Saintes - Saint-Eutrope

Little is known about St. Eutropius and nothing of this is certain. He may have been native Persian, a companion of the Three Marys, when they went ashore in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, or a native Greek, send to the Saintonge area by Pope Clement I, some centuries later.

After having baptized Eustelle, the daughter of the local governor, he got martyred. Legends tell, that Eustelle got beheaded and so joined St. Eutropius in death.

Gregor of Tour knows about pilgrimages to the tomb of St. Eutropius already within the 6th century.

When later the pilgrimage to Santiago got popular and thousands of pilgrims walked the Via Turonensis each year, this place was a major halt on the "chemin". A larger church was needed. Cluny, a strong "sponsor" of the pilgrimage to Santiago, took over the small community of monks, that existed here since centuries, and sent 20 expert monks. They accepted the challenge.

They started to built the large ambulatory crypt seen here in 1081. The dimensions of the crypt (35 meters long) make clear, what large numbers of pilgrims were expected. The monks did a great job, as already 15 years later Pope Urban II consecrated this crypt.

The basilica-church got completed within the 12th century, but due to the tensions between England and France, Saintes lost its importance for the pilgrims. From 1271 on, the area west of the Charente (incl. St. Eutrope) was English, while the eastern side of Saintes (incl. the Abbaye aux Dames) was French. 1360 Saintes was English, 1404 it was French again.

The church had been altered over the centuries. After the French Revolution a large part of the church got demolished, only the southern wall still is Romanesque. Some decades later, the rebuilding and reconstruction process started. Fortunately many of the marvellous carvings were saved and got reused.

The gate at the the wooden stairs, leading to the gallery, was not locked. Though the stairs seemed pretty fragile for my weight, I climbed up. It was well worth the effort. Nobody was up there, just me and a dead pigeon. Most of the capitals were visible from here.

There are some very sophisticated and elaborate works of art up on the capitals. Here is one. A symmetrical pattern out of men - lions - birds. It goes on and on and on, typical for the "style saintongeais".