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Aude
A brief history...
In the VIth century, the first bishop of Carcassonne instigated the construction of a chapel (which later became his tomb) on the rocky outcrop overlooking Le Lauquet. The abbey which replaced it in the VIIIth century was first dedicated to the famous Saint-Saturnin or Sernin, a martryed bishop from Toulouse, then placed under the patronage of Hilaire when his remains were discovered. Protected by the counts of Carcassonne, the monastery enjoyed considerable influence in the region up to the XIIIth century. Little by little, epidemics and wars decreased the monastery's resources and there were fewer and fewer monks. It was transformed into a parish church in 1758.
It should be said that we owe the oldest effervescent wine in the world to the monks of Saint-Hilaire, for in 1531 they invented Blanquette de Limoux
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Saint Hilaire abbey |
Romanesque treasures
Transformed over many centuries, the current church dates back to the XIIIth century. Originally covered with wooden rafters, its three naves were in 1257 covered with Gothic-style ribbed vaults. The remarkable Romanesque treasure of this abbey is the sarcophagus, sculpted in the XIIth century by the mysterious Maître de Cabestany. The sarcophagus is made of a single block of white Pyrenean marble two metres long. 30 cm of marble separate the inner cavity from the outside.
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More than a mere tomb, this sarcophagus is a shrine enclosing one of Saint-Hilaire's arms and his red silken belt. Three sides show the arrest, martyrdom and burial of Saint Sernin, dragged through the streets of Toulouse by a wild bull. The beast is ready to start, a goad sticking out of its rump. The animal head between the legs of each persecutor depicts the person's brutality. Full of life, both realistic yet mystical, this magnificent work was the abbey's main altar.
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Maître de Cabestany
This mysterious sculptor of the XIIth century owes his name to a small village east of Perpignan, where he decorated the church with a fascinating tympanum. An anonymous, nomadic artist, the Master and his workers have left their mark on numerous monuments from Roussillon to Navarre. Casting aside the search for realism sought by Roman sculptors, Maître de Cabestany's stocky characters with their enormous hands and protuberant eyes animate his stonework with a power and savagery that sets his work apart.
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Romanesque art
