We were attracted to Frejus, which is between Cannes and Nice, for its cathedral, said by a guidebook to be very early Gothic, for its octagonal baptistry, and for the paintings in the cathedral cloister. The cathedral is indeed old, started in the 11th, but hardly Gothic. The baptistry was a 5th century recycling of earlier Roman bits, as we saw in Aix. The cloister paintings, next post, are
naif, as we say
en Francaise, but yield a rich perspective on Medieval life and imagination. Also some mirth.
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| En pied, admiring the pretty town, eschewing the Roman bits |
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| The cathedral complex |
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| Interesting carvings thereupon |
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| His and hers, evidently |
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| Helpful map #1,140; I can read little French, but I can always find "Vous etes ici" |
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| Up in perhaps the bishop's private chapel... |
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| Helpful model #6,407; color-coded too |
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| The Baptistry |
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| Alas, unlike Aix, you can't go in and have a nosey |
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| But you can see clearly this is not of Medieval origin |
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| Full immersion... |
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| In the newer (13th) nave of the cathedral |
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| Lombard vaulting, not very high |
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| "Oh Lord we beseech thee, Amen" |
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| St. Broomhilde, patron saint of broomsweeps |
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| Tiled steeple |
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| But it was the cloister that really attracted us |
1 comment:
The carvings in these old churches are always interesting. Sometimes I think the stonemasons must have had a real sense of humor.
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