. Montmorillon (Vienne) is located on the Gartempe River in Poitou. La Hire (ca. 13901443), companion-in-arms to Jeanne d’Arc, received the seigneurie of Montmorillon from Charles VII on January 7, 1438, and was originally buried here.
In 1093, the bishop of Poitiers gave the chapel of Notre-Dame to the abbey of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe. The crypt of the church constructed later houses a 13th-century Romanesque fresco that some sources claim to be the first representation of St. Catherine’s “mystical marriage” to Christ. Others contend that it represents the intercession of the Virgin Mary on behalf of the church. Modifications of this second theme since its first appearance in the 9th century, and a representation of the legend of St. Catherine at Alexandria, would then be the causes for the confusion between the two themes.
A 12th-century frieze on the western front of the church of Saint-Laurent, formerly the abbey church of the Augustinian canons, shows the Childhood of Jesus. The most remarkable of the scenes is the Flight into Egypt, in which the Holy Family is trailed by James, who was, according to apocryphal sources, the son of Joseph from an earlier marriage.
The Octogone and Maison-Dieu of Montmorillon were both begun in the first quarter of the 12th century. The Octogone was originally constructed to serve as a sepulchral chapel. At the end of the century, a second chapel was built above it, and the first was all but abandoned, being used for an ossuary.
Kristen E. Sukalec
Duprat, Clemence-Paul. “La peinture romane en France.” Bulletin monumental 102(1943-44):7-12.
Grosset, Charles. “La Maison-Dieu de Montmorillon.” Congres archeologlque (Poitiers) 109(1951):192-206.
Thibout, Marc. “Notre Dame de Montmorillon.” Congres archeologlque (Polders) 109(1951):207-19.
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