Basse Oeuvre on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Parish Church of Our Lady of the Basse Œuvre of Beauvais (French ''Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Basse-Œuvre de Beauvais''), is a church at the west end of
The Basse Oeuvre was built in the second half of the tenth century, and dedicated to St. Peter, the Virgin and St. John the Baptist.
Few sources allow an exact dating of the building. A text taken from an obituary in the cathedral dating from about 1635 indicate as master of works bishop Hervé, who died in 998 AD. However, Emile Shami, based on another anonymous manuscript source of the 17th century, suggested a date in the time of Bishop Hugh, predecessor of Hervé. Excavations and stratigraphic record support this second hypothesis.
Several fires over the centuries have ravaged the church, including two at the end of the eleventh century, one in the late twelfth century, and another in the early twelfth century. These fires caused premature aging of the monument. After the 1225 fire, the Basse Oeuvre's east end was cut off for construction of the new cathedral's chancel, completed in 1272. In 1510, more of its east end was cut off during building of the Gothic transept of the new cathedral, destroying the remains of the old Carolingian transept and its nave's three eastern bays. Finally, in the 16th century and early 17th century, three more bays were sacrificed to make room for two buttresses that support the west side of the cathedral transept under architect
"Ralph of Beauvais (fl. 1175)"
''Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics'' (Elsevier, 2005), vol. 10, p. 356. The building was restored in 1864 to 1867, but this restoration is often deemed too severe on the south side by art historians. The north side was free from restoration, and overlooks the cloister of the bishopric, whose west wing is dated to the eleventh century. The small device in re-used stone came from the ancient Gallic ramparts of the city. The wall window keystones are alternately bricks and tiles. Excavations showed a rebuilding of the facade of the Basse Oeuvre and additions resulting from fires in the eleventh century.
Google Earth view of Basse Oeuvre and Beauvais Cathedral
{{coord, 49.43276, N, 2.080822, E, type:landmark_source:enwiki, display=title Churches in Oise 10th-century churches in France Monuments historiques of Hauts-de-France
Beauvais Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais) is a Roman Catholic church in the northern town of Beauvais, Oise, France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Beauvais, Noyon and Senlis.
The cathedral is in ...
. Dating to the 10th century, it represents the Western end . It is the western end of a much longer church which had been Beauvais's cathedral, and was built in the form of a Roman basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
, a style which still characterized the Carolingian era.
The name Basse Œuvre ("Lower Work") dates from the 13th century, and distinguishes it from the Nouvel-Œuvre ("New Work"), the present 12th century Gothic cathedral.
It was classed as a historic monument in the list of 1840. Eglise de la Basse-Oeuvre The 21 archaeological digs of Émile Chami highlighted this monument.
History
The Basse Oeuvre was built in the second half of the tenth century, and dedicated to St. Peter, the Virgin and St. John the Baptist.
Few sources allow an exact dating of the building. A text taken from an obituary in the cathedral dating from about 1635 indicate as master of works bishop Hervé, who died in 998 AD. However, Emile Shami, based on another anonymous manuscript source of the 17th century, suggested a date in the time of Bishop Hugh, predecessor of Hervé. Excavations and stratigraphic record support this second hypothesis.
Several fires over the centuries have ravaged the church, including two at the end of the eleventh century, one in the late twelfth century, and another in the early twelfth century. These fires caused premature aging of the monument. After the 1225 fire, the Basse Oeuvre's east end was cut off for construction of the new cathedral's chancel, completed in 1272. In 1510, more of its east end was cut off during building of the Gothic transept of the new cathedral, destroying the remains of the old Carolingian transept and its nave's three eastern bays. Finally, in the 16th century and early 17th century, three more bays were sacrificed to make room for two buttresses that support the west side of the cathedral transept under architect Martin Chambiges
Martin Chambiges (1460 – 29 August 1532) was a French architect from Paris working in the flamboyant gothic style. His chief works are the transepts of Sens Cathedral (in 1494), of Senlis Cathedral, and of Beauvais Cathedral (1499), in addi ...
.
In the 12th century, the cathedral school
Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these ...
was famous under Ralph of Beauvais
Ralph of Beauvais (fl. 1142–1182) was an English grammarian and linguist.
Born in England, Ralph moved to France no later than 1140 to study under Peter Abelard, who died in 1142. Although he was largely forgotten by the end of the Middle Ages, ...
.L. Kaczmarek"Ralph of Beauvais (fl. 1175)"
''Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics'' (Elsevier, 2005), vol. 10, p. 356. The building was restored in 1864 to 1867, but this restoration is often deemed too severe on the south side by art historians. The north side was free from restoration, and overlooks the cloister of the bishopric, whose west wing is dated to the eleventh century. The small device in re-used stone came from the ancient Gallic ramparts of the city. The wall window keystones are alternately bricks and tiles. Excavations showed a rebuilding of the facade of the Basse Oeuvre and additions resulting from fires in the eleventh century.
Bibliography
*Carol Heitz, ''France pré-romane'', éd. Errance, 1987. *Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, ''Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle'', 1856. *E-J. Woillez, ''Archéologie des Monuments religieux de l'ancien Beauvoisis pendant la métamorphose romane'', 1839. *''L'Art du Haut Moyen-Age dans le nord-ouest de la France'', éd. Reineke-Verlag Greifswald, 1993. *''Histoire générale de l'art. L'art Médiéval'', t. 2, A.V., éd. Librairie Aristide Quillet, 1938. *Jean Hubert, Jean Porcher et W.F. Wolbach, ''L'Univers des formes. L'Empire carolingien'', éd. Gallimard, 1968. *''Picardie gothique'', réédition commentée d'extraits de ''La Bible de Pierre'', de John Ruskin, traduction de Marcel Proust, éd. Casterman / Les Provinciales, A.V., 1995. *San Bellet et Michel Marcq, ''Floraison gothique en Picardie'', éd. du Quesne, 1992. *''La Cathédrale Saint Pierre de Beauvais (Oise). Itinéraire du Patrimoine, Numéro 139'' uide touristique éd. par l'Association pour la Généralisation de l'Inventaire Régional en Picardie (AGIR-Pic.), 1997. *''Dictionnaire des églises de France, Belgique, Luxembourg, Suisse (t.IV-D)'', éd. Robert Laffont. *Gérard Denizeau (dir.), ''Histoire visuelle des Monuments de France'', éd. Larousse, 2003. *Anne Prache, ''Île-de-France romane'', éd. Zodiaque, 1983. *Philippe Araguas, ''Architecture religieuse gothique. Diversités régionales'', éd. Rempart. *Jean Favier (dir.), ''Dictionnaire de la France Médiévale'', éd. Fayard, 1993. *Martine Plouvier, ''La Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais : architecture, mobilier et trésor'' *Marie-Claude Vernat Chami, ''L'Art roman dans l'Oise et ses environs asse-Œuvre de Beauvais'References
External links
Google Earth view of Basse Oeuvre and Beauvais Cathedral
{{coord, 49.43276, N, 2.080822, E, type:landmark_source:enwiki, display=title Churches in Oise 10th-century churches in France Monuments historiques of Hauts-de-France