Today started with a lovely long conversation with last night’s landlady over breakfast coffee. Worries in France (cost of living, politics, war, lack of general respect in society, etc.) are very similar to our complaints in Canada. It is also clear from several such conversations I have had that rural people here have to work at several different jobs to make ends meet.
The church in Chavanges has an interesting 16th century stained glass window. In the late fifteenth century, trade had been picking up, and traders brought back from Germany copies of an early European “best seller”, a 1498 print book of the Apocalypse with 15 woodcuts by the German artist Albrecht Dürer. In this region there were skilled stained glass workers (in fact there still are to this day) and here in Chavanges is a 16th century window based on the Dürer prints. Below is an angel throwing the devil into hell, and from the internet the Dürer woodcut which was the inspiration for this window panel.
My landlady was going out on errands and offered to drive me to Lentilles, saving me an hour’s walk. Lentilles has a lovely early 16th century church.
Two pilgrim routes cross and converge for a while in this region, the way to Rome and the way to Santiago de Compostella, known here as the way of St Jacques. Here is St Jacques on the front of the church in Lentilles.
A misty cold morning turned into a warm summer’s day, and I had a leisurely walk through a vast landscape of fields. Yesterday and today there were thundering roars of military planes flying low and fast overhead; there are two military bases near by. Nevertheless I felt very peaceful as a soft wind rippled over my face.
Rosnay l’Hôpital where I have a simple room tonight is a tiny village (300 people) with a huge church. Originally the mound on which the church stands was fortified, and a chapel provided shelter for the villagers in case of attack. Then in the twelfth century a simple stone church was built. In 1164 St Thomas of Canterbury (Thomas Beckett) having left England after serious disagreements with the King, prayed and celebrated Mass in the church. It is told that Beckett called up a spring whose waters cured everyone who drank from them. The spring still exists. Here is where Beckett prayed; it is now the crypt of a “new” sixteenth century church.
My room had a lovely view of the church, but it was cold, wifi hardly worked, and even using data, really poor internet. The farming couple offered me a friendly supper (macaroni, bread and cheese, and a slice of delicious raspberry, pistachio and custard home made tarte) and said one big reason for young people deserting the countryside was poor internet.
Why such a large church in a village that was always small? The sixteenth century was a time of great prosperity in this region. Trade was booming on a north-south axis. Great fairs were held in all the big centres. Thousands of pilgrims came through. Farms here were productive, and great oak forests provided coveted wood for building projects throughout Western Europe. Wealthy people were glad to embellish villages with lavish churches.
Now, of course, there is an over abundance of churches. My landlady said that there is one priest to cover 56 churches in the region. The main city, Brienne-le-Château, gets mass every Sunday. Then there is a rotation through the other churches. At the most, this village gets two masses a year, with about 15 people in attendance.
Lovely blog today, Celia, very informative! It reminds one of the very long history of the region and how many changes it has survived. Sad about the churches just standing there with no services for 50 weeks of the year. I am glad this one is still there, though. Beautiful inside and out, and compares favorably with the huge Gothic cathedrals in the cities.
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