive fortification, of
which four of the fifteen grosses still intact towers make it possible
to measure the any power of it.
The Saint-George church
Simple vault bénédictine until XIIIème century, the Saint-George church
of Archambault Bourbon-the is of Burgundian inspiration.
Built in
second half of XIIème century, on the site of an old Roman temple
dedicated to Apollon, the church was in the beginning only one simple
abbey vault of the “Ladies of Saint-Menoux”. It became parish church
only at the XVIIIème century, and was then the seat of important
archiprêtré of the diocese of Bourges.
During
the Revolution, it became agent of a treasure consisted the Relique
badge of the True-Cross and a spine of the Holy-Crown, one and the
other brought to Bourbon in 1287 per Robert, the son of Saint-Louis,
husband of Beatrice, Dame Bourbon and downward last of the line of the
lords de Bourbon.
The
plan of the primitive vault was that of the “Latin cross”, not very
marked because of the weak development of the transept. It comprised
three naves, the principal nave being flanked of two apsidal chapels
dedicated to the Holy Trinity and Notre-Dame. The chorus was slightly
on the left tilted.
To
XVème century, the sides were extended, on the level of the third span,
by the construction of two side chapels of Gothic style constituting a
kind of false transept to the primitive vault. That located at the
south probably dates from the beginning of XVème century (beginning of
the Gothic); it opens by a bay in handle of basket; it is arched under
four bands of warheads and is lit by two tréflées windows; originally
placed under the patronage of Saint-Crepin, it became “Saint-George
vault”. The construction of the vault in north is definitely posterior
with that of the preceding one. It indeed carries the mark of a more
advanced Gothic. Arched warheads with inter-ties and will plough for
the third time, it is lit by a bay with “rampage blazing” announcing
the Gothic of the same name. Originally dedicated to “Lord
Saint-Anthony”, it carried successively the terms of “Vigier” and
“Saint-Aubin”; it became the “vault of the Holy-Cross” since June 12,
1791, date on which the mayor of Bourbon made there transport the
Relics preserved hitherto in the Ste Chapelle of the castle.
Between
1845 and 1851, important work of enlarging and installation was
undertaken. The apsidal chapels disappeared. The church was prolonged
by a new major chorus, preceded by two spans and surrounded by a
flanked déambulatoire of three radiating chapels. To the exit of this
work, dimensions of the church were increased to 52 meters of length
and 14m40 broad.
Between
1871 and 1880, the arms of the transept were prolonged by two vaults in
the semicircular plan: the vault of the Holy-Virgin in 1872, the vault
of the Sacred Heart in 1879.
The monument itself is of Burgundian Romance style “of transition”.
The
door, built in a deep splaying on the axis of the central nave, is made
of four powerful archivolts which receive eight columns imbedded in
re-entrant angles and whose capitals are crowned foliages, geometrical
ornaments and human heads in the style of those that one meets in
Souvigny. Two other columns, bulkier, committed on the face, are
surmounted of the same capitals style than the precedents. Lastly, the
curve of the external archivolt is decorated cablings (mouldings in the
shape of sticks pointing out the components of the “doric” plank of the
Greek architecture) in a hurry (visible only on the sides) being
connected with ancient triglyphes.
The old tympanum hones some disappeared to make place with a wood figuration of Saint-George embanking a dragon.
The higher part of the sideboard is covered of one crawling supported
by a rough cornice than support nine modillons formed by human heads,
whose only those of the ends are in relatively good state. On the
twenty-eight others, distributed under the cornice and in the walls of
the sides, one still finds some heads human, but more still certain
geometrical ornaments of regional inspiration.
The windows of the frontage in semicircular arch, are surrounded by a cord of billets.
A waste-gas main with head of demon leaves the point of starter of the vault of the Holy-Cross with the “side”.
