Thuret - Saint-Bénilde

The former church of a priory, built 1150/1170, got remodelled quite often over the centuries. This was done not only by architects, but as well by clerics. The church was dedicated to St. Genesius first, then to St. Limin, followed by Saint-Martin. In the 19th century the dedication changed to Saint-Bonnet and some decades ago to Saint-Bénilde, a saint born in Thuret in 1805 under the name Pierre Romançon.

There are interesting carvings here. Ever since the art history discovered them as specific works of art, they have been a subject in the literature.

B. Craplet ("Auvergne roman", 1992) describes the carvings just as "unskilled". He in general disagrees with Z. Swiechowski ("Sculpture Romane D'auvergne", 1973), who sees this as the work of "naive folk art". A. Gybal ("L´Auvergne, berceau de l´artroman", 1958) describes
a specific "Thuret-style" being a totally simplified work of art. Only to be found here. For him, the simplification is the result of the artists inspiration. He makes totally clear, that this is not "folk art" ("l`art populaire"), but the result of artistic work of very skilled monks ("moines tres cultives").

This is the most cryptic capital in Thuret.

A woman and a man in very luxurious garments are holding hands in front of a pillar. This is a wedding attire, as it is widely agreed, that this depicts a wedding scene. The pillar often is a symbol for palace, our at least a prestigious house built from stones.

So seen here is the wedding of a very high ranking, wealthy couple.

And on the left side - a round face with an open mouth. Snakes creep out of the mouth -. and one of them even bites into the lady´s derrière. Further left a man with a pole. He may be a warrier holding a lance. Craplet describes this as a wedding scene, where a "devil´s head is spitting snakes", as a symbol of lust.

If this is right, then it can be understood as a warning. Then this proves, that even in the highest ranks, the devil can infect a woman with sinful lust.


Two more snake can be seen in the church. One is just being eaten by a stork, the other one is communicating with Eve. About an apple.