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Basilica of Saint-Quentin

The Basilica of Saint-Quentin (French: Basilique Saint-Quentin), formerly the Collegiate Church of Saint-Quentin (French: Collégiale Saint-Quentin) is a Catholic church in the town of Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France. There have been religious buildings on the site since the 4th century AD, which were repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt during the Early Middle Ages. The present basilica was constructed in stages between the 12th and 15th centuries. It was severely damaged in World War I (1914–18), and was only reopened in 1956 after extensive reconstruction.

Basilica of Saint-Quentin
Basilique Saint-Quentin
The basilica from the south in 2018
Religion
AffiliationRoman Catholic
DistrictDiocese of Soissons
Location
LocationSaint-Quentin, Aisne, France
StateFrance
Shown within France
Geographic coordinates49°50′52″N 3°17′24″E / 49.847792°N 3.289917°E / 49.847792; 3.289917Coordinates: 49°50′52″N 3°17′24″E / 49.847792°N 3.289917°E / 49.847792; 3.289917
Architecture
StyleGothic
Completed12th – 16th century
Specifications
Length133 metres (436 ft)
Width (nave)42 metres (138 ft)
Spire height82 metres (269 ft)
Basilica seen from the Somme river.

Origins

The town of Saint-Quentin has been identified with the Roman city of Augusta Veromandurorum, a commercial center at an important crossroads. It takes its present name from the Christian missionary Saint Caius Quintinus, who was beheaded there in 287 AD.[1] Legend says the body was found many years later in the nearby marches of the River Somme by a Roman widow named Eusebia. She reburied the remains at the top of the hill at the center of the present town and built a small shrine to the martyr. Excavations round the crypt of the present church have indeed found traces of a building from this date.[2]

Some sources say the town became the seat of a bishopric around 365, but after barbarians destroyed it in 531 the bishop moved to Noyon.[3] The chapel is listed as a pilgrimage destination by Gregory of Tours (c. 538–594). Saint Eligius (c. 588–660), Bishop of Noyon and counselor to Dagobert I, Merovingian king of France, rediscovered the tomb in the 7th century "under the pavement of the basilica". There are records of Saint Eligius having enlarged the building. Remains of a floor from this period have been found near the crypt.[2] A large fragment of mosaic has been preserved.[3]

The first community of monks was established in or around Saint-Quentin by the mid-7th century, probably by Irish monks with the backing of the bishops of Noyon. The bishops claimed ecclesiastic jurisdiction over most of Vermandois, including Saint-Quentin.[4] The church was rebuilt with the assistance of Charlemagne (c. 747–814), and consecrated by Pope Stephen IV (r. 816–817).[3] There may have been two churches in the early Middle Ages, one dedicated to Saint Quentin and the other to the Virgin Mary. Archaeologists have found the remains of walls from the Carolingian period, when the location was a flourishing monastery and pilgrimage site.[2] Limited archaeological investigations indicate that the crypt in the section of the nave between the two transepts may have replaced a Carolingian crypt with a circular corridor.[5]

The church was burned down by the Normans in 816, rebuilt in 824 and burned down again in 883.[3] The site was fortified after 883.[6] In 900 the bodies of Saint-Quentin and two other saints were placed in stone sarcophagi in a newly constructed crypt.[7] In the 10th century the Herbertian counts of Vermandois, principally Adalbert I (Albert the Pious c. 915–987), replaced the monks with a congregation of secular canons. The counts claimed the title of abbot, and were overlords of the church.[4] A dean administered the collegiate church. The dean was appointed by the count and reported only to the count, not to the bishop of Noyon and then to the archbishop of Reims.[8] There are records of rebuilding in the mid-10th century.[2] The church was damaged during local warfare in 1102–03. At one time Count Raoul of Vermandois (c. 1100–52) was thought to have rebuilt the church, but this now seems unlikely.[2]

