The Basilica of Saint Maternus (french: Basilique Saint-Materne), also known as the basilica of Our Lady (''basilique Notre-Dame'') is a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

Walcourt Walcourt (; wa, Walcoû) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 17,516 inhabitants. The total area is 123.18 km2, giving a population density of 142 inhabitant ...

, in the

Namur Province Namur (; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the West) on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and the French depar ...

of Belgium. According to legend, an oratory was founded here by

Maternus of Cologne :''Saint Maternus of Milan was bishop of Milan''. Maternus (c. 285–September 14, 315 AD), also known as Maternus II, was the first known bishop of Cologne, reportedly also the third bishop of Trier, and founder of the diocese of Tongeren. H ...

( 285–315), who also carved a

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

to replace an earlier pagan idol. The church does in fact contain a wooden Madonna, albeit from 950 to 1020, but still one of the oldest preserved Marian devotional statues in Western Christianity. The church was consecrated in 1026. The presence of the Madonna and its allegedly miraculous properties led to the development of the church into a pilgrimage site during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Subsequently, the church was rebuilt into the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

edifice seen today between the 13th and 16th centuries. It contains a decorated

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

from 1521, donated by Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

, and decorated

choir stall A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...

s from the early 16th century. The church has been damaged by fire and war on several occasions, most recently in May 1940 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Since 1941 it has been a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and since 1950 classified as a minor basilica.

History

Legend and Madonna

According to a local legend,

( 285–315) was passing through Walcourt during his efforts to Christianise the area and founded an oratory here. He also is said to have carved a wooden

to replace an earlier pagan idol that had been worshiped by the locals. Supposedly, the oratory was destroyed by

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

. It is possible that such an oratory existed, but no traces have been found of it. A Romanesque Madonna is preserved in the church, and Walcourt developed into a popular pilgrimage site during the

due to the presence and supposed miraculous properties of the Madonna. The Madonna was dated, using radiocarbon analysis, from 957–1020, It is made of

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

wood, and since the 12th or 13th century it has been covered with silver plating; since the 16th or 17th century it has been dressed in the tradition of Spanish Marian sculptures. Legend recounts how the Madonna was miraculously saved from a fire in 1220, and mysteriously transported by angels and found in the branches of a tree outside the town. A monastery (; destroyed by French revolutionary troops in 1793 and closed in 1796) was founded on the site where the Madonna was rediscovered. Since then, an annual procession takes place between the basilica and the site of the former monastery.

Foundation and development

Legend apart, the earliest written source related to the church in Walcourt dates from 1 June 1026, when the church was consecrated by Bishop . The construction of the church was financed by the local lord Oduin and his wife Erembruge. They also provided funds for a community of six canons tied to the church. Because most archival sources have been lost, burnt or destroyed in wars, the detailed history of the church is difficult to retrace. In 1355, a man named Gilles Dameaussins from

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

was in charge of construction works at the church. In 1477 the church was pillaged and badly damaged by soldiers from France and the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following t ...

. Funds were set aside for repairs several times during the late 15th and early 16th century by the Prince-Bishops of Liège. In 1481, a man named Jehan de Franchimont is described as being in charge of roof repairs. During this period, two of the richest furnishings of the church were also installed, the

(1531) which according to tradition was donated by Emperor

, and the

s (1510–1520). Until 1561, the church belonged to the

Diocese of Liège In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, and since then it has been part of the

Diocese of Namur The Diocese of Namur is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province in the metropolita ...

. In 1615, the church was again damaged by fire and subsequently repaired. Following the

Battle of Jemappes The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of the first major off ...

in 1792, French troops for a short while used the church as a

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

. A large-scale renovation was initiated in the 1850s and lasted almost the entire 19th century. In August 1914, the church was damaged by German artillery during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and again in May 1940, during

, it was damaged during the fighting. Since 1941 it has been a

, and since 1950 classified as a minor basilica.

Architecture

The basilica is long and wide at its widest point. It consists of a western tower; a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, five

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

long and flanked by two

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

s; a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

; and a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

three bays long. An

ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...

runs around the chancel, and delimits the pentagonal

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

. The oldest part of the church is the base of the tower, dating from the second half of the 12th century. It is the only remains of the first church, probably built in a

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

, an example of Mosan architecture. It was successively replaced by a

church. The chancel of the currently visible building dates from 1220–1250, and its architecture displays strong similarities with that of Notre Dame de Dinant (

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

, Belgium) and ( Mouzon, France). From the 14th century, the nave began to be rebuilt, and around 1400 the

triforium A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be locate ...

was built. The currently visible

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

s of the chancel are from the third quarter of the 15th century, and those of the transept and nave from 1481 to 1500.

Furnishings

The rood screen of the church is in a late

style and was installed in 1531. It displays the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of Emperor Charles V, six statues and more than 20 smaller statues. Above it is a rood cross with depictions of Mary and

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...

. The choir stalls, located in the chancel, are also Gothic. The 40 seats are made of oak and decorated with

misericord A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a par ...

s, including one which depicts the alleged miracle of the Madonna of Walcourt being transported to safety in a tree when the church was ravaged by fire.

References

Works cited

* * * *

External links

*
Official site (in French)
{{Catholic Church in Belgium Gothic architecture in Belgium Minor basilicas Churches in Namur (province) 1026 establishments Pilgrimage churches