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.
Romanesque in France
A casket made for secular use is decorated with lively scenes of combat, music, dance and love.
Casket with troubadours
Even almost 950 years after its construction was begun, St. Sernin remains a religious structure that awes and inspires the pilgrims who still visit.
Basilica of Saint-Sernin
For 200 years, Cluny housed a society of monks and boasted the largest church in Europe. Little from the 12th century remains.
Cluny Abbey
Above the door to this important church, Christ commands attention—his large scale was new in the medieval period.
Pentecost and Mission to the Apostles Tympanum, ...
In this sermon in stone, Christ presides over the kingdom of heaven. A crowd waits to be judged: blessed or damned?
Last Judgment, Tympanum, Cathedral of St. Lazare, ...
On the doorway, sinners shuffle to their doom. Beneath, hellfire burns—its brighter, now, thanks to restoration.
Saint Trophime, Arles
The location? Remote. The decor? Austere. What this church lacks in ornament, it makes up for in a harmonious plan.
Fontenay Abbey
A gold, gem-encrusted reliquary attracted both pilgrims and wealth to the sleepy medieval village of Conques.
Church and Reliquary of Sainte-Foy, France
Lions, prophets, and saints—oh my! The richly ornamented entryway of Saint-Pierre welcomed weary pilgrims to Moissac.
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