Romanesque Art in Southern Manche: Album Part 8

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122. Dragey. The church front. Its masonry is made of irregular blocks of schist and granite, which are local stones. The front is strengthened on each side by two thick b.u.t.tresses that end with a glacis. The large twin bay with a slightly triangular arch is from the 13th century. In 1860, this bay was reopened and restored, and the original gate was replaced by a gate without much character. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-064]

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123. Dragey. The south wall of the nave. The 16th century porch before the Romanesque gate was reopened en 1969. Photo by Alain Dermigny.

[Alain-065]

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124. Dragey. The tower base has a gate with a triangular arch from the 13th century. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-066]

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125. Dragey. The north wall of the nave (inside). The inner plaster of the side walls was sc.r.a.ped by the villagers to show the opus spicatum (fishbone masonry), at the request of abbot Pierre Danguy, pastor of the church between 1954 and 1974. The opus spicatum--with lines of schist plates arranged horizontally--attests the church was built in the 11th century and early 12th century. The long bay with a deep splay is from the 13th century. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-067]

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126. Dragey. The north wall of the nave (inside). Villagers patiently sc.r.a.ped the plaster to show the opus spicatum (fishbone masonry), a sign their church was early Romanesque. The inner plaster now only covers the last top quarter of the walls, probably too hard to reach.

Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-37]

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127. Dragey. The north wall of the nave (inside). The large trefoil bay is from the 13th century. A walled-up Romanesque bay with a deep splay is on the right, with an arch formed by a row of small granite quoins.

This Romanesque bay is the only remaining original bay in the church.

Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-068]

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128. Dragey. The north wall of the nave (inside). As the only remaining original bay, this walled-up Romanesque bay has a deep splay, with an arch formed by a row of small granite quoins. Photo by Claude Rayon.

[Claude-36]

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129. Dragey. The church choir. The bays of the choir we guess on each side were enlarged in the 15th century. The choir was previously quite dark, with a feeble light coming from two small Romanesque bays. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-069]

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130. Dragey. The old baptismal font supports a holy water font. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-38]

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131. Dragey. The stained gla.s.s window of one large twin bay in the south wall of the nave. This window is an ex-voto recounting one of the many drownings occurring in the region. On 5 May 1921, Harry Iselin, the son of a family of landowners near Dragey, drowned with an American friend, back from walking back from Mont Saint-Michel while crossing its dangerous sh.o.r.es. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-39]

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132. Dragey. Detail of the stained gla.s.s window. On the top, the Mont Saint-Michel, and below, a partial view of archangel St. Michael. This large twin bay with a trefoil arch replaced in 1860 a rectangular opening, that replaced itself a small Romanesque bay in 1790. This was also the case for the other twin bays. Photo by Alain Dermigny.

[Alain-070]

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133. Genets. Location. The village of Genets is located on the current coastal road between Granville and Avranches, 6 kilometers north of Avranches. The village is facing Mont Saint-Michel, around 4 kilometers far away. The medieval roads used by pilgrims to go to Mont Saint-Michel started from Saint-Pair-sur-Mer, Coutances, Saint-Lo and Caen to reach Genets. Then they needed to cross dangerous sh.o.r.es to reach Mont Saint-Michel, their final destination. In addition, the sh.o.r.e road between Saint-Pair and Mont Saint-Michel was crossing Bec d'Andaine, near Genets.

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134. Genets. The village and its church. The church tower--with its saddleback roof, its bal.u.s.trade and its gargoyles--emerges above the roofs of the village. Genets is a very old place. It was the tidal port of Avranches, the capital of the region before its looting by the Norman pirates in the 9th century. The barony of Genets was given in 1022 to the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel by Richard II, duke of Normandy, as well as the baronies of Saint-Pair and Ardevon. The center of a barony and a deanery, Genets became an active town under the early Norman dukes. In the early 14th century, there were nearly 3,000 inhabitants, and the church counted seven chapels and a full clergy.

This was the most flouris.h.i.+ng period. During the Hundred Years War, Genets was looted, fleeced and burned by the British troops from 1356 on. During the Religion Wars between Catholics and Protestants, Genets was again sacked in 1562 by the troops of the Protestant Montgomery.

During the French Revolution, Genets lost its juridiction of a seneschal, its sergentery, its deanery, its fairs and its markets, and went from being a town to being a village. The county town became Sartilly. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-083]

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135. Genets. The church, beautifully made, is the work of Robert Torigni, abbot of Mont Saint-Michel between 1154 and 1186, who built it on the site of an older timeworn church. The Romanesque church was consecrated in 1157 by Herbert, bishop of Avranches, along with Roger, abbot of Bec-h.e.l.louin. The church and cemetery of Genets were granted the t.i.tle of (French) Historic Monument in 1959. Photo by Claude Rayon.

[Claude-40]

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136. Genets. The church is composed of a broad nave, a transept and a three-row choir with a flat apse. A ma.s.sive tower topped by a saddleback roof rises at the transept crossing. The Romanesque parts are the transept crossings, part of the transept arms and two-thirds of the tower. The porch before the south gate in the nave is from the 16th century. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-071]