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Cathédrale St-Lazare, Autun (Burgundy)

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The Cathedral St-Lazare in Autun is reached through a beautiful road west from Beaune - firstly through "Premier Cru" country then rolling farmland. 

The Cathedral was built between 1120 and 1146, the intention being to have a great church (it was not then the cathedral) that would house the relics of St Lazarus (brother of Mary Magdalene) which the town had obtained in the late 900s, and thus become a focal point for pilgrims that would generate the same sort of moolah as that enjoyed by neighbouring Vézelay where Lazarus's sister was (claimed to be).  The church was consecrated by Pope Innocent II in 1130.

More photos of Gislebertus' Tympanum (1130-35) and the west Portal and its Capitals

Gislebertus' "Temptation of Eve" which is in the Musée Rolin near the Cathédrale

The present cathedral exterior (top photo) is dominated by gothic structures put up after a fire in the late 1400s, but when you walk around to the central doorway you come face to faces with the first of the great surviving examples of  Romanesque sculpture in Europe.  Created (and, unusually, signed) by Gislebertus, who had previously worked at Vézelay, the tympanum (above) and its surrounds are awe inspiring. 

The existence of this masterpiece today is mainly down to the canons of 1766, who decided that the carvings were mediocre and childish, and covered everything in a thick layer of plaster adorned with unchildish decorative motives that looked so ordinary that nobody bothered with them in the French angry years between 1786 and 1834.  During this time the  unprotected tympanum of the north doorway and the tomb of Saint Lazarus were both destroyed.  In 1837 another canon was passing the time of day chipping away the plaster, when he discovered the almost perfectly preserved original tympanum underneath.

Inside the cathedral, the Romanesque style is retained in the nave and aisles, and when your eyes have adjusted to the gloom, you will start to see the second of the cathedral's Romanesque glories, the carved capitals.   Some of the better capitals were removed during an earlier remodel of the nave, and can now be seen in the upstairs chapter house.

It is also essential to visit the nearby the Musée Rolin and in particular Gislebertus' "Temptation of Eve" (above) which was rescued from the lintel of the cathedral's north door.

Musée Rolin and Gislebertus' Eve

Medieval Narrative Capitals in the Chapter House

Medieval Narrative Capitals in the Nave

These are the Gemini Twins (Les Gémeaux) - one of 27 medallions or roundels depicting the signs of the zodiac and typical seasonal activities, which are located in a semi-circle in the outer archivolt around the tympanum.

Links to close-ups of all the Zodiac and seasonal activity roundels

January to May

June top December

Link to more photos of the medieval narrative capitals in the nave

Link to capitals in the chapter house

Labours of the Months and Signs of the Zodiac - Details of the Outer Archivolt Medallions

January to May (left hand side)     -     June top December (right hand side)

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All original material © Adrian Fletcher 2000-08 - The contents may not be hotlinked, or reproduced without permission.