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Those gloomy old cathedrals….

September 28, 2012 by Amy Welborn

"amy welborn"

"amy welborn"

"amy welborn"

"amy welborn"

"amy welborn"

Much of the interior of St. Maurice (former) Cathedral in Mirepoix is either faded or worn down to almost bare stone, but what remains is a revelation.  I don’t know when it was originally adorned in this way or what restoration attempts have been made, but it does seem to give lie to the convential wisdom about those monolithic gloomy gray blocks of stone (as if a building dancing with colored light filtered through stained glass could even be so).

(Mirepoix is known for its color in other ways: the medieval town center is marked by covered sidewalks and brightly colored buildings.)

It was lovely and quiet and still hinted at life lived here:

"amy welborn"

This was interesting, too:

"amy welborn"

What’s your guess? Mine would be pagan shenanigans of one sort or another, misappropriating the symbol.

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Posted in Amy Welborn, Religion, Travel | 5 Comments

5 Responses

  1. on September 28, 2012 at 8:19 pm emdeardo

    That would be my guess, too…unfortunate since I love to see labyrinths.


  2. on September 28, 2012 at 10:17 pm nancyo

    I’m going to hazard a guess that the colorful painted work that you saw is late 19th century “Gothicizing”. You’ll see painting from the same era in Paris at Notre Dame and St. Germain des Pres. We’re used to thinking of these churches as bare stone, inside and out, but that’s not necessarily how they originally were. The 19th century designs may not be historically accurate, but they give the idea of how it might have been. The paint could also be a more recent effort at restoring the original scheme.


  3. on September 28, 2012 at 11:18 pm thefirstjacqueline

    The French Wikipedia page, “Ancienne cathedrale Saint-Maurice de Mirepoix” says

    La chapelle privée de l’évêque Philippe de Lévis est connue pour son labyrinthe, dernier installé dans une cathédrale d’Europe. La chapelle possède également un carrelage peint de grande valeur. Le tout étant fragile et dans un état très dégradé ; cette chapelle est inaccessible au pubic.

    It sounds like the chapel and labyrinth may just be unable to withstand the stress of foot traffic.


  4. on September 29, 2012 at 6:29 pm priestswife

    amazingly beautiful!

    thank you for taking us on your trip with these photos


  5. on October 1, 2012 at 9:46 am Dennis Martin

    Actually, cathedrals and other buildings in the Middle Ages were commonly painted or hung with tapestries. Not always, depended on resources for upkeep etc. If you could manage it, you decorated your church, your castle, your palazzo, your town-house.. Helped set you off, as an aristocrat or wealthy burgher from the hovel-dwelling peasantry. That we are accustomed to bare stone and think that’s what they looked like in their heyday would surprise the you know what out of medieval folk.



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