Melle - Saint-Hilaire

Silver and lead were mined in Melle since Roman times. In Merovingian and Carolingian times it was a home of a mint. In 2008 archaeologists found a silver penny under the floor of the Palatine Chapel in Aachen (Aix La Chapelle). It was minted at METVLLO what is Melle today.

In medieval times Melle was a prosperous town, attracting many pilgrims following the Via Turonensis. The town (today´s pop. ~4000) still hosts three Romanesque churches, built during the 11th and 12th centuries.

Saint-Hilaire de Melle was the church of a priory, a dependency of the important Benedictine abbey in Saint-Jean-d’Angély. It was built on the bank of the Beronne river. The eastern part were built in the first half of the 12th century, while the nave and the western portals may be some decades younger.

The two archivolts of the interior side portal. The inner archivolt, depicting strange animals (similar to Aulnay) is mounted upside down.
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As I have uploaded many photos from here already, I will just add a few.