The canons of the collegiate chapter lived in separate houses within the church precincts, and most were not ordained priests. Often they were property owners and businessmen from noble families and main role was to administer the chapter's property. By 1200 the chapter was large and prosperous, with 72 canons. The semi-independent counts of Vermandois were originally closely associated with the County of Flanders, but gradually came under French control, a process that was completed when Eleanor of Vermadois died in 1214. That year Cardinal Robert of Courçon instituted a reform whereby ordained parish priests in nine parish churches would administer the sacraments, independent of the chapter, although they would pay the chapter a portion of their fees for baptisms, marriages and funerals.[9] The construction of the huge new collegiate church may have been motivated in part by a desire of the collegiate chapter to reassert its authority after loss of jurisdiction to the town authorities and the parish priests.[10]

History

 
Reliquary of the skull of Saint Quentin

Construction

A tower, now the bell tower, was started around 1170.[6] It was completed between 1195 and 1200.[3] Around 1190 the canons decided to build a more imposing church to welcome the growing numbers of pilgrims.[6] The apse was completed in 1205.[3] The apse was some distance to the east of the tower. Construction then continued westward from the apse towards the 12th-century tower, which eventually became the entrance to the collegiate church.[11]

There were frequent disputes between the chapter and the Bishops of Noyon, whose authority they refused to recognize. In the early 1220s Bishop Gérard de Bazoches placed the chapter under interdict, but in 1228 Pope Gregory IX rescinded the interdict. That year Nicolas de Roye, who was related to several of the canons, became the new bishop after Gérard's death.[12] Later in 1228 the relics of Saint Quentin, Saint Victoric of Amiens and Saint Cassian of Auxerre were moved from the old crypt to a temporary location in the nave.[2][a] The remains of the saints were exposed for veneration. Their heads, hands and arms were detached from their bodies, and each body part was placed in its own reliquary. After completion of the sanctuary the reliquaries were placed behind the high altar. The crypt, its tombs now empty, was preserved as a sacred place.[13][b]

 
Medieval fresco

A synod was held in the church in August 1231. The archbishop sat in the center of the apse, with the bishops of Soissons, Beauvais, Noyon, Tournai and Senlis to his left, and the bishops of Laon, Châlons, Amiens, Thérouanne and Arras to his right.[15] In 1257 Louis IX of France (1214–70) (Saint Louis) attended a great ceremony in which the relics of the saint were translated to the choir. The choir was mostly completed at that time apart from the high windows, which were built in the last third of the 13th century.[6]

Construction proceeded slowly due to lack of funds and structural problems. In 1316 the master mason Jean Le Bel had to strengthen the pillars of the choir. His successor, Gilles Largent, repaired the cracked vaults in 1394.[6][c] In 1417 Louis XI of France (1423–83) donated 1,000 gold crowns to completely rebuild the south arm of the small transept, which was at risk of collapsing. The large transept was completed in the middle of the 15th century.[6] The nave was completed in 1456, finally linking the apse to the 12th-century tower of St. Michel. The portal in the tower was completed in 1477.[3] In 1509 foundations were laid for a massive facade with two towers to replace the existing entrance tower, but this project was soon abandoned due to lack of funds.[6]

Fire, war and revolution

 
Ruined basilica on 14 October 1918

The building was damaged by a large fire in 1545, and by another fire during the Spanish siege of 1557. There was yet another fire in 1669. During the French Revolution (1789–99) the building was damaged by Jacobins who converted it into a Temple of Reason, then a fodder store and a stable. The building was given a Monument historique classification in 1840. During the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) the building damaged by 18 shells on 19 January 1871. The building was designated a minor basilica in 1876 by Pope Pius IX.[3]

During World War I (1914–18) the city was occupied by German forces on 28 August 1914. The priest managed to hide the most valuable possessions. On 1 July 1916 an allied airplane dropped a bomb on the railway station, which ignited a wagon of explosives. Great damage was done to the buildings of the city by the explosion, and seven of the large windows of the basilica were broken. The city was evacuated on 15 March 1917. The church roof was destroyed by fire on 15 August 1917.[3]

When French forces recaptured Saint-Quentin on 1 October 1918 they arrested a German engineer who was preparing to blow up the severely damaged building. 93 holes had been made in the walls and pillars and filled with explosives for this purpose. By then the vaulting of the central nave had completely collapsed. Parts of the flying buttresses had been destroyed, and the walls and buttresses had many breaches. There was a risk that falls of unstable masonry could trigger larger collapses.[17]

