The Plomodiern Parish close (
Enclos paroissial
Parish close is a translation of the French term ''enclos paroissial''. It refers to a number of locations in Brittany, mainly though not exclusively in the historic diocese of Léon, corresponding roughly to the northern half of the department ...
) is located near the village
Plomodiern
Plomodiern (; br, Ploudiern) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
Geography Climate
Plomodiern has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Plomodie ...
in the
arrondissement of Châteaulin,
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
, north-western
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
It is a listed
historical monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...
since 1914.
[ Chapelle Sainte-Marie-du-Menez-Hom]
Description
The chapel of Sainte Marie du Ménez-Hom at Plomodiern dates to the 16th century and stands in an enclos paroissial accessed through an 18th-century triumphal arch. This dates to 1739 and bears a statue of the blind
Saint Hervé
Saint Hervé ( 521 – 575 AD), also known as Harvey, Herveus, or Houarniaule, was a sixth-century Breton people, Breton saint. Along with Ivo of Kermartin, Saint Ives, he is one of the most popular of the Breton saints. He was born in Guimiliau ...
with his guide Guic'haran. The enclos has a
calvary comprising three crosses inscribed "Jehan Le Faloder Fabricque Feist Iceste Croix Faire MVCXLIIII". The bell tower porch is elaborate and was built in various stages between 1668 and 1773. It has a lanterned dome imitating that in Rome. The chapel's frontage gives onto the enclos' grass patch (placître) and the building itself has used granite from the Logonna quarries for the southern section, a tougher granite from another area for the middle section and grey granite from
Armorica
Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...
for the surrounds to the doors and windows for the section built from 1570 to 1591.
The baroque altarpieces
Inside the chapel are three baroque
altarpieces
An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...
, that belonging to the master altar and those in the altars placed in the south and north of the chapel. . All three are dated to between 1703 and 1710 and have been listed as historic monuments since 24 December 1912. The master altar includes depictions of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
and the
Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the fir ...
(Sainte Famille) with
Saint Joachim
Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocrypha ...
,
Saint Joseph and
Saint Anne. It was the work of Jean Le Séven and Jean Cévaër. The altarpiece in the south of the church celebrates
Saint Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupat ...
, Saint James,
Saint Andrew and
Saint Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
whilst that in the north of the church depicts
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
, Saint Louis,
Saint Lawrence and
Mary Magdalene.
File:14 Sainte-Marie du Ménez-Hom Autel central retable.JPG, The sumptuous altarpiece of the main altar in the Sainte-Marie du Ménez-Hom chapel
File:18 Sainte-Marie du Ménez-Hom Le Christ marchant sur les eaux et saint Pierre tentant de le faire.JPG, Part of the altarpiece in the north of the chapel. Saint Peter tries to assist Jesus as he walks on water.
File:17 Sainte-Marie du Ménez-Hom Autel sud saint Pierre et son reniement -coq-.JPG, Part of the altarpiece in the south of the chapel: Saint Peter denies Jesus
The Calvary
The 7.50 metre high
calvary dates to 1544 and comprises three crosses. The larger cross bears the crucified Jesus backed by a depiction of Jesus seated and awaiting the crucifixion process to start. Underneath him are two men on horseback and on a lower crosspiece a statue of Saint Peter is placed back to back with John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalene back to back with Saint Yves, these placed on either side of a Roland Doré "Vierge de Pitié" backed by a depiction of the Virgin Mary with child. At the base of the cross, Mary Magdalene appears again, this time on her knees and looking up to Jesus on the cross. The good and bad robbers occupy the two other crosses.
Other furnishings
* There is a carving in wood depicting Jesus on the cross. This dates to the 18th-century and has been listed as an historic monument since 17 September 1957.
* There is a 15th-century statue in the nave depicting Saint Lawrence with the grill with which he was martyred.
* The church has several remarkable sablières (a decorated horizontal beam normally running along the top of a wall where it meets the roof).
File:21 Sainte-Marie du Ménez-Hom Statue de Saint-Laurent XVe siècle.JPG, Statue of Saint Lawrence with the grill by his side
File:Plomodiern (29) Chapelle Sainte-Marie-du-Ménez-Hom Intérieur 14.JPG, A sablière at the Chapelle Sainte-Marie-du-Ménez-Hom
References
{{coord, 48.2028, -4.2348, display=title
Churches in Finistère
Calvaries in Brittany
Parish closes in Brittany