MONTMAJOUR

. The former Benedictine abbey of Montmajour (Bouches-du-Rhone) originally consisted of two churches, Saint-Pierre and Notre-Dame. Built at the end of the 10th century, only Saint-Pierre exists in its original form. Notre-Dame was reconstructed in the late 12th century, at which time the cloister, conventual buildings, and a chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross were also constructed. The abbey began to decay as early as the 14th century.

A rock-hewn edifice, Saint-Pierre offers an example of a primitive monastery. One of its most unusual features is a wooden cornice that trims the flat-stoned roof. A rectangular vestibule features barrel vaulting. Although structurally awkward, the nave is not devoid of harmony and el

Montmajour (Bouches-du-Rhone), abbey. Photograph courtesy of Whitney S. Stoddard.

Egance. It consists of three Romanesque bays, covered by a vault of different types of stone, that give way to a triumphal arch of the choir and an apse in cul-de-four. Twelve columns support foliated and interlaced capitals. Adorned with an interlaced pilaster, the corridor between the two chapels provides access to a cave in which, according to tradition, the first monks dwelled. In a recessed vault is a stone chair called the “Confessional of St. Trophimus,” (d. ca. 280), where the saint is said to have hidden during Roman persecution.

Because of the slope of the hillside, Notre-Dame has an upper church and a lower church on separate levels. With a polygonal-shaped exterior, Notre-Dame was rebuilt at the end of the 12th century, replacing an 11th-century structure. The crypt is composed of a vast transept with apsidioles and an apse surrounded by an ambulatory with radiating chapels. The apse has a rectangular bay with barrel vaulting. Quadrilobed in plan, the chapel of Sainte-Croix features a narthex, a high cupola, and vaulting in cul-de-four. One door carries an inscription that falsely attributes the construction of the chapel to Charlemagne.

E. Kay Harris

Benoit, Fernand. L’abbaye deMontmajour. Paris: Laurens, 1928.

Berenguier, R. Abbayes de Provence. Paris: Caisse Nationale des Monuments Historiques, 1960. Labande, L. H. “Abbaye de Montmajour.” Congres archeologique (Avignon) 76(1909):154-67. Villard, Andre. Art de Provence. Paris: Arthaud, 1957.