Modern reconstruction

 
Labyrinth (foreground)

Reconstruction of the basilica began in 1919, directed by the Historical Monuments Commission.[6] Emile Brunet was charged with reconstruction. As a first step about 3,000 cubic metres (110,000 cu ft) of cut stone and rubble were cleared by German prisoners of war. Some further damage was caused to carvings and decorations in the process. Specialized workers undertook urgent reinforcements of masonry, and parts of damaged sculptures were stored for later restoration. A temporary roof was built to protect the structure from weather, covered by fibro-cement and Ruberoid sheeting.[17]

It took 25 years to complete the basic restoration.[17] The surviving 13th-century stained glass windows were reinstalled in 1948, with modern windows made by Hector de Pétigny (1904–92) to replace those that were missing, The restored basilica was reopened for worship in 1956. The steeple over the transept crossing was only finished in 1983.[3] Further restoration work was undertaken in 2006 to clean the walls and restore the gatehouse to its state at the end of the 17th century.[6]

Building

Dimensions

 
Entrance tower in 2018

The basilica is the largest religious building in Picardy after Amiens Cathedral.[6] It is 133 metres (436 ft) long and 40 metres (130 ft) high. The nave is 42 metres (138 ft) wide. There are 110 windows. The 1976 steeple gives the building 82 metres (269 ft) of height.[3] The entrance tower is 34.5 metres (113 ft) high.[18] The interior is 120 metres (390 ft) long, 36 metres (118 ft) wide, and rises to 34 metres (112 ft) below the vault.[6]

Exterior

The building has a bold design with flamboyant details. It shows the evolution of the Gothic style during its lengthy construction period. It has a square tower above the transept crossing topped by a slender steeple that was installed in 1983. The entrance to the church dates from the 9th century. It was once part of the Carolingian church, and has been extensively modified. It now has three levels above the semi-circular entrance.[3] There is a chapel dedicated to Saint Michael above the entrance passage.[6] The central section of the building is braced by flying buttresses and by the side aisles.[3] The two transepts, of unequal width, add to the monumental strength of the building. The facade of the north arm is attributed to Gilles Largent, and is notable for its sober composition.[6]

Interior

 
Choir, ambulatory and radiating chapels

The nave is built to a conventional 12th-century plan with three levels: arcades, triforium and high windows. The great high window is crowned by a magnificent star with five branches. The rich medieval decoration of the interior has been lost.[6] The floor of the nave has an octagonal labyrinth of black and white paving stones from the late 15th century, 260 metres (850 ft) in length. The pilgrim was invited to follow the complex course of black stones before opening his soul to God. One wall of the nave has a half relief stone sculpture of the Tree of Jesse, the genealogy of Christ, from the 16th century.[6]

To the east of the main transept there are four straight bays of choir and then a second, narrower transept. The curved structure of the east end extends from this transept. The choir and chevet assembly was probably built between around 1220 to 1257. The double-transept plan is found in the Cluny Abbey church of 1088, but is otherwise very unusual in France. The concept seems to have come from England, where it was becoming popular at the time.[11] The south branch of the small transept was almost ruined in 1460, and was completely rebuilt by Colard Noël in Flamboyant Gothic style. The north branch is mostly the original 13th-century structure, although the windows were remodeled in the 15th century.[6]

The ambulatory has a scalloped eastern wall from which five radiating chapels open. Each chapel is round, with independent dome-like vaulting and is lower than the ambulatory, so a clerestory above the chapels can illuminate the ambulatory.[19] The chapels, built around 1190, are each brightly lit by seven windows. They each open onto the ambulatory through three arches divided by two columns.[6]

Organ

The organ was completely destroyed by fire in 1669.[20] A new grand organ was donated by Louis XIV of France, completed in 1703. It fills the space above the last bay of the nave.[6] The organ case was built by Robert Clicquot between 1699 and 1703.[3] The cabinet was drawn by Jean Bérain. Its rich design incorporates large seraphim angels with outstretched wings, cherub musicians and a medallion representing the Assumption of the Virgin supported by two angels. There is a statue of the apostle Quentin on the central turret, executed by Pierre Vaideau, one of the king's carpenters. The support platform was made by the local sculptor Girard de la Motte.[6]

