The creation of enormous monasteries, pilgrimage churches, bejeweled reliquaries, and the delivery of inspiring sermons in favor of the crusades—it all happened here, in France.
c. 1000–1200 C.E.
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Manuscript production in the abbeys of Normandy
Through the evidence of manuscript production we can trace the history of Normandy and the region’s close ties with England before and after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Casket with troubadours
A casket made for secular use is decorated with lively scenes of combat, music, dance and love.
Basilica of Saint-Sernin
Even almost 950 years after its construction was begun, St. Sernin remains a religious structure that awes and inspires the pilgrims who still visit.
Cluny Abbey
For 200 years, Cluny housed a society of monks and boasted the largest church in Europe. Little from the 12th century remains.
Pentecost and Mission to the Apostles Tympanum, Basilica Ste-Madeleine, Vézelay (France)
Above the door to this important church, Christ commands attention—his large scale was new in the medieval period.
Last Judgment, Tympanum, Cathedral of St. Lazare, Autun (France)
In this sermon in stone, Christ presides over the kingdom of heaven. A crowd waits to be judged: blessed or damned?
Saint Trophime, Arles
On the doorway, sinners shuffle to their doom. Beneath, hellfire burns—its brighter, now, thanks to restoration.
Fontenay Abbey
The location? Remote. The decor? Austere. What this church lacks in ornament, it makes up for in a harmonious plan.
Church and Reliquary of Sainte-Foy, France
A gold, gem-encrusted reliquary attracted both pilgrims and wealth to the sleepy medieval village of Conques.
Church of Saint Pierre, Moissac
Lions, prophets, and saints—oh my! The richly ornamented entryway of Saint-Pierre welcomed weary pilgrims to Moissac.
