Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume - Sainte-Marie-Madeleine

The "Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine" in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (pop. ~ 14.000) is not only one of the largest but as most important Gothic churches in of the Provence.

A small merovingien church existed here, until a sarcophagus was discovered inside the church´s crypt in 1279. The inscription made clear, that this was the tomb of Mary Magdalene.

Her relics had been venerated in Vezeley since the early 11th century. Numerous pilgrims had headed to her relics since then and had made Vezelay Abbey to a major starting point for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. According to legend a monk named Baudillon or Badilo brought the relics of Maria Magdalene from Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume to Vezelay through fear of the Saracens. In 1058 Pope Stephen IX had confirmed the authenticity of the relics.

Until that time it was undisputed that Maria Magdalena was one of the The "Three Marys", who had fled the Holy Land by a miraculous boat and landed at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. After having worked as a sucessful missionar, she retired to a cave in the near mountains. She was buried in a crypt in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, from where the relics had been transferred to Vezelay.

The discovery of the tomb in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in 1279, a very clever "marketing" plus political patronage finally ended the pilgrim business in Vezelay.

Charles II of Anjou, King of Naples founded the Basilique Ste. Marie-Madeleine in 1295. The basilica had the blessing of Pope Boniface VIII, who had taken Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume´s side, and placed the basilica under the new order of Dominicans.

The basilica was built over the crypt (where the tomb was found) but the works slowed down and continued until 1532.

So from 1270 on pilgrims on their way to Arles, a starting point of the Via Tolosana, stopped here - and left a large number of graffiti all around the crypt.

Many more names, notes and dates can be found all over the basilica. Some of them carved in after the Revolution, when the Dominicans had left the place and the members of the "club jacobin" used the basilica. This was, when - in honor of Jean Paul Marat - the name of the town was changed to "Marathon".

During the 19th century the church must be unattended and open over long periods.

The carved graffiti seen here were done probably in the late 19th century, as "below" them are a number of scribblings done with copying pencils. The first of these "indelible pencils", containing aniline dyes, were available in the 1870s.