12 juin 2007
The church St Michel in Guard-Adhémar
The borough of the Guard-Adhémar preserved its medieval structure,
enclosed in ramparts in edge of a rocky outcrop dominating the plain of
Pierrelatte.
This
plain was colonized at the Roman time by the veterans of the Roman
legions (I th century). Recent archaeological research revealed many
traces of human occupation, partly related to a wine activity.
Via
Agrippa to the foot Guard passed. Traces of Gallo-Roman habitat are
located in the hills. The site of the Valley of the Nymphs, to 2 km of
the current perched village, testifies to a worship to the divinities
of water and the goddesses mothers.
As
much of other churches of the Middle Ages built on heights, the church
of the Guard-Adhémar is dedicated to Saint Michel. The current Church
would have been set up at the time of second half of the XII th
century.
The
first mention of the presence in this place of a vault appears in a
bubble of the pope Pascal II of April 24, 1105. It is quoted among the
dependences of the Benedictine abbey Saint-Philibert of Tournus, of
which it concerned via the monastery the valley of the nymphs.
It
became at the beginning of the XII th century parish church, dependent
on the abbey of Tournus until 1540, time when the pope Paul III gave it
to the chapter of the collegiate church of Grignan, which perceived the
incomes until the Revolution of them.
It was restored in 1849 and 1850 thanks to Mérimée, then inspector of the historic buildings.
By
its style, this church belongs to the Romance school of Provence which,
by the play of the historical conditions, is related at the Rhénane
school, Provence belonging to the Saint Worsens Romain Germanique.
This
building of modest dimensions astonishes by verticality by its lines
not stopped by cornices. The two collateral ones, arched in quadrants,
are used as buttresses. One can notice his Western apse, particularly
rare architectural detail. Generally indeed, the apse is located in
direction of the East.
The Interior basilical with two spans does not have a transept.
Slim
but small proportions: 3m 70 for the width of the spans. In all, 22
meters by 20 on the ground, the nave rising with 14 meters.
the stones of construction carry many concise signs, frequent marks of the maitres of work and companions. “Peturs” is most visible.
The bell-tower has two stages of arcades surmounted by a pyramid with 8 sides pointing out the "style clunisien" building, which had to the monks Benedictines. In 1849, there remained only the first stage and the base of the second.
The
high part of the bell-tower, the second stage and the octagonal pyramid
which surmounts it are creations of the XIX th century, by the Questel
architect who took as a starting point an identical model with that
that the bell-tower of the major church of Borough-Saint-Andéol
represented. Also, when after the bombardments of 1944, one wanted to
restore the bell-tower of seriously damaged Borough-Saint-Andéol, the
architects had only to recopy that of the Guard-Adhémar.
The
two apses are opposite, which is rare in France and finds itself
practically only in the old monuments of the edges of the Rhine. The
Eastern apse in hemicycle is framed by two absidioles, all the three
arched in half dome.
One
can notice the barrel vault broken on beams of the first two spans, the
cupola with 8 sides on conical horns of the last span.
On
the left of the entry, a truncated column that the old ones raised on
the tombs, called “cippe funerary”. One reads there the letters D and M
which must mean “Diis Manibus”, “with the gods manes”. It was
discovered in the valley of the nymphs.
On
the right, a vestige of Gallo-Roman votive pagan furnace bridge carries
the inscription “Matris Nymphis”, which means “with the mothers nymphs”.
An
altar stone to the sacrifices profiled on its 4 sides, was found in
the valley of the nymphs where it was used a long time as furnace
bridge for the catholic worship. It is used now as principal furnace
bridge.
Outside, a plank seems me to represent the number of subsoil water currents as well as thetelluric ones and the faults.
The
virgin with the child, of style auvergnat, out of wood, date probably
of the XI th century. It was discovered a few years ago by the abbot
Silhol, priest of the village, in his own church, whereas it was
dissimulated under embroidered clothes, crowns and the term of Holy
Anne.
The
statue spent long centuries venerated by the monks of the abbey of
Aiguebelle. But with the revolution, a monk walled the statue in a
niche, preventing which it does not undergo the sad fate reserved for
the virgin of Le Puy for example.
It
was to re-examine the day only with the XX th century. After its
rediscovery, the abbey of Aiguebelle made of it gift with the abbot
Girard, priest of the Guard-Adhémar, in 1944. The good priest could
only make some. He already had in his church a beautiful statue of the
virgin, polychrome, of the XVI th century, venerated by his
parishioners: Notre-Dame of the valley of the nymphs. It wondered one
moment if the new statue, Notre-Dame of the mercy, were not going to
carry wrong to that which was already in place since strong a long time.
On the other hand, the church did not have a statue of Holy Anne, mother of Marie. Mister the priest eliminated the rival in an elegant and not very banal way. He equipped the statue with wood with ornaments of "saint-Sulpicien"style , Sainte Anne baptized it and issued that the Jesus child could honourably represent the Virgin Mary child. It placed under pane the statue and made register below: “Holy Anne request for us”.