While entering the church, one notices the distinctive characters of
the Burgundian Romance style: principal vault deprived of windows, in
tierce point, or broken cradle, stopped by the Roman arches with the
pilot wheels, the layout in gothic arch, in mitre, finding itself on
the large arcades joining together the nave with the sides which, them,
are arched edges. These arcades rest on flanked cruciform piles of four
imbedded columns of which the bases are reduced by a rather broad
“scotie” open between two “tori” sometimes decorated of a “cable”.
Capitals
Placed under trenchers decorated or simply dug of a cavet which is
prolonged, along the nave, in a stringcourse, several of the capitals
are remained “épannelés”, but with others are covered sheets of water,
marks or scenes interesting. Contrary to the Burgundian influence which
characterizes the church, these capitals rather raise of the sculptural
style auvergnat: capitals decorated with rinceaux symmetrical and
rolled up, highly decorative, or of birds, or sheets of plants watery,
capitals with characters.
The
old church counted sixty-six capitals with the uniform contour. A
certain number of them disappeared during work of enlarging of the
church. There remains about it a little more than fifty. Some are
carved, others are painted; several are at the same time painted and
carved; nine, finally, are capitals called “to characters” of style
typically auvergnat.
Among the latter, it is necessary to quote:
that
being on the face of the first pillar left (painted and carved)
representing a bishop with his stick and surrounded by three disabled
person;
that
known as “of the musicians”, one of most remarkable, on the face of the
left pillar of the vault of the Sacred Heart, with a character seeming
to beat measurement, surrounded by others playing of the syrinx
(panpipes), of the violate and the horn;
those
of the pillars of the transept representing: one of the angels sounding
of the trumpet to the last judgement and the other of the angels
presenting of the phylactères enumerating the maid and ill deeds;
others, on each pillar of the chorus (of face), representative: one of
the angels admirers extending the arms like the angels “orants” of the
catacombs, the other two angels blessing the people;
on
the left pillar of the chorus (side nave) two angels are represented
carrying a crown, representing the Very Holy Trinity in the middle of
which is held the Paschal lamb;
on the right pillar of the chorus (side nave) one can see a mixture of human heads and fantastic birds faced in the middle of volutes of foliages and bunches of fruits;
the
last of the capitals “with characters” (on the face, new side, of the
“Virgin of Pierre”) is that known as of the “Lust” representing a
horned devil surrounded by two characters assembled on a goat and
blowing in a horn.
The Vault of the Holy-Virgin
It is dominated by the admirable statue, out of white marble, of the
“Virgin to the Child” dating from XIVe century, which comes from the
first Ste Chapelle of the castle (furnace bridge of Notre-Dame, above
the Treasury). This statue was brought to the church on June 12, 1791,
at the same time as the Holy-Relics, which probably preserved it total
destruction.
http://www.ot-bourbon.com/fr/l_eglise_saint-georges_79.php
Notre-Dame of Vernouillet
It
is with the museum of the friends of the old Bourbon of Bourbon
Archambault that the statue of the former priory of Vernouillet is. It
makes the object of a pilgrimage on September 8, festival of the
nativity, for the future grooms and sterile couples. This virgin in
majesty remained in the monastery Benedictine of Vernouillet until the
revolution. Then hidden in the trunk of a oak, too narrow to contain
it, the child was planed.
The priory is a private property now, and the visitors badly-came.
“The
whole of the priory was sold 5300 pounds, on March 26, 1791, by the
district of Cérilly. The old vault was transformed into particular
dwelling which, in a small tiny room, preserved the old statue of the
Virgin. This vault was made up of the sanctuary (8mx6, out of work)
cover by groined vaults whose veins fall down on consoles of the
beginning of XIVe S. the facings of this part of the building are out
of sandstone and offer an average very regular apparatus; nave, which
measures 13 meters length, and which was rebuilt later and completely
upset by the new provisions of the dwelling. A bell-tower surmounted
the pinion of the chorus. Under the tiling one found stone coffins in
the shape of trough, with their lids with sides. ” (Abbot Joseph
CLEMENT, archaeological and bibliographical Inventory of the communes
of the department To combine it. Canton of Bourbon Archambault
“The Virgin is represented sat on a seat without file and provided with trefoil blind arcades on the sides; she with the covered head of a cape and wears a dress to broad hanging sheers; on its knees sat the blessing Child; a niche with relics is dug in the back of the statue; clothing is decorated paintings of XIIIe century forming of the bands filled with a set of rhombuses to pink flowerets ochre broadsides on a sown darkened bottom of black small crosses. ” (Mr. GENERMONT and P. PRADEL, Churches of France.)
