Par
Gilles Rolland
Published on
It is one of the most famous French stages of the way of Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle and certainly one of the treasures of Occitan historical heritage. Moissac Abbey (Tarn-et-Garonne) has watched over the city for centuries and continues to attract tourists who always marvel at the beauty of its cloister and the majesty of its architecture. A fascinating place that has kept some secrets. At least until today…
The abbey tells of the end of the world
The tympanum of the southern portal of the abbey alone justifies the trip. A true monument in its own right, made between 1110 and 1130, inspired by the Apocalypse of John, where Christ is represented (in the center), surrounded by the tetramorph, namely the lion, the bull, the man and the eagle, who represent respectively the evangelists Mark, Luke, Matthew and John. The fresco on which also appears the 24 old men of the Apocalypse and two seraphim. The latter celebrating the divine glory before the Last Judgment. An event which in the Bible has absolutely nothing to do with the events described in Terminatorwith the advent of Skynet and machines…
More seriously, the tympanum of Moissac Abbey is considered an essential work of Romanesque art. At the time, this monumental frescoalready placed on the road to Compostela, illustrated one of the most powerful messages of the gospels. An incredibly transcribed message, full of movements and evocations that are by turns fascinating and impressive, which has survived the centuries.
The crazy train
Certainly, no train rushed towards the abbey. On the other hand, part of it was indeed destroyed in the 19th century to allow the passage of the Bordeaux-Sète railway line. Because yes, at the time, we were much less inclined to bother with considerations such as the preservation of historical monuments.
If part of the abbey was therefore demolished, the writer Prosper Mérimée went up to the battlements to defend the site. The artist who, then Inspector of Historic Monuments, highlighted the extraordinary value of the abbey, saving it from potential further amputations. A story which reminds us that in the past, the abbey was much larger than it is today.
An incredible influence
Rattachée à the order of Clunythe abbey has thus influenced many other monuments throughout the ages due in particular to the modernity of its ornaments and its architecture, in many respects innovative.
It was in particular the pilgrims who, passing through Moissac, on the way to Compostela, spread the good word. Artists, stonecutters and other religious people who played the role of messengers. This explains why several buildings of provinces of Aragon and Catalonia in particular, were nourished by the architecture of Moissac Abbey.
A notable exception
If we consider Moissac Abbey as a major historic site, not only in Europe but also in the World, it is also because it is one of the rare cloisters which has managed to survive the tests of time to reach our time, in a remarkable state of conservation.
If before 1789, cloisters were at the heart of monastic life, the Revolution changed things. Many abbeys were then dismantled, pillaged or simply left abandoned. Even before the Revolution, the Wars of Religion could have cause the fall of the abbey but it was, almost miraculously, épargnée.
Remarkably preserved, with absolutely exceptional pieces, such as the 76 sculpted capitals of the cloister, the abbey has therefore survive to wars, revolutions, destruction and pillaging.
Between literature and the seventh art
The Name of the Rose… A cult film for an entire generation of moviegoers, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, adapted from the eponymous book by Umberto Eco. And it is precisely on Eco’s side that we must look for the link with the abbey. The writer who was inspired by the abbey’s novel portal for his story which, as a reminder, returns to the investigation of two Franciscans into the subject of a series of murders within an Italian abbey in 1327. Novel brought to the screen, with Sean Connery and Christian Slater in the main roles.
And if Moissac Abbey therefore probably nourished the imagination of Umberto Eco to imagine the plot, and the settings, of his story, the film was not shot in Moissac but in Italy and in the former monastery of Kloster Eberbach in Germany. Walk around the abbey and take the time to nourish yourself with its atmosphère so unique, nevertheless allowing you to reconnect with the atmosphere of Annaud’s masterpiece.
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