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Pyrénées-Atlantiques
A brief history...
History in this case bows down to legend… In the year 300 AD, Grace - a young Portuguese virgin - travelled with her family to Gaule to marry a Christian nobleman. Stopped by Roman soldiers, the travellers were massacred and Grace died a martyr's death. (There is talk of her liver and breasts being ripped out, her heart exposed and nails planted in her forehead). People began worshipping Sainte-Engrâce at Saragosse, and according to legend, in the Xth century thieves took one of her bejewelled arms and hid it in a hollow oak near a fountain deep in the flourishing countryside. Every day, a bull would come and kneel in front of the tree trunk and flames would shoot from its horns. Nuns then other believers gathered and as early as the XIth century, a church was built on the site of the oak. The sanctuary became a renowned place of pilgrimage, receiving visits from the princes of Aragon, Navarre and the Béarn. People started praying to Sainte Engrâce for protection against bad weather, droughts and even headaches!
From the XIVth to XVIth centuries, the collegiate church suffered during invasions by first the British then the Spanish and the wars of religion. In the turmoil, the saint's arm disappeared and was replaced in the XVIIth century by a finger "imported" from Spain... Even the French Revolution and sale of the church as a national treasure did not put an end to the pilgrimages and in 1841, Sainte-Engrâce was listed as a Historical Monument.
Since 1983, major restoration work has been ongoing. The parish priest points out that this is at great cost in terms of both finance and... patience!
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Romanesque treasures
Encircled by high mountains, Sainte-Engrâce church is built on a small promontory: its southern wall, straight and without any openings, overlooks a steep cliff, whereas the northern wall, on a gentle slope, is supported by massive buttresses. An asymmetrical slate roof covers the typically squat Romanesque building. The current bell tower is a later addition. Protected from rainfall from the west by a porch, the discrete doorway has a monogram of Christ supported by two long-haired angels over which there is an arch moulding with sculpted birds.
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Sculpted capital |
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The best treasures of Romanesque art at its peak -picturesque, funny and expressive- are in the three parallel naves. Of the 20 remaining capitals, 12 -as traditional in Romanesque architecture- show personalities in relief with supple clothes, in various positions and with heads out of proportion to their bodies. Joseph, the virgin Mary, their child and the shepherds are side by side with Adam and Eve, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in what can only be described as a compromising posture... They are surrounded by an amazing spectrum of animals: horses, centaurs, lions, and even an elephant whose trunk (for lack of a living model) was replaced by an enormous tongue! Of more traditional style but of a great sculptural quality, the other eight capitals are decorated with intertwined rope mouldings, palmettes, roses, stems and crossed branches…
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Access:
D918 from Mauléon-Licharre. After Tardets, turn right onto the D26.
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Saint-Engrâce and its cemetery |
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Romanesque art
