Notre-Dame du Port in Clermont-Ferrand, Choir

by RicardMN Photography

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Notre-Dame du Port in Clermont-Ferrand, Choir

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RicardMN Photography

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Description

The Basilica of Notre-Dame du Port is a Romanesque basilica, formerly a collegiate church, in the Port quarter of Clermont-Ferrand, France, between Place Delille and the cathedral. From the 10th century to the French Revolution it was served by a community of canons, regular until the 13th century, and thereafter secular.

The exact date is not known, but the Notre-Dame-du-Port was probably built in the early 12th century, on the site of several earlier churches. Its grand appearance and location in the commercial heart of Clermont illustrates the rise of a new class in medieval European society: the wealthy urban merchant.

The church was originally known as Sainte-Marie-Principale, the greatest church dedicted to the Virgin in the city. When Clermont Cathedral changed its dedication from St. Stephen to the Virgin Mary, this church became known as the Notre-Dame-du-Port after its location in the market area of town. The French name comes from the Latin portus, meaning "a place of commerce."

The 12th-century attracted pilgrims, including some on the way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Clermont is not on a major route to Santiago, but received enough pilgrim traffic for UNESCO to include it in the World Heritage Site called "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France" in 1998.

The crossing tower fell down in an earthquake in the 15th century and was replaced with the present tower in the late 19th century. The western end of the church was also demolished at some point and rebuilt earlier in the 19th century.

From 2006 to 2008, the interior of the church was fully renovated. This unfortunately included a pale-yellow paint job, which evidently serves the project's stated purpose to return the interior to its appearance in the year 1800.

The choir is brightly lit. Slender columns topped with narrative capitals separate the choir from a spacious ambulatory. One of the capitals is signed by the sculptor, Rotbertus. Each capital is sculpted on all four sides and illustrates a particular theme. One narrates the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; another shows the battle between the Virtues and Vices (Charity locks shields with Greed; Anger kills herself with a lance).

Two choir capitals are dedicated to the church's patron, the Virgin Mary, who brings redemption from these struggles through her Son. One focuses on the events surrounding the birth of Christ; the other shows Mary victorious in Heaven. Unusually, there is also a capital showing a donor named Stefanus presenting the capital to an angel.

The ambulatory has a groin vault and opens into four radiating chapels with colorful stained glass windows. (Descrition from sacred-destinations.com).

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October 17th, 2019

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