Tuesday, March 06, 2018

Cathédrale Saint Paul Aurélien

Wandering Around Cottage - February 2018 Edition


Some readers might remember climbing with me on the top of the Kreisker chapel last November. From there, we had a wonderful view on Saint Pol de Léon's cathedral. I think it's time we visit the cathedral. 

Quelques lecteurs se souviennent peut-être avoir grimpé avec moi tout en haut de la flèche de la chapelle Kreisker en Novembre. De là, nous avions une superbe vue sur la cathédrale de Saint Pol de Léon. Il est temps de la visiter.


This is a very famous church around here, it's linked to a lot of history and the architecture is very rich. But I know your time is valuable and this is the kind of blog you read over coffee, not the kind of blog you study from. So I'll just highlight a few aspects.


C'est une église très célèbre dans la région. Elle est liée à beaucoup d'histoire et elle a une architecture très riche. Je ne pourrai donc pas épuiser le sujet ici sur ce petit blog fait pour une lecture rapide en buvant une tasse de thé. Je vais choisir quelques éléments marquants.


First, the basics. The church is located in the coastal town of Saint Pol de Léon, in Northern Finistère (Finistère means "land's end") in Brittany.


Reprenons au début. La cathédrale Saint Paul Aurélien est située à Saint Pol de Léon, une ville sur la Manche dans le Finistère nord. 


This church is a cathedral because the town was a main city for a religious division of Brittany from the 6th century to 1801.  It seems that there's been a religious building on this site since the 6th century. But, as often, there's been several buildings. In the 14th century, the town and its church were burnt by the English army. So the cathedral we visit today was built later, between the 14th and 16th century.


Il s'agit d'une cathédrale car la ville a été l'évêché du diocèse du Léon jusqu'en 1801. Un bâtiment religieux existe sur ce lieu depuis le VIe siècle, semble-t-il. Mais, comme souvent, il y a eu plusieurs constructions. Au XIVe siècle, la ville et son église ont été brûlées par les Anglais. La cathédrale que l'on visite aujourd'hui a donc été construite plus tard, entre le XIVe et le XVIe siècles.


 If you just walk quickly through this church, it will appear like a beautiful church as we have so many in Brittany. But if you take your time, it will enchant you with a few fun features. 


Si vous ne faites que traverser cette cathédrale, vous aurez la chance de voir une superbe église comme il y en a beaucoup en Bretagne. Mais si vous prenez votre temps, elle saura vous enchanter par ses détails.


The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Paul Aurélien - a statue of whom you can see below. He was a bishop who lived between the 5th and the 6th centuries. He was from England and came to Brittany where he's linked to several legends. Here's the one that is of interest to understand the art in the cathedral. In the nearby isle of Batz, a dragon was terrorizing the humans. Saint Paul Aurélien managed to tame the dragon, he did not kill it, the very knowledgeable guide really insisted on that point. 


La cathédrale est dédiée à Saint Paul Aurélien, dont vous pouvez voir une statue juste au dessus. C'est un évêque qui a vécu entre le Ve siècle et le VIe siècle. Il venait d'Angleterre et il s'est installé en Bretagne où plusieurs légendes sont racontées à son sujet. La plus célèbre d'entre elles se retrouve dans de nombreuses œuvres dans la cathédrale . Dans l'île de Batz toute proche, un dragon terrorisait la population. Saint Paul Aurélien, appelé à la rescousse, réussit à le maîtriser. La guide, très intéressante, a bien insisté sur le fait qu'il ne l'avait pas tué.


Saint Paul Aurélien and his dragon is represented in numerous places of the cathedral - in painting, in sculpture, in the stained glass. The tumbs of the different bishops of town often represent them with a dragon at their feet.


Saint Paul Aurélien et son dragon sont représentés de nombreuses fois dans la cathédrale : sculptures, peintures, vitraux. Les gisants de certains des évêques de la ville les montrent souvent avec un dragon à leurs pieds.


A part of the church is beautifully named "the shelves of the night". On these wooden shelves are stored "skull boxes". They are little wooden boxes that contains the skulls of people whose bodies used to be burried in the cathedral. When the bodies were removed, some of the skulls were kept there if the family wished it so.


  Dans le déambulatoire, vous trouverez "Les Etagères de la nuit". Derrière ce nom étrange se cachent des planches qui sont recouvertes de boîtes à chef. Il s'agit de petites boîtes en bois qui contiennent les crânes de défunts qui ont été enterrés dans l'église. Quand les corps ont été retirés, la famille pouvait choisir de laisser la tête dans la cathédrale.


But if you think this is a sad church, you're wrong. The stone carvers had some fun. On the top ofsome of the columns that are not too close to the choir, they sculpted faces that could be those of people from the town or some of the monks. Scroll down to see the own sticking his tongue out!They are nearly impossible to photograph for my camera as they are often in the dark. But if you visit, don't forget to look up to see them all!


