Aulnay - Saint-Pierre

"Saint-Pierre d'Aulnay" is a church outside of Aulnay, in the center of an old graveyard. The setting has not changed for centuries. For the pilgrims of the 12th century this church was a major halt - and it still is for all the tourists...

A predecessing church „Saint-Pierre-de-la-Tour“ had been here, that, when the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella got more and more popular, was obviously to small, as Aulnay was conveniently situated between Poitiers and Saintes on the Via Turonensis. A new, larger church was needed, so the place was handed over to the chapter of the cathedral in Poitiers. The canons then probably planned this church, that was erected from about 1130/1140 on.

"Saint-Pierre d'Aulnay" is a gem of the "style saintongeais". For Peter Strafford ("Romanesque Churches Of France") this is "one of the best examples of late Romanesque architecture in what used to be Aquitaine".

Saint-Pierre´s "South Porch" is what attracts busloads of tourists to stop in Aulnay. And they are right.The "South Porch" is mindblowing.

The most outer archivolt is the most spectacular one. So far the icons were somehow in an expectable "christian tradition" (Elders, Saints), but here mythical beasts and fantastic hybrid creatures come to life. Some of these chimerae probably derive from medieval Bestiary, while others seem to come straight from a drug related nightmare.

In the center is a sheep, luxuriously dressed like a bishop or abbot and a wolf (dog) holding a book. While the sheep is standing in a (relaxed) upright postion, the dog seems to be in a move. He bares his teeth - and it looks like he is going to tear the book apart.

The is an icon from a "wolf´s school", but the schools I saw so far (Freiburg, St, Ursainne) employed monks as teachers. Sheep entered the schools only as a temptation and distraction for the wolfs. Here the sheep plays a totally different role.