In 1840 Antoine Sauvage, a follower of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, undertook a full restoration. He installed a Barker machine and made changes that reflected the new romantic aesthetic. In 1917 the piping was melted, the mechanism destroyed and the cabinet seriously damaged.[20] The cabinet was rebuilt during the restoration of the basilica. Haerpfer-Erman of Boulay-Moselle, was given the job of reconstructing the organ in 1961, and the new organ was inaugurated on 27–28 May 1967. It has four keyboards with 61 notes and a pedal with 32 notes.[20]

Notes

  1. ^ Plans to move the relics of the saints seem to have been made by 1211, when the canons started work on making the reliquaries, but it took 17 years before the translation was undertaken.[10]
  2. ^ During the siege of Saint-Quentin in 1557 by Philip II of Spain many of the reliquaries and their contents disappeared. Most of the remaining reliquaries were destroyed during the French Revolution, although the gilded skull of Saint Quentin and his hand have been preserved.[14]
  3. ^ To this day the basilica is crooked, with wood and iron braces across the ambulatory and other signs of lack of stability in the structure.[16]

References

Bibliography

  • Abelard (2015). "Germans in France - Saint Quentin Cathedral". Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  • "Basilique Saint-Quentin". Orgues en France. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  • Bony, Jean (1983). French Gothic Architecture of the 12th and 13th Centuries. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-05586-5. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  • Guiochon, Xavier-Philippe (2015). "Basilique de Saint-Quentin". PICARDIA, l'encyclopédie picarde (in French). Région Picardie. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  • Kibler, William W. (1995). Medieval France: An Encyclopedia. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-8240-4444-2. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  • (in French). Tourisme du Saint-Quentinois. Archived from the original on 2015-11-01. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  • Nolan, Kathleen; Sandron, Dany (2015-06-28). Arts of the Medieval Cathedrals: Studies on Architecture, Stained Glass and Sculpture in Honor of Anne Prache. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4724-4055-6. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  • Pohl, Benjamin (2015-06-18). Dudo of Saint-Quentin's Historia Normannorum: Tradition, Innovation and Memory. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. ISBN 978-1-903153-54-3. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  • "Saint-Quentin Basilique". Les orgues de Picardie (in French). Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  • Sapin, Christian (2005). "Saint-Quentin (Aisne), la collégiale et la crypte de la basilique". Bulletin du Centre d'Études Médiévales d'Auxerre (in French). 9 (9). doi:10.4000/cem.664.
  • Shortell, Ellen (1996). "Saint-Quentin, Collégiale Saint-Quentin". Mapping Gothic France. Media Center for Art History, Columbia University. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  • Shortell, Ellen M. (1997). "Dismembering Saint Quentin: Gothic Architecture and the Display of Relics". Gesta. 36 (1): 32–47. doi:10.2307/767277. JSTOR 767277. S2CID 156907399.

Further reading

  • Raugel, André (1925). Les grandes orgues et les organistes de la basilique de Saint-Quentin. Imprimerie de la Presse de Seine-et-Oise. p. 46.
  • Héliot, Pierre M. L. (1967). La Basilique de Saint-Quentin et l'architecture du Moyen-Age. [Mit Fig.] - Paris: Picard 1967. 111 S., 3 Taf. gef., XXXVI S. Abb., 2 Bl. 8°. Picard. p. 116.
  • culturel, Picardie. Service régional de l'inventaire du patrimoine; Riboulleau, Christiane (2012). La basilique de Saint-Quentin: Aisne. Lieux dits. p. 72. ISBN 978-2-36219-048-3.