“This
curious figure of the Virgin, who appears to go up in XIIIe century, is
carved out of wood full with oak. The Madonna sat on a right seat,
without file, but whose sides are elegantly decorated trefoil and
openwork arcades. The Virgin is vêtue of a cape which covers its head
and of which sleeves long and hanging many small folds form which give
him a Byzantine seal. The cap from where escapes the corrugated hair
points out the old hairstyle of this area. In the dorsal part of the
statue one dug a compartment - kind of custode of relics - which was
formerly closed by a sealed door of three strap hinges from which two
disappeared. The Virgin rests on a cushion and holds on her knees the
Jesus Child blessing the world with the Latin manner. All the statue,
carved in same wood, is painted, the dress and the cover in red, the
Child Jesus in green, the chair in white with red and green ornaments.
” (Abbot Joseph CLEMENT, archaeological and bibliographical Inventory
of the communes of the department To combine it.)
Considered
to be protective in love one, it gave place to a pélerinage in
September during which the girls seeking a husband offered a ribbon of
color to him realising what their wish was éxaucé in the year. It was
necessary to put a ribbon around the neck of the statue and to carry a
piece of those which are there already. The girls then said:
“Virgin Boun of nouyés,
Relationship with nout' Javot
Bayez me including one houmme
That with the siess makes as will veudra
Twisted, uneven but provided that in siess one. “
The museum Augustin Bernard of Archambault Bourbon-the is opened with the visit. To ask the House Country, with the seat of the office of tourism, 2 p.m. 30 and 4 p.m. 30, where the departure is done for the Home of Roy for a visit of one hour and quarter approximately. It remains me to thank Madam the preserving one for her kindness and its passion for the city and its museum.
The
museum Augustin Bernard, founded in 1937 by this scholar Bourbonnais
member of the Institute, comprises several parts distributed on the two
levels of the old hydropathic establishment, now classified Historic
building. With the mezzanine, the famous Virgin of Vernouillet. The
curiosity of Bourbon, Saint-Grelichon, but also of the vestiges coming
from the Ste Chapelle of the castle.
Holly Grelichon
We
find this regional Saint in a lane of Bourbon Archambault, represented
in bust and vêtu of sacerdotal clothes, sheltered in a niche of a
frontage of house.
It is one of the most popular characters and most
enigmatic of the city. It had the capacity to cure the sterile women
according to the legend. A certainty, it is that he was never a bishop
and was never canonized. Worse, the church fought its worship.
In
the olden days, the names carried revealed the personality and one
assigned with the healers a capacity in connection with their name:
Would Grelichon come from “grelicher”, to tickle, or “grelot”,
testicles? Was he an healer, a monk, wise and scholar, belonging to the
capuchins installed with Bourbon since 1622?
The
ritual of the worship is known: the patients were going to request in
the vault guided by a father capuchin before going to scrape peg fixed
on the stomach of the statue. After one night spent in prayers (always
accompanied by the capuchin), they drank the miraculous powder
macerated in white wine.
Although the diocese of Bourges prohibited the exercise of the worship of Grelichon Saint about 1820, the women did not continue any less to rely on the statue to fill their desire of maternity. In the middle of the XIXème century, the exasperated priest made replace the wood statue by one out of painted stone, that one even as one finds with the museum Augustin Bernard. The statue reappeared in an attic and was given in the niche of the house. For more information on Grelichon Saint, to ask the tourist bureau of Bourbon Archambault the plate of Mrs Paulette Overflow.
http://www.coldev.org/sanctuaires/index.php?r=cons&sr=cons&id=211