Monpazier - Saint-Dominique

Monpazier was originally an English bastide, founded in 1284 by a general of the English king Edward I. The Royal Charter granted to the bastide was associated with advantages for the residents, such as tax exemption and the abolition of sovereign rights.

During the Hundred Years' War, Monpazier was fiercely contested and was taken several times by the English and French. The inhabitants violently opposed the reformation, but Huguenots could temporarily occupy the town in 1574.

At the end of the 16th century, Monpazier was one of the main venues of the croquant rebellions ("Jacquerie des croquants") a long peasant uprising, that lasted for decades. One of the leaders, the weaver Buffarot, was captured in 1637 and executed in the central square of Monpazier.

Saint-Dominique was probably erected end of the 13th century. As the bastide got captured, recaptured and looted during the Hundred Years' War, the church got repaired and rebuilt after 1450. Side chapels were added in the 16th century.

This strange carving is from the time, the church was built. A human to the right - and two snakes (one devouring a person)? Or two birds? Or chimaerae?