basilica, saint, quentin, french, basilique, saint, quentin, formerly, collegiate, church, saint, quentin, french, collégiale, saint, quentin, catholic, church, town, saint, quentin, aisne, france, there, have, been, religious, buildings, site, since, century,. The Basilica of Saint Quentin French Basilique Saint Quentin formerly the Collegiate Church of Saint Quentin French Collegiale Saint Quentin is a Catholic church in the town of Saint Quentin Aisne France There have been religious buildings on the site since the 4th century AD which were repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt during the Early Middle Ages The present basilica was constructed in stages between the 12th and 15th centuries It was severely damaged in World War I 1914 18 and was only reopened in 1956 after extensive reconstruction Basilica of Saint QuentinBasilique Saint QuentinThe basilica from the south in 2018ReligionAffiliationRoman CatholicDistrictDiocese of SoissonsLocationLocationSaint Quentin Aisne FranceStateFranceShown within FranceGeographic coordinates49 50 52 N 3 17 24 E 49 847792 N 3 289917 E 49 847792 3 289917 Coordinates 49 50 52 N 3 17 24 E 49 847792 N 3 289917 E 49 847792 3 289917ArchitectureStyleGothicCompleted12th 16th centurySpecificationsLength133 metres 436 ft Width nave 42 metres 138 ft Spire height82 metres 269 ft Basilica seen from the Somme river Contents 1 Origins 2 History 2 1 Construction 2 2 Fire war and revolution 2 3 Modern reconstruction 3 Building 3 1 Dimensions 3 2 Exterior 3 3 Interior 3 4 Organ 4 Notes 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 Further readingOrigins EditThe town of Saint Quentin has been identified with the Roman city of Augusta Veromandurorum a commercial center at an important crossroads It takes its present name from the Christian missionary Saint Caius Quintinus who was beheaded there in 287 AD 1 Legend says the body was found many years later in the nearby marches of the River Somme by a Roman widow named Eusebia She reburied the remains at the top of the hill at the center of the present town and built a small shrine to the martyr Excavations round the crypt of the present church have indeed found traces of a building from this date 2 Some sources say the town became the seat of a bishopric around 365 but after barbarians destroyed it in 531 the bishop moved to Noyon 3 The chapel is listed as a pilgrimage destination by Gregory of Tours c 538 594 Saint Eligius c 588 660 Bishop of Noyon and counselor to Dagobert I Merovingian king of France rediscovered the tomb in the 7th century under the pavement of the basilica There are records of Saint Eligius having enlarged the building Remains of a floor from this period have been found near the crypt 2 A large fragment of mosaic has been preserved 3 The first community of monks was established in or around Saint Quentin by the mid 7th century probably by Irish monks with the backing of the bishops of Noyon The bishops claimed ecclesiastic jurisdiction over most of Vermandois including Saint Quentin 4 The church was rebuilt with the assistance of Charlemagne c 747 814 and consecrated by Pope Stephen IV r 816 817 3 There may have been two churches in the early Middle Ages one dedicated to Saint Quentin and the other to the Virgin Mary Archaeologists have found the remains of walls from the Carolingian period when the location was a flourishing monastery and pilgrimage site 2 Limited archaeological investigations indicate that the crypt in the section of the nave between the two transepts may have replaced a Carolingian crypt with a circular corridor 5 The church was burned down by the Normans in 816 rebuilt in 824 and burned down again in 883 3 The site was fortified after 883 6 In 900 the bodies of Saint Quentin and two other saints were placed in stone sarcophagi in a newly constructed crypt 7 In the 10th century the Herbertian counts of Vermandois principally Adalbert I Albert the Pious c 915 987 replaced the monks with a congregation of secular canons The counts claimed the title of abbot and were overlords of the church 4 A dean administered the collegiate church The dean was appointed by the count and reported only to the count not to the bishop of Noyon and then to the archbishop of Reims 8 There are records of rebuilding in the mid 10th century 2 The church was damaged during local warfare in 1102 03 At one time Count Raoul of Vermandois c 1100 52 was thought to have rebuilt the church but this now seems unlikely 2 The canons of the collegiate chapter lived in separate houses within the church precincts and most were not ordained priests Often they were property owners and businessmen