Si vous vous trouvez dans l’église de Baugy, des feuillets sont disponibles près de l’entrée. Contenant les mêmes explications que cette page, ils vous guideront pour découvrir notre beau monument.
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Introduction
The choir of the 12th century Romanesque church was replaced in the 15th century by a more spacious choir with a cross-ribbed vault, illuminated by large, flamboyant windows, with chapels to the north and south, forming a transept. The south chapel features a stately chimney. These transformations were made by the Bar family, who had recently settled in Baugy, and whose coat of arms can be seen in several places in the building.
The bell tower was built north of the nave. Its spire has a timber framework.
All that remains of the Romanesque church is a beautiful serrated portal, which is today walled up.
The west door, which was opened up at the end of the 15th century, shows the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity.
The statues representing Faith and Hope were restored in the 16th century.
In 2023, identical copies were made by the Baugy sculptor, Paul Natter. These copies have been placed outside, where the originals used to be, and the originals are now inside for conservation purposes.
The tympanum
Saint Martin, who at the time was a Roman officer, gave half of his coat to a pauper. The following night, Christ appeared to him in a vision, wearing the half of his coat he had given.
This took place in the year 334 when he, as a Roman soldier and catachumen, desired nothing more than to be a Christian and to live in retreat and prayer. Yet he had to wait several more years before being able to devote himself entirely to God, to the poor, and to the evangelisation of Gaul. Appointed Bishop of Tours in 370/371, out of no desire of his own, he founded the monasteries of Ligugé and Marmoutier. He was also responsible for the organization of the Church into parishes.
Stained glasses
Stained glass window: Saint Martin’s mass
Centre window: by Lobin of Tours
Saint Martin of Tours was born in the Roman Empire in Savaria (present-day Hungary) in 316 and died in Candes, in Gaul, on November 8th 397. He is one of the major Christian saints and the most well-known bishop of Tours.
This window represents Saint Martin’s mass. A priest, dressed in magnificent liturgical apparel, is celebrating the Eucharist. Those present around the altar are mostly monks, their faces and attitudes expressing astonishment, admiration and amazement. One of them is holding the bishop’s mitre and staff. Another is holding a cross. A red circle can be seen above the saint’s head.
Stained glass window: Saint James
By J. Le Breton of the Chaufour workshop in Bourges in 1957/1958
James the Greater, son of Zebedee
He is holding a scallop shell (Saint James shell in French) in his his left hand. His open mouth and his raised right hand indicate he is teaching.
He and his brother John the Evangelist, both fishermen on the Sea of Galilee (that is the Sea of Tiberias), were called by Jesus at the beginning of His public ministry and were present at the Transfiguration.
James was the first apostle to be martyred.
After preaching the Gospel for some time in Spain, he returned to Judea.
After being arrested and sentenced to beheading on the orders of Herod Agrippa, he healed a paralytic on the way to his execution. Josiah, who was leading him, witnessed this miracle, was converted, and beheaded also.
He was buried in Compostelle, and numerous miracles took place on his tomb, which became an important place of pilgrimage.
Stained glass window: Saint Louis
by the Jurie workshop of Bourges
This stained glass window was a gift from the family of Captain Louis Pion, who died in the service of his country on October 30th 1918 at Bienne-sur-Aisne.
It shows the king standing, dressed in a white tunic bearing the red Crusader’s cross.
King Louis (1215 to 1270) was the son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile. He ascended the throne in 1226 at the age of 12. His religious education was strongly influenced by the spirituality of the mendicant orders. In spite of his harshness towards the Cathars and the Jews, he was noted by his contemporaries for his spirit of justice and charity, and for his very pious life.
He participated in the seventh crusade, and died of the plague in 1270. He built the Sainte Chapelle in Paris to house the crown of thorns. He was canonized in 1297.
The lower medallion shows two soldiers from World War I, praying in front of a statue of Joan of Arc in a church in ruins. One of them is wounded.
A cartouche bears the inscription “In memory of Captain Louis Pion”.
