Eglise Sainte-Eulalie
ChurchHidden Treasure
A jewel of the Charentais Romanesque style in Périgord, the church of Sainte-Eulalie in Saint-Aulaye boasts a six-arched porch and sculpted capitals of rare fantasy, filled with monsters, fantastic birds and characters.
History
Nestling in the market town of Saint-Aulaye, on the borders of Périgord and Charente, the church of Sainte-Eulalie is one of those little Romanesque wonders that the attentive traveller discovers far from the beaten track. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1946, it is an eloquent embodiment of the artistic movement that art historians refer to as "Charentais Romanesque", characterised by the profusion of decoration on its façades and the virtuosity of its anonymous sculptors. The most striking feature on approach is the west façade, with its remarkable porch articulated around six semi-circular arches. Supported by seven columns, these arches display a theory of capitals that draw on both the medieval bestiary and the Carolingian ornamental repertoire: refined geometric interlacing, grotesque figures with expressive physiognomies, hybrid creatures that are half-man half-beast. At the top of the façade, a triangular pediment crowned with a cross lends the whole a classical solemnity, balancing the sculptural exuberance that precedes it. The square bell tower, set at the transept crossing in accordance with a common feature of Romanesque architecture in the Saintonge and Périgord regions, dominates the town with austere majesty. Inside, the Romanesque choir is the second source of wonder: two columns forming six arches frame the apse and offer a second sculpted programme of great iconographic density. Monster fights, fantastic birds with imaginary plumage, figures fighting or praying, finely chiselled interlacing - Sainte-Eulalie's lapidary is a veritable manual of medieval images. A visit to this church is just as much for the Romanesque art enthusiast as for the curious walker. The soft Périgord light, filtered through the Romanesque windows, bathes the limestone in a honey-coloured hue that varies according to the time of day. Taking the time to linger over each capital, to decipher the sculpted scenes like so many iconographic rebus, is a rare experience of contemplation that mass tourism has yet to touch.
Architecture
Sainte-Eulalie church is part of the Charentais Romanesque style, which flourished in the 12th century in a vast area encompassing Saintonge, Angoumois and the Périgord marches. The plan of the building follows the classic layout of a rural Romanesque church: a single nave or aisles, a transept on which the square bell tower rests, and an east-facing choir with a semi-circular apse. The local limestone, with its warm hues ranging from off-white to golden ochre, is the only material used in the construction, carved with a precision that testifies to a high level of craftsmanship. The western façade is the architectural and sculptural centrepiece of the complex. Its six-arched porch, resting on seven columns with historiated capitals, is a particularly accomplished example of Saintonge Romanesque sculpture. The capitals alternate between decorative registers - geometric interlacing evoking Irish island art and Carolingian traditions - and figurative registers featuring grotesque figures with striking expressions. A triangular pediment, a recurring feature of Romanesque architecture in the region, crowns the façade and gives it a monumental character. Inside, the Romanesque choir is the most artistically precious space. Two columns forming six arches delimit the liturgical space and bear a second set of capitals of exceptional iconographic richness: fighting monsters with intertwined bodies, fantastic birds with outstretched wings, human figures in narrative gestures, and plant or geometric interlacing of great finesse. The square bell tower, placed on the transept in keeping with a well-established architectural tradition in the region, emphasises the silhouette of the building while fulfilling its original function as a visual and audible signal for the surrounding farming community.
Related Figures
Sainte Eulalie de Mérida — martyre hispano-romaine du IVe siècle, patronne de l'église, dont le culte se diffusa largement dans le sud-ouest de la France au haut Moyen ÂgeProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, dont les missions en Périgord et Saintonge contribuèrent à la redécouverte et à la sauvegarde du patrimoine roman régional au XIXe siècleArcisse de Caumont — archéologue normand, fondateur de la Société française d'archéologie, qui systématisa l'étude de l'architecture romane charentaise et périgordine et contribua à faire connaître des édifices comme Sainte-EulalieLes maîtres tailleurs de pierre anonymes du XIIe siècle — artisans itinérants des ateliers saintongeais et angoumoisins à qui l'on doit la sculpture des chapiteaux, parmi les plus expressifs du roman régional