from noble families and main role was to administer the chapter s property By 1200 the chapter was large and prosperous with 72 canons The semi independent counts of Vermandois were originally closely associated with the County of Flanders but gradually came under French control a process that was completed when Eleanor of Vermadois died in 1214 That year Cardinal Robert of Courcon instituted a reform whereby ordained parish priests in nine parish churches would administer the sacraments independent of the chapter although they would pay the chapter a portion of their fees for baptisms marriages and funerals 9 The construction of the huge new collegiate church may have been motivated in part by a desire of the collegiate chapter to reassert its authority after loss of jurisdiction to the town authorities and the parish priests 10 History Edit Reliquary of the skull of Saint Quentin Construction Edit A tower now the bell tower was started around 1170 6 It was completed between 1195 and 1200 3 Around 1190 the canons decided to build a more imposing church to welcome the growing numbers of pilgrims 6 The apse was completed in 1205 3 The apse was some distance to the east of the tower Construction then continued westward from the apse towards the 12th century tower which eventually became the entrance to the collegiate church 11 There were frequent disputes between the chapter and the Bishops of Noyon whose authority they refused to recognize In the early 1220s Bishop Gerard de Bazoches placed the chapter under interdict but in 1228 Pope Gregory IX rescinded the interdict That year Nicolas de Roye who was related to several of the canons became the new bishop after Gerard s death 12 Later in 1228 the relics of Saint Quentin Saint Victoric of Amiens and Saint Cassian of Auxerre were moved from the old crypt to a temporary location in the nave 2 a The remains of the saints were exposed for veneration Their heads hands and arms were detached from their bodies and each body part was placed in its own reliquary After completion of the sanctuary the reliquaries were placed behind the high altar The crypt its tombs now empty was preserved as a sacred place 13 b Medieval fresco A synod was held in the church in August 1231 The archbishop sat in the center of the apse with the bishops of Soissons Beauvais Noyon Tournai and Senlis to his left and the bishops of Laon Chalons Amiens Therouanne and Arras to his right 15 In 1257 Louis IX of France 1214 70 Saint Louis attended a great ceremony in which the relics of the saint were translated to the choir The choir was mostly completed at that time apart from the high windows which were built in the last third of the 13th century 6 Construction proceeded slowly due to lack of funds and structural problems In 1316 the master mason Jean Le Bel had to strengthen the pillars of the choir His successor Gilles Largent repaired the cracked vaults in 1394 6 c In 1417 Louis XI of France 1423 83 donated 1 000 gold crowns to completely rebuild the south arm of the small transept which was at risk of collapsing The large transept was completed in the middle of the 15th century 6 The nave was completed in 1456 finally linking the apse to the 12th century tower of St Michel The portal in the tower was completed in 1477 3 In 1509 foundations were laid for a massive facade with two towers to replace the existing entrance tower but this project was soon abandoned due to lack of funds 6 Fire war and revolution Edit Ruined basilica on 14 October 1918 The building was damaged by a large fire in 1545 and by another fire during the Spanish siege of 1557 There was yet another fire in 1669 During the French Revolution 1789 99 the building was damaged by Jacobins who converted it into a Temple of Reason then a fodder store and a stable The building was given a Monument historique classification in 1840 During the Franco Prussian War 1870 71 the building damaged by 18 shells on 19 January 1871 The building was designated a minor basilica in 1876 by Pope Pius IX 3 During World War I 1914 18 the city was occupied by German forces on 28 August 1914 The priest managed to hide the most valuable possessions On 1 July 1916 an allied airplane dropped a bomb on the railway station which ignited a wagon of explosives Great damage was done to the buildings of the city by the explosion and seven of the large windows of the basilica were broken The city was evacuated on 15 March 1917 The church roof was destroyed by fire on 15 August 1917 3 When French forces recaptured Saint Quentin on 1 October 1918 they arrested a German engineer who was preparing to blow up the severely damaged building 93 