The
abbot Silhol, the current priest, is an enlightened art lover.
Intrigued by this strange Sainte Anne, it was to discover the truth and
to note with amazement which it was in the presence of a fort beautiful
testimony of the Romanesque art. (article of Olivier Tightens.)
This statue has several of the characteristics of the black virgins. Within sight of the length of his hands, of his sitting position on the cathèdre, of the date of his “birth”, his proportions, I think that it good fleure the under-ground Lady… The place from where it comes is a magic place also, with or without its black virgin. I will make the article of it later. To announce: the virgin of the valley of the nymphs was stolen in 2006…
Under
the church, with the feet of cliff, a garden of simple was arranged.
Surprised: a waste-gas main source nicely, taken care by a fauna.
During nymphs of the valley?
On the other side of the hill, other sources spout out, like that which attracted my glance while passing.
It feeds the laundrette a little low, where some old stones are
embedded in the wall. The interior of the fountain impressed me much.
Still a place where water becomes crowned…
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~celine/lga/la_garde-adhemar.html
http://www.la-garde-adhemar.com/historique.htm
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Garde-Adh%C3%A9mar
http://pmarecha.free.fr/roman/tricastin.htm
The valley of the nymphs
The
valley of the nymphs, still wrapped mysteries, fact part of these
places which one says inspired. Wonder that of a so hard and ungrateful
rock spouts out continument a pure and limpid water.
Not
astonishing that for at least three millenia, of the men have fixed
themselves around these sources which ensured the life to them. There
Tricastins were not undoubtedly the first to be established.
Later,
the Romans marked their passage there: witness this small votive
furnace bridge dedicated to the mother-nymphs deposited today with the
church of the Guard-Adhémar. Archaeology still did not make it possible
to locate the antique sanctuary.
Many updated burials recently testify to the presence lasting of long centuries, around successive vaults, of a rural community.
The
Notre-Dame vault of the valley of the nymphs is thus high on the ruins
of an old pagan temple. Before the christianization of the places, this
valley was a sanctuary of the Tricastins Celts in the honor of the
nymphs, goddesses of the sources. The worship of the nymphs comprised
baths which one took in the basin of the source. For the worship of the
goddesses of fruitfulness, the Christians substituted delui of the
Virgin Mary.
A
primitive vault was thus set up between the IV th and the VII th
century, revealed by recent excavations and also evoked in the
documents on Donzère with the VII th century. A priory was established
more tardily and was placed under the term of Notre-Dame. It is
mentioned in a royal act dated and signed in Rheims by Henri the first, on
May 23, 1059, among the dependences of the abbey of Tournus. The
current vault, only remaining vestige of the constructions carried out
in this place, would have been set up during the décénnie 1160-1170.
The
last archaeological locations and histories showed, close to the
permanent source, the presence of an important medieval habitat (V th-XII th centuries) and of four churches of which vestiges of the
primitive vault Saint Martin's day, located close to the source, (V th
VII th century) and to the necropoles Christian women.
Only residence, today, the church priorale built with the XII th
century by the monks of the abbey of Tournus, under the term of
Our-lady. It preserves, seems it, the plan and the foundations of a
former church. Two others églisess' also raised in this place: Romance
saint, with exclusively funerary function, and holy Pierre.
It would be the primitive site of the village. From the end of the XII th century, this place is gradually forsaken by its inhabitants with the profit of the habitat protected from the borough castral of the Guard-Adhémar (the castrum) whose lords belonged a long time to the family of Adhémar.
The habitat, constructions priorales and the three other churches disappeared as well from the landscape as of the collective memory.
Strongly
endomagée by the wars of religion at the end of the XVI th century,
the vault was not repaired. It remained however the place of masses and
processions to the XVII th century, then was abandoned. It is only
into 1950 that the comission of the historic buildings in made a
partial restoration, which was completed by the restoration of the roof
in 1991.
It is a single vaiseau of three spans:
-
the apse, towards the front, semicircular arched in half dome, presents
a decoration of two stages of blind arcades which takes again the Roman
models of amphithéatres.
it barrel vault full-clotheshanger whose birth is shown by a stringcourse of mouldings
them
proportions of the frontage are single: the interior stage, very
stripped with the exeption of the opening of the porch, is surmounted
by part of Byzantine style.
The
instability of the ground and the many earthquakes in the area explain
the addition of the side buttresses. One can always distinguish the
marks from the companions on the walls.
The
site is surrounded by a wood, which I would say crowned. One finds oaks
and cherry trees there. The basin druidic made me strong impression, as
well as the source which supplies the large basin in front of the vault.
The
three basins are present: the round, from where the source spouts out,
then a drain which takes along water in the square basin, after having
made a rotation with 90°. Then the rectangular basin from where the
water, which carries on its road, passes under ground.
The
place is very charged, and it is true that one has the impression that
the nymphs are always there as would say a very expensive friend… It is
typically a place of cure, where the element water is magnifié.
Ah yes, I forgot… So Saint Martin is present in dedication of the first construction, it is the sign of a developed pagan presence… And an old worship, even megalithic.
