Notre-Dame de Savigny-sur-Aisne church-Wikipedia

L’ Notre-Dame Church is a church located in Savigny-sur-Aisne, in France ^{[ first ]} .

It is located on a mound to which one accesses by around twenty steps and overlooks a good part of the village. The most remarkable element of this building is the western portal, in a flamboyant Gothic style. The church, ranked shortly before the First World War, was affected by shells during this conflict. The southern transept, the choir and part of the roof were damaged, but the western portal has been preserved. The church was restored identically in the interwar period.

General structure [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

In a very traditional way, the church borrows the shape of a Latin cross towards the east. It consists of a five-sided choir, a transept and a three-span nave and two aisles.

The materials come from the nearby region. The walls generally use the white stone of Chémery-sur-Bar. The portal, window replacements, and areas of strong constraints (angle chains, foothills, vault ribs, etc. ) use the ocher stone (sandstone) of Authe and Dom-le-Mesnil. The alternation of these white and yellow colors gives rhythm to the construction. A brick repair was made at the end of XVIII ^{It is} century on the western facade ^{[ 2 ]} .

The gate [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The portal of this church is mainly worth by its elegance and its momentum, extending the staircase rising to the church, more than by the sculptures of the upper part even if these attract the eyes ^{[ 3 ]} .

A large ogival arc frames two hollow throat areas. Rintes are sculpted in the upper were, and pampres in the lower were. These patterns end at the base of pillars with animal sculptures. A central trumeau supports a seigniorial coat of arms carried by two lions. These are the coat of arms of Valentin de Savigny (the father of Christophe de Savigny), and his first wife. This makes it possible to date the construction of the portal in the period of 1516 (date of their marriage) to 1530 (date on which this first wife was certainly deceased) ^{[ 4 ]} .

The lateral pillars extend, carrying at their top of the putti, one playing the hoop, the other dancing ^{[ 2 ]} . A transverse molding connects these two putti, with busts in the round arranged on both sides. These busts a little consumed by the years represent four saints with an attribute facilitating their identification. At the top left the apostle Saint Barthelemy with the knife which served in his martyrdom, lower left the apostle Saint Peter and his key, at the top right the apostle Saint John the evangelist with a cut from which a snake comes out , and bottom right of Saint Paul with the sword of his martyrdom. Added to it dragons and griffins ^{[ 2 ]} .

Other external elements [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Fifteen foothills consolidate the building, three for the western facade, four for the nave, four for the transept and four for the choir. These foothills are decorated with sculptures, geometric patterns, gargoyles, animals, etc. . A solar dial is engraved on the corner buttroductive in the southwest.

Above the first span of the nave rises a square wooden tower, with an eight-sided arrow adorned with four bells. On the left of the portal is built a square turret. The other angle has only a cubic crawl, or rather a cantilever wooden slab, a sort of hut to watch on both sides ^{[ 3 ]} . A bretèche decorated with geometric patterns completes the defensive device without knowing what it protects, not being located above the door but next to it. No doubt it was moved.

Multiple inscriptions are engraved on the walls, including, right next to the southern door of the facade, this graffiti of XVI ^{It is} century citing, in Latin, the book of proverbs of the Old Testament, “Do not argue with a mistreatment …» , thus recalling that silence is the best response to the mockery ^{[ 2 ]} .

Interior elements [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Inside, the warheads are carried by moldings that fall on the cylindrical pillars of the nave. Those of the transept and the choir are multi -column with low capitals. This interior is lit by ogival windows with two mullions, of flamboyant style ^{[ 4 ]} . The stained glass windows did not survive the conflicts of the XX ^{It is} century. The windows are now made up of colorless diamond glass tiles.

Three funeral tiles remain in the building, including in particular those of a notary, Jean Bricot, and that of Valentin de Savigny already quoted. These last two slabs were classified as historic monuments in 1908, a few years before the building was also ^{[ 5 ]} . That of Jean Bricot is the oldest, dating from 1546. It is fixed today vertically on the wall of the Western facade, on the north side, and was initially in the southern collateral. The figure engraved on this large white stone is partly erased but the inscription remains legible: “Cy gist honorable men Jehan Bricot during his lifetime notary living in Savigny. Who trespassa the twenty huictiesme day of the year one thousand five cens quarente six. Pray God for him and for deaths. »» . The Savigny Valentin slab is a black marble, placed in the southern transept. Its initial location was in the central aisle of the nave, near the choir. The coat of arms of this Lord are engraved above a pair of tibias and a skull. Registration is as follows: “Cy gist honored lord of this fire Valantin de Savigny with his 4 (women) espouséed in this church, which trespassa on May 4 per year of grace 1564” ^{[ 2 ]} . At the four corners of the black marble are the coat of arms of each of his women, with inscriptions, difficult to read, indicating the name of the wife and the date of death ^{[ 4 ]} .

The presbytery [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Former presbytery which has become rural gîte

A first presbytery was sold as a national property at the Revolution of 1789 and disappeared. The town acquired another building in 1830, a little more in height, which it redeveloped or even rebuilt a few decades later. The date of 1877 is engraved on its facade ^{[ 2 ]} . This building has been converted for a few years into a rural cottage, rented by the town. From this cottage, a path descends to the washhouse of the town and to the Aisne valley.

The church is located in the upper part of the town of Savigny-sur-Aisne, in the French department of the Ardennes, on a mound which stands out from the hill. The staircase allowing you to access it begins in front of the town hall.

The construction of the church spreads from the end of XIV ^{It is} century at the beginning of XVI ^{It is} century. The portal corresponds to the most recent part. It is dedicated to Notre-Dame and more particularly to its Nativity. The maintenance of the choir and the transept was ensured until the revolution of 1789 by the order of Saint-Jean de Jerusalem, the maintenance of the nave and the portal by the inhabitants ^{[ 2 ]} .

The building was classified as historic monuments in 1913 ^{[ first ]} . He receives several shells during the First World War, with significant damage: all the slate of the roof is broken or torn off, foothills are damaged, the choir vault is cracked, the southern transept is destroyed, part of the arrow is demolished ^{[ 5 ]} . From 1919 to 1922, provisional clearing and preservation works were carried out. Then a complete restoration was carried out from 1924 to 1928. It is possible that the 1913 classification has facilitated decisions ^{[ 2 ]} .

Internal links [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

external links [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

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