The Church of Saint Étienne (french: Église Saint-Étienne de Vignory) is a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church located in
Vignory,
Haute-Marne
Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.[Grand Est
Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten;
Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...]
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
It was first constructed within the medieval town near the place where the "miracle of Saint Crepin" occurred. It was mentioned in the beginning of the 9th century in the archives of the
Abbey of Luxeuil
Luxeuil Abbey (), the ''Abbaye Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul'', was one of the oldest and best-known monasteries in Burgundy, located in what is now the département of Haute-Saône in Franche-Comté, France.
History Columbanus
It was founded circa ...
.
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
funded it from the royal treasury. However, there is nothing left of the
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...
church.
History
In 1032, Gui, the first known Lord of Vignory, decided to create a college of canons and build a church for them. His son Roger replaced the canons with Benedictine monks and gave the newly built church to the
Abbey of Saint-Bénigne of
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
. He then built a new church with two bays in the choir and four bays in the nave. Building stopped until 1049. Monks were sent to live there in 1051 and 1057. The church was shared by the monks and parishioners.
The tower was added in the 12th century by parishioners. Later a chapel was added and the windows enlarged for more light. Five chapels were added along the aisle on the south side between the end of the 14th century and the 16th century. The nave was lengthened by two bays and given a new facade.
The Carolingian interior was retained and between 1843 and 1852 it was restored by architect
Émile Boeswillwald
Émile Boeswillwald (2 February 1815 – 20 March 1896) was a French architect.
He succeeded Prosper Mérimée as Inspector General of Historic Monuments and collaborated with Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
Life
Emile Boeswillwald born in Strasbourg o ...
.
Architecture
The church follows the traditions of basilicas of the high Middle Ages but experiments with a three-level elevation with a
clerestory
In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
. The column capitals exhibit simple sculpture which would later be elaborated.
It is one of the oldest examples of an ambulatory with three radiating chapels.
Bibliography
* Edited by Jean-Marie Pérouse de Montclos - ''Le guide du Patrimoine: Champagne-Ardenne'' - pp.393-396 - Hachette - Paris - 1995 -
* Hubert Collin, Marie-Clotilde Hubert, André Massat, Anne Prache, Henri Ronot - ''Champagne romane'' - pp.299-348 - Éditions Zodiaque (collection "la nuit des temps" n°55) - La Pierre-qui-Vire - 1981
Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Etienne, Vignory
Churches in Haute-Marne
11th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France
Monuments historiques of Grand Est
Romanesque architecture in France