
Contents
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17 The Movement of People and Things between Britain and France: In the Late- and Post-Roman Periods
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Steady Advances in Research in the Past Half-Century Steady Advances in Research in the Past Half-Century
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The Antique and Early Christian Roots of Merovingian Architecture The Antique and Early Christian Roots of Merovingian Architecture
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Some Good News About Cathedrals and Monasteries Some Good News About Cathedrals and Monasteries
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Urban and Rural Christian Topography: Many Churches for Many Functions Urban and Rural Christian Topography: Many Churches for Many Functions
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Learning About an Old Friend: The Baptistery in Poitiers Learning About an Old Friend: The Baptistery in Poitiers
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Meeting New Friends in Le Puy and Luxeuil Meeting New Friends in Le Puy and Luxeuil
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Sophistication Versus Simplicity: The Contrast Between Stone and Wooden Construction Sophistication Versus Simplicity: The Contrast Between Stone and Wooden Construction
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Some New Clues About Church Adornment Some New Clues About Church Adornment
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Liturgical Appropriation of Church Interiors Liturgical Appropriation of Church Interiors
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Conclusion Conclusion
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Notes Notes
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Works Cited Works Cited
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30 Merovingian Religious Architecture: Some New Reflections
Get accessPascale Chevalier, Université Clermont Auvergne—UMR 6298-ARTEHIS Dijon
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Published:08 October 2020
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Abstract
For nearly 270 years, between the end of the Roman Empire and the advent of the Carolingian dynasty, the Merovingian territories experienced an intense flowering of religious construction, which recent archaeology has documented with increasing detail. This chapter sheds light on new research and recent discoveries; however, rather than reviewing all of the sites and studies of Merovingian churches and the contemporary sources mentioning them, it gives some new clues and reflections about so-called Merovingian architecture and the broad vision of an architectural form that was expressed in quite simple but majestic designs. These structures, constructed of stone (or wood), reveal a society progressively Christianized under the leadership of bishops, clerics, and monks, as well as by the Merovingian sovereigns. Without any break with classical antiquity, the Merovingian centuries fit into a continuous legacy that transformed the monumental landscape in both cities and countryside. The various forms of Christian monuments of the fifth to eighth century thus illustrate this heritage, sometimes through an extreme simplification of antique patterns and sometimes through the enrichment of aesthetic forms brought by the arrival of immigrant populations. Within a changing world, religious buildings appear to have been a catalyst for cultural exchanges as places of visibility and gathering, as witnesses of the building fever of the period. Our understanding of religious architecture in Merovingian Gaul is gradually becoming more accurate. We now know an increasing amount about the establishment, planning, forms and sizes, construction techniques, ornamentation, and liturgical and functional content of all these structures. These structures, which were so varied in size and use, reveal extensive artistic plurality.
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