Romanesque Art in Southern Manche: Album Part 2

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030. Breville. The Romanesque gate in the south base of the tower. The archivolt topping the semi-circular arch rests on a granite stone carved with a human head. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-014]

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031. Breville. A Romanesque modillion carved with a human head, under the cornice. Most other modillions, more recent, are plain and only chamfered. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-015]

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032. Breville. A Romanesque modillion carved with a human head, under the cornice. This modillion is above the bay of the second row of the nave. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-016]

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033. Breville. The choir (inside). Its ribbed vault is from the late 15th or early 16th century. The tiles of the second row of the choir are from 1863. The floor of the first row is covered with schist pavings from Beauchamps laid in 1969. Photo by Alain Dermigny.

[Alain-017]

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034. Breville. The nave (inside). Its wooden ceiling was replaced by a plaster ceiling in 1852. The door and the large bay visible in the back wall--which is the west wall of the front--doesn't have much character because of the rebuilding of the church front in 1783. The pegged oak door is from 1970. In 1969, the walls were covered with a lime plaster, and the floor with schist pavings from Beauchamps. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-018]

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035. Breville. The nave (inside). The plaster ceiling from 1852 was recently replaced by a wooden ceiling, like in old times. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-09]

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036. Breville. The tower base (inside), between choir and nave. In the foreground, an arch with chamfered edges rests on half-attached columns. This arch between the choir and the tower base was redone during the renovation of the choir in the 15th or 16th century. In the background, the arch between the nave and the tower base belongs to the original Romanesque building. This is a slightly triangular arch with irregular quoins, resting on two thick attached piers. The pier impost is molded with a chemfered band. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-019]

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037. Breville. The main altar, situated in the apse of the choir, with a statue of Our Lady on the left--the church is under her patronage--and a statue of St. Helier--the second saint--on the right. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-020]

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038. Breville. A detail of the main altar, in the apse of the choir. A statue of Our Lady, the patron saint of the church. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-021]

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039. Breville. A detail of the main altar, in the apse of the choir.

The statue of St. Helier, second saint of the church. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-022]

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040. Breville. The fountain Saint-Helier. This fountain was topped by the statue of St. Helier that is now in the background, on the right.

Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-10]

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041. Yquelon. Location. The village of Yquelon is located 2 kilometers from Granville, between the villages of Donville-les-Bains and Saint-Nicolas, at the south of the river Boscq. The name "Yquelon" has Scandinavian roots and means "oak branch". Yquelon was situated on the medieval road coming from Cherbourg and going to Saint-Pair-sur-Mer before reaching Mont Saint-Michel, the final destination for many pilgrims.

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042. Yquelon. The Romanesque church. The territory of the parish was part of the barony of Saint-Pair, owned by Mont Saint-Michel since 1022, when Richard II, duke of Normandy, gave the barony to the Mont.

The lord of Yquelon, Rogerius de Ikelun, affixed his signature to two main charters of the Abbey of the Lucerne in 1162. In the 13th century, the patronage was certainly secular. The t.i.the was shared between the pastor, who was receiving most of it, the Abbey of Montmorel (located in Poilley, near Ducey), and the leper hospital Saint-Blaise de Champeaux. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-023]

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043. Yquelon. The Romanesque church is under St. Pair's patronage, and the second saint is St. Maur. The parish belonged to the deanery of Saint-Pair and the archidiachone of Coutances. The churches of Yquelon and Breville have similarities, because they are near by and were both built in the second half of the 12th century. Photo by Alain Dermigny.

[Alain-024]

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044. Yquelon. The Romanesque church is formed by a two-row nave followed by a two-row choir with a flat apse. The large square tower ?

with its three floors in slight recess and a saddleback roof--is adjacent to the first row on the north side of the choir. The rectangular openings show that the tower was partly rebuilt since the 12th century. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-12]

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