holes had been made in the walls and pillars and filled with explosives for this purpose By then the vaulting of the central nave had completely collapsed Parts of the flying buttresses had been destroyed and the walls and buttresses had many breaches There was a risk that falls of unstable masonry could trigger larger collapses 17 Modern reconstruction Edit Labyrinth foreground Reconstruction of the basilica began in 1919 directed by the Historical Monuments Commission 6 Emile Brunet was charged with reconstruction As a first step about 3 000 cubic metres 110 000 cu ft of cut stone and rubble were cleared by German prisoners of war Some further damage was caused to carvings and decorations in the process Specialized workers undertook urgent reinforcements of masonry and parts of damaged sculptures were stored for later restoration A temporary roof was built to protect the structure from weather covered by fibro cement and Ruberoid sheeting 17 It took 25 years to complete the basic restoration 17 The surviving 13th century stained glass windows were reinstalled in 1948 with modern windows made by Hector de Petigny 1904 92 to replace those that were missing The restored basilica was reopened for worship in 1956 The steeple over the transept crossing was only finished in 1983 3 Further restoration work was undertaken in 2006 to clean the walls and restore the gatehouse to its state at the end of the 17th century 6 Building EditDimensions Edit Entrance tower in 2018 The basilica is the largest religious building in Picardy after Amiens Cathedral 6 It is 133 metres 436 ft long and 40 metres 130 ft high The nave is 42 metres 138 ft wide There are 110 windows The 1976 steeple gives the building 82 metres 269 ft of height 3 The entrance tower is 34 5 metres 113 ft high 18 The interior is 120 metres 390 ft long 36 metres 118 ft wide and rises to 34 metres 112 ft below the vault 6 Exterior Edit The building has a bold design with flamboyant details It shows the evolution of the Gothic style during its lengthy construction period It has a square tower above the transept crossing topped by a slender steeple that was installed in 1983 The entrance to the church dates from the 9th century It was once part of the Carolingian church and has been extensively modified It now has three levels above the semi circular entrance 3 There is a chapel dedicated to Saint Michael above the entrance passage 6 The central section of the building is braced by flying buttresses and by the side aisles 3 The two transepts of unequal width add to the monumental strength of the building The facade of the north arm is attributed to Gilles Largent and is notable for its sober composition 6 Interior Edit Choir ambulatory and radiating chapels The nave is built to a conventional 12th century plan with three levels arcades triforium and high windows The great high window is crowned by a magnificent star with five branches The rich medieval decoration of the interior has been lost 6 The floor of the nave has an octagonal labyrinth of black and white paving stones from the late 15th century 260 metres 850 ft in length The pilgrim was invited to follow the complex course of black stones before opening his soul to God One wall of the nave has a half relief stone sculpture of the Tree of Jesse the genealogy of Christ from the 16th century 6 To the east of the main transept there are four straight bays of choir and then a second narrower transept The curved structure of the east end extends from this transept The choir and chevet assembly was probably built between around 1220 to 1257 The double transept plan is found in the Cluny Abbey church of 1088 but is otherwise very unusual in France The concept seems to have come from England where it was becoming popular at the time 11 The south branch of the small transept was almost ruined in 1460 and was completely rebuilt by Colard Noel in Flamboyant Gothic style The north branch is mostly the original 13th century structure although the windows were remodeled in the 15th century 6 The ambulatory has a scalloped eastern wall from which five radiating chapels open Each chapel is round with independent dome like vaulting and is lower than the ambulatory so a clerestory above the chapels can illuminate the ambulatory 19 The chapels built around 1190 are each brightly lit by seven windows They each open onto the ambulatory through three arches divided by two columns 6 Organ Edit The organ was completely destroyed by fire in 1669 20 A new grand organ was donated by Louis XIV of France completed in 1703 It fills the space above the last bay of the nave 6 The organ case was built by Robert