Lautenbach - Collégiale Saint Gangolph

Theologian Manegold of Lautenbach, a celebrity of his time, lived here in the 11th. century. During the Investiture Controversy, Manegold sided strongly with Pope Gregory VII. Emperor Henry IV was so annoyed about this, that he sent an army, to destroy the monastery and churches. That ended the monastery 1084. About 50 years later Augustinian Canons settled here - and rebuilt the church, reusing a lot of old material.

Having seen the delicate structure of the narthex with slim pillars -and fine capitals, the friezes (left and right of the entrance) are kind of shocking. The naiv style of these carvings differs totally from the others. These carvings may have been part of the church destroyed 1086 - and be reused here.
I am not really sure about the theme, I will follow Robert Will´s interpretation (from "Alsace romane", Éditions Zodiaque), though in some details I doubt that. He sees the whole frieze under the theme of adultery.

I had been here before. At that time, I took photos of a lot of details, but "forgot", to take a shot of the frieze in whole. So here is the left frieze.

More detailed photos of the frieze are in the set
www.flickr.com/photos/martin-m-miles/sets/72157626442170032/