Saint-Martin-du-Canigou

An oratorium here is recorded already in 996. Count Guifred Cabreta, grandson of Wilfred the Hairy (a person I was interested in since ages. We will "meet" him later) donated land and funds for the erection of a monastery in atonement for the murder of his own son.

The abbey was built around the older oratorium and already 1009 a church was consecrated and dedicated to Saint Martin by the Bishop of Elne, who was Count Guifred´s brother. In the document a monk named Sclua is mentioned as the builder. Sclua may have been, what was later called an architect.

In 1012 the relics of Saint Gauderique were transferred to Saint-Martin, adding importance to the place.

Following a medievial tradition (eg William of Gellone, Bernard II, Lord of Lippe) Count Guifried later left his wife, quit his worldy (sinful) life and entered the Benedictian convent here as a monk. He died at this monastery in 1049.

Shortly after that the importance of the monastery dwindeled dramatically. An earthquake ruined the monastery in 1428. The rebuilding took decades.

The small, remote convent was later threatend by food-shortage as well as by gangs of smugglers and raiders, who filled the frontier area with terror, the monastery was secularized. In 1781 the last five monks and the abbot left the buildings. The complex fell into disrepair and were used as a stone quarry by local home-builders.

In 1902 the bishop of Elne and Perpignan bought the ruins and started a pretty radical restauration. Some buildings were even added, to accomodate visitors. In 1922 a number of capitals could be bought back, that had once belonged to the cloister and "got lost" after the French Revolution.

Even if this is not "original" in many aspects, even if it may "lack some character", like some authors wrote, it is a wonderful complex, and as Marcel Durliat wrote, a church "premier art roman méridional", as it is older than most of the other romanesque buildings in Southern France.

In 1922 a number of capitals "returned home", after they had spent about a century in a villa in Vernet-les-Bains. It was known, that two cloisters had existed, similar to Elne. The lower one was built within the 11th, the upper one within the 12th century. As the exact place of the capitals could not be found out anymore, and only one cloister got (partly) reconstructed, an open gallery was erected.

There are some capitals, made from reddish marble cut in quarries near Villefranche-de-Conflent (14kms north), are younger (12th), have a different geometry and show a totally different iconography, not using the well known patterns. These carvings are "storytelling", but in most cases I could not find the stories that are told. Even Marcel Durliat does not offer an explanation.

This is the "backside" of the capital just seen, having a fish and the Rocabertí' escutcheon, as Ray/Adfinem found out.

On the left is that bird with the branch again. A perfect fit, maybe one of the abbots came from the Rocabertí family.

In a flyer I picked up, this capital was named "corn-capital", but actually corn (as well as pinapple) was not very widespread, before Columbus had reached the Bahamas. So in case it is a fruit, it may be a pomegranate, but it may as well be a pillar with a capital. On top of the right "capital" is a face. Another roughly carved face is just over that large animal. Actually all corners have that carving. The head of the large animal in the center is very damaged. I think, that this could well be an ape. The eye-brows and these furrows can often be seen at apes - plus - the profile of the animal on the right side - is very apelike.