Clicquot between 1699 and 1703 3 The cabinet was drawn by Jean Berain Its rich design incorporates large seraphim angels with outstretched wings cherub musicians and a medallion representing the Assumption of the Virgin supported by two angels There is a statue of the apostle Quentin on the central turret executed by Pierre Vaideau one of the king s carpenters The support platform was made by the local sculptor Girard de la Motte 6 In 1840 Antoine Sauvage a follower of Aristide Cavaille Coll undertook a full restoration He installed a Barker machine and made changes that reflected the new romantic aesthetic In 1917 the piping was melted the mechanism destroyed and the cabinet seriously damaged 20 The cabinet was rebuilt during the restoration of the basilica Haerpfer Erman of Boulay Moselle was given the job of reconstructing the organ in 1961 and the new organ was inaugurated on 27 28 May 1967 It has four keyboards with 61 notes and a pedal with 32 notes 20 Ruined interior 18 October 1918 Nave Organ Crucifixion Tree of Jesse Art Deco windowNotes Edit Plans to move the relics of the saints seem to have been made by 1211 when the canons started work on making the reliquaries but it took 17 years before the translation was undertaken 10 During the siege of Saint Quentin in 1557 by Philip II of Spain many of the reliquaries and their contents disappeared Most of the remaining reliquaries were destroyed during the French Revolution although the gilded skull of Saint Quentin and his hand have been preserved 14 To this day the basilica is crooked with wood and iron braces across the ambulatory and other signs of lack of stability in the structure 16 References Edit Kibler 1995 p 1597 a b c d e f Shortell 1996 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Basilique Saint Quentin Orgues en France a b Pohl 2015 p 110 Sapin 2005 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Guiochon 2015 Shortell 1997 p 33 34 Pohl 2015 p 111 Shortell 1997 p 34 a b Shortell 1997 p 36 a b Bony 1983 p 281 Shortell 1997 p 37 Shortell 1997 p 32 Shortell 1997 p 38 Nolan amp Sandron 2015 p 161 Nolan amp Sandron 2015 p 64 a b c Abelard 2015 La Basilique Tourisme du Saint Quentinois Nolan amp Sandron 2015 p 50 a b c Saint Quentin Basilique orgues de Picardie Bibliography EditAbelard 2015 Germans in France Saint Quentin Cathedral Retrieved 2015 10 29 Basilique Saint Quentin Orgues en France Retrieved 2015 10 29 Bony Jean 1983 French Gothic Architecture of the 12th and 13th Centuries University of California Press ISBN 978 0 520 05586 5 Retrieved 2015 10 29 Guiochon Xavier Philippe 2015 Basilique de Saint Quentin PICARDIA l encyclopedie picarde in French Region Picardie Retrieved 2015 10 29 Kibler William W 1995 Medieval France An Encyclopedia Psychology Press ISBN 978 0 8240 4444 2 Retrieved 2015 10 29 La Basilique de Saint Quentin in French Tourisme du Saint Quentinois Archived from the original on 2015 11 01 Retrieved 2015 10 29 Nolan Kathleen Sandron Dany 2015 06 28 Arts of the Medieval Cathedrals Studies on Architecture Stained Glass and Sculpture in Honor of Anne Prache Ashgate Publishing Ltd ISBN 978 1 4724 4055 6 Retrieved 2015 10 29 Pohl Benjamin 2015 06 18 Dudo of Saint Quentin s Historia Normannorum Tradition Innovation and Memory Boydell amp Brewer Ltd ISBN 978 1 903153 54 3 Retrieved 2015 10 30 Saint Quentin Basilique Les orgues de Picardie in French Retrieved 2015 10 29 Sapin Christian 2005 Saint Quentin Aisne la collegiale et la crypte de la basilique Bulletin du Centre d Etudes Medievales d Auxerre in French 9 9 doi 10 4000 cem 664 Shortell Ellen 1996 Saint Quentin Collegiale Saint Quentin Mapping Gothic France Media Center for Art History Columbia University Retrieved 2015 10 30 Shortell Ellen M 1997 Dismembering Saint Quentin Gothic Architecture and the Display of Relics Gesta 36 1 32 47 doi 10 2307 767277 JSTOR 767277 S2CID 156907399 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Basilique Saint Quentin de Saint Quentin Further reading EditRaugel Andre 1925 Les grandes orgues et les organistes de la basilique de Saint Quentin Imprimerie de la Presse de Seine et Oise p 46 Heliot Pierre M L 1967 La Basilique de Saint Quentin et l architecture du Moyen Age Mit Fig Paris Picard 1967 111 S 3 Taf gef XXXVI S Abb 2 Bl 8 Picard p 116 culturel Picardie Service regional de l inventaire du patrimoine Riboulleau Christiane 2012 La basilique de Saint Quentin Aisne Lieux dits p 72 ISBN 978 2 36219 048 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Basilica of Saint Quentin amp oldid 1129631225, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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