Gerberoy Collegiale Of St. Pierre

The distinction between parish churches and collegiate churches is one of canon law and Roman Catholic polity; and way over my head. Or anything I care about. Nonetheless, in my construal, a collegiale is run by a group of clerics, no bishop, not a monastery or abbey, and is open to the townsfolk. Such came about by way of the great lands and wealth the Church accumulated in the middle ages. Be that as it may, the Collegiale of St. Pierre in Gerberoy stands out in my experience as the best documented little church--pound for pound, stone for stone--we've seen so far. And it has a few curiosities too. Well worth a post, for me, anyway.

West facade again

In the choir there are chairs; in the nave these interesting little cubicles...

Which at one time bore little nameplates

Choir

Nice old barrel vaulting

Nice spiral staircase to the sky box

In the sacristy, the documentation begins...everything you need to know about
religious (Christian) symbolism, church architecture, development, graffiti...

Alas it was all in French, but I could make out some of it and found it quite
informative

Back in the nave, more info

Including an extensive history

The gist of which is that the oldest bits go back to 1073 or
so, the town was besieged on numerous occasions, the
church rebuilt or renovated on numerous occasions, the
last being 1999, but the basic arrangement dating from the
14th century

And now an essay on the architecture...

And more

The list of those besieging the town in the 11th and 12th centuries is impressive
enough; Jean Sans Terre is John Lackland, aka King John of England

Fascinating little place...applause for those responsible; more than fitting for a
truly beau village