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We have left Tournus and are now exploring churches in Beaune, and Autun. If you are listening to the audio portions of this blog, I do apologize for the butchering of the French names of our destinations.  Foreign languages are most definitely not my strength.
 
Our first visit was to a relatively smaller church, the Collegiate Notre-Dame in Beaune.  This was a collegiate church, meaning that it was staffed by priests rather than monks.  The building is a mix of Romanesque (semicircular arches) and Gothic (pointed arches, larger windows) and quite beautiful.  The highlight is the collection of medieval tapestries showing the life of Mary.  Having been raised a Protestant, Mary’s life was not emphasized in my religious upbringing, so it was quite interesting to view the scenes in these tapestries.  The story starts with Mary’s mother, Ann, finding out she is pregnant with Mary.  Another tapestry shows several suitors vying for Mary’s hand in marriage, followed by a view of her wedding to Joseph.  The annunciation, the birth of Christ, Christ’s circumcision, the slaughtering of the innocents, and the flight to Egypt all follow.  The final tapestries show Mary’s death and crowning as Queen of Heaven.  
 
There was one  “feature” of this church that was disturbing to me.  The Huguenots (the French Protestants) were in a “War of Religion” with the Catholics, beginning around 1562.  This tragically culminated in what is known as the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in August of 1572 where thousands (estimates range from 5,000 to 30,000) of Protestants were murdered.  What I did not know is that Beaune had a large population of Huguenots, and at some point they had entered the Collegiate Notre Dame and destroyed many of the statues and sculptures.  These treasures are now lost forever, and empty platforms remain.
 
On a happier note, we next went to the Hotel-Dieu.  It is not a hotel at all, despite its name.  Rather, it was a medieval hospital for the sick, disabled, and destitute.  A prime example of medieval Burgundy architecture, it is a reminder that organized religion – even in medieval times – could perform great acts of charity and kindness.  Those who had no where else to go could come here to heal – or to die – in dignity.  The Hotel-Dieu is also home to the great Roger van der Weyden’s Last Judgement, commissioned for this hospital.  
 
Our last destination was the Cathedral in Autun.  The inside has been extensively cleaned and it looks quite odd at first.  That said, it allows us the opportunity to see what these cathedrals might have looked like the first hundred years or so, before their walls were stained with the smoke of candles and incense.  Gislebertus, a French medieval sculptor, created many beautify Romanesque capitals that have been remarkably preserved.  But once again, one is faced with the harming of a treasure.  The west entry tympanum (the semicircular sculpture above  a door) was deemed to be in “poor taste” by Voltaire, the famed Enlightenment intellectual of the 18th century.  As Voltaire’s opinion mattered, the Bishop had this area plastered over, so as not to offend.  Fortunately, better judgement eventually prevailed and the plaster was later removed, allowing us to enjoy this beautiful representation of the Day of Judgement.
 

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