Brioude - Saint-Julien

The Basilica Saint-Julien in Brioude was a collegiate church constructed between 1060 - 1200. The architectoral structure is influenced by great romanesque churches like "Notre-Dame-Du-Port" in Clermont-Ferrand (70kms north) or "Saint-Austremoine" in Issoire (30kms north), planned and constructed within the same century. Three or four very skilled architects worked here over the century, all witrh a different touch. So Saint-Julien is really special, as it differs from the other great churches of the Auvergne.

Brioude was a center of pilgrimage very early, as already within the 4th century a "martyrion" existed over the grave of St. Julien. This building was replaced by an early basilica, financed by Victorius, a "comes" (count), installed by the Visigothic king Eurich after he had seized the Auvergne. Gregory of Tours (538-594 visited and described it, when he about a pilgrimage to Saint-Julien undertaken yearly from Avernis (= Clermont-Ferrand) to Brioude. Within the 10th century William I, Duke of Aquitaine, (aka "Guillaume Le Pieux" - "William the Pious") funded the building of a larger church here. He got buried in this church in 917. Around 1060, works on the church seen today started with the narthex. It took about 140 years, to complete it - and was a stopover at that time for many pilgrims to Santiago, only two days (60kms) away from Le Puy (Via Podensis).

Near the apses and all around are many carved corbels, most of them probably from the last building period (1160/1200). Most are carved from a soft stone, so, depending from the place, some are very weathered, while others are still in a nearly perfect condition.

Here are four corbels.

From left to right - a cute little ram, next a horrifying scene centered around a human skull. A bundle of snakes have entered the skull through mouth, nose and ears. Two of the snakes are coming out through the eyes! The rear parts of the snakes are broken off, so that the snake entering the ear looks like a large earplug. - Next to the right a little atlant, totally unimpressed by that bloodcurdling scene to his side. He is doing his job. Perfectly! - Beside him an ape or a monkey. Some years ago (before I owned a digital camera), I was so impressed by the distinctiveness of this "image", that my interest in "medieval apes and monkeys" started right here.