    Mais si vous pensez qu'il est triste de visiter cette cathédrale, vous vous trompez. Les sculpteurs se sont bien amusés. Les  chapiteaux des colonnes qui ne sont pas trop proches du chœur  sont parfois ornés de visages qui sont peut-être ceux d'habitants de la ville, de commanditaires ou de moines, tirant parfois la langue ! Ils sont presque impossibles à photographier avec mon appareil car souvent situés dans la pénombre. Mais si vous visitez les lieux, n'oubliez pas de lever la tête.


The stalls in the choir are also worth a good look. Some of the carving are serious and represent Saint Paul Aurélien or the Virgin and some are just there for fun inspired by Medieval short stories.


    Les stalles du chœur méritent un regard attentif aussi. Les sculptures y sont tour à tour sérieuses, inspirées de l'histoire religieuse ou drôles, inspirées des fabliaux. 


I stayed there about two hours studying all the details. If you visit the town, don't miss the cathedral!


Je suis restée environ deux heures sur place à étudier tous les détails. Si vous passez par Saint Pol de Léon, ne manquez pas la cathédrale !


See you next time,



A la prochaine fois,

Hasta la proxima,


PS1: You can have a quick view of the island of Batz on which there was a dragon according to the legend by reading this post. However I did visit part of the island and I'm planning to write a post later.

PS 1 : Vous pouvez avoir un aperçu de l'île de Batz en lisant cet article. Mais je prévois d'écrire un article plus détaillé puisque j'ai visité une partie de l'île.

PS2: I visited the cathedral last summer. I actually visited the much less historical Ikea store today... A future post will explain it all.

PS 2 : J'ai visité la cathédrale l'été dernier. En réalité, aujourd'hui j'ai fait une excursion beaucoup moins historique à Ikéa... Un article est à venir.

PS3: I'm sharing this post with



21 comments:

  1. Very hard to choose between the merits of St Pol de Leon and Ikea!!
    We often used to stop in St Pol on our way to Roscoff. It's a lovely little town.

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  2. Hi....I agree with Anne..Stunning..it's a shame they didn't have video cameras back then, I'd love to see how they built it, speaking of building, if you're building something from ikea, I hope it doesn't drive you nuts, I haven't been there in a long time, mine isn't very close.
    Hope your week is off to a good start, wind finally died down here, altho they say rain for today..*sigh*

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  3. thanks for sharing all these photos today - so lovely I can image being there. I love seeing the cathedrals. I think they are also so pretty and the old sculptures are beyond belief at times

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  4. Wow just beautiful. I love all the history too. You are so lucky to live where there is such history and gorgeous structures like this Cathedral. Thanks for sharing this tour with all of us.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  5. Magali the architecture in France is beyond incredible! I could have spent a whole day soaking in the beauty of Notre Dame Cathedral while in Paris. I think my favorite was La Magdelaine. The large angel next to the votive candles was breathtaking to me. I fell in love with every church I was blessed to visit!! Thanks for sharing your incredible destinations with us. Bisous, Sherry @ Edie Marie's Attic

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    1. When I lived in Paris, I loved visiting churches as well. I have a post on Notre Dame as I went back there some years ago. If you want to be reminded of your memories there, you can visit here: http://thelittlewhitehouseontheseaside.blogspot.fr/2013/07/notre-dame-de-paris.html
      Have fun!

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  6. I love all old architectural buildings and the history behind them, there is always so much to discover in them. Thanks so much and have a great day.

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  7. Merci pour cette visite et tous les détails que tu nous signales. Cela donne envie d'y aller ! Bises

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  8. I enjoyed the tour of the cathedral; we have nothing that old here in the U.S. Can't wait to see your post on your visit to the "Temple of IKEA."

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    1. The visit of the "temple of Ikea" left me with a very achy back!!!

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  9. What a beautiful and interesting cathedral! Thank you for sharing it!

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  10. Just Stunning!! Lovely post! Makes me wish to travel in that area. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. This is a beautiful tour! May be next we will visit few places in France..

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  12. I absolutely love going on tours with you!

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  13. I agree with Carol, I love going on tours with you as I probably will never be able to go. Love this church.

    Have a great rest of the week.

    Mary

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  14. Wonderful, Magali! I could spend hours there. Fascinating detail about the dragon - and I'd never heard of the custom of holding skulls like that before. May I apologise, on behalf of my fellow-countrymen, for destroying the original cathedral? I see from your photos they haven't quite finished building the replacement yet...

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  15. jolie promenade à hauteur de chapiteaux !!! monique59

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  16. I always enjoy when you take us on tour with you, Magali! Thanks so much for sharing at Best of the Weekend!

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