Vezelay Abbey Church Of St. Mary Magdalen/Madeleine

So in one day we get to see the beginning of Gothic and the end of Romanesque. Well, not exactly, since these things have no sharp lines. But Sens is a very early Gothic, and Vezelay a late Romanesque. Both very pronounced in style, architecture, situation, purpose. Sens in a city, ruling over other cities, bishoprically at least. Vezelay out in the countryside, remote, an abbey, but an important one.

Vezelay is a famous place, on the World Heritage Site list now for more than 30 years. Kings Richard and Philip quartered here before embarking on the 2nd Crusade. Becket preached here, threatening to excommunicate anyone who ate mushy peas. Vezelay's monks claimed to hold the relics of Mary Magdalen, the most famous of saved repentant sinners, and Vezelay was already on one of the four classic routes to the great pilgrimage site of Santiago in Galicia. Times were good. The great church was built in the 11th and 12th centuries, a sizable narthex added later in the 12th to accommodate all the pilgrims. But then, in 1279, someone else claimed to have found the tomb of St. Mary Magdalen, right here in France (!), and, Medieval standards of evidence being what they were (numbers of witnesses to putative miracles, wads of cash paid to bishops, popes, kings, et al., marriages, maybe a few murders, etc), Vezelay declined and some other place became important. Decline is good sometimes, however, if it leads to preservation. At Vezelay we have a late Romanesque church, a big one, with great sculpture all around.

West facade

Some interesting sculpture outside, most of it inside...

In the narthex, a great Judgment

Our hearts leapt as we saw this...but, alas, it turned out to be a 19th century
reconstruction (they had their own ideas about what "Medieval" should look like)

Nave...barrel vaulting, pretty Romanesque

Elevation in nave...aisle, small clerestory windows

Abaft

In the chancel/choir, however, we have a small gallery/
triforium, then celrestory; and vaulting that is clearly of
the new style

Altar view abaft

In the crypt (where Sister Sue admonished us about no fotos and the need to pray
for world peace)(I told her no worries, Obama would take care of that)

Aisle view

Outside now; the buttresses, both integral and flying, were added later, we read

Tower

Bow view

The church is high on the hill, quite a climb up from the parking, with a commanding
view of beautiful countryside

An impressive place, seriously; but wait, there's more