Stained glass window: Saint Madeleine
By the Jurie Workshop of Bourges, 1921
The saint is standing, dressed in a long white robe. A large veil covers her head, and her long hair is loose. Her attitude is one of disarray, her head bent down, her gaze lowered; she is wringing her hands in repentance.
Mary of Magdala (Magdala is a Palestinian town close to the Sea of Galilee). Mary Magdala is called Mary Magdalena, then Mary Magdalene. Amongst those close to Jesus, she was the sister of Martha and Lazarus.
A sinner, she was delivered from seven demons by Jesus. She was present at the crucifixion, and it was she who discovered the empty tomb and whom Jesus told to announce His resurrection to the apostles.
Legend has it that she and Martha and Lazarus, as well as their servant Sarah, fled Palestine on a boat with no oars, coming ashore at Saintes-Marie-de-la-mer. She then retreated to a cave in Sainte-Baume close to Saint-Maximin in the Var.
In the lower medallion: the anointing at Bethany
All four evangelists narrate this scene, in which a woman anointed Jesus’ feet with a costly perfume, during a meal at a pharisee’s house.
Stained glass window: Sermon on the Mount
(In the choir) By the Jurie workshop of Bourges 1921.
This scene shows Jesus sitting at the top of a hill, speaking to the crowd gathered round Him. His disciples, standing, are listening attentively. In the foreground on the right, a soldier is asleep. On the left, several women are seated on the ground with a child.
Two passages in the gospels mention Jesus’ sermon: Luke (Ch 6 v20-29) situates the scene close to Capernaum, and Matthew Chapters 5-7.
The Sermon on the Mount is a teaching given by Jesus to His disciples and to a large crowd, and is narrated in Saint Matthew’s Gospel. It is thought that it took place at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry shortly after his baptism by John the Baptist, from the top of a mountain near the Sea of Galilee (Tiberias), overlooking Gennesaret, not far from Capernaum. This speech on moral issues, is the longest spoken teaching in the New Testament. Notably it includes the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer.
Stained glass window: the Annunciation
(In the chapel) By the Jurie workshop of Bourges in 1920
“Annunciation” refers to the announcement made by the Angel to Mary about her coming motherhood: she will give birth to the Saviour of the world, Jesus. The Catholic church celebrates the Annunciation on March 25th.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called b the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Luc 1:26-38 (https://www.bible.com)
Stained glass window: Saint Bernadette
(In the nave) by the Jurie workshop of Bourges in 1934
Bernadette is shown kneeling in front of the Massabielle Grotto on the far side of the Gave. At the top of the window can be seen the basilica of Lourdes.
Bernadette was born in Lourdes on January 7th 1844. Her family fell on hard times during her childhood. She survived the cholera epidemic, but remained in frail health. At the age of fourteen, between February 11th and July 16th 1858, she received eighteen apparitions of the Virgin Mary, who revealed her name to her in local dialect: ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’.
She asked that a chapel be built and that processions be made to it. She also caused a spring to flow.
Desiring to devote herself to a religious life, she joined the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, arriving at the Mother House in July 1866. For thirteen years she spent her life humbly, in seclusion, and in the service of others. She died on April 16th 1879 at the age of 35.
Her body can be seen at the chapel of the Saint-Gildard convent in Nevers.
Stained glass window: Saint Margaret of Antioch
by J. Le Breton of the Chaufour workshop, Bourges, 1957
The saint is shown standing, holding a martyr’s palm in her right hand, and her left hand leaning on the spear with which she slayed the dragon lying at her feet. Her left foot is on the dragon.
A citizen of Antioch, she was baptized at a very early age, provoking the hatred of her father.
At the age of fifteen, while keeping sheep with her companions, she was noticed by the prefect Olibrius, who desired to marry her or have her as his concubine. She refused to worship pagan gods in spite of threats, and she was horribly tortured. Whilst in prison she encountered the devil. After more torments, she was finally beheaded.
Do not miss
The arches
the choir were built around 1856 and replaced by a wooden arch. In 1963 work was carried out by Mr Lucien Bezet, a carpenter-joiner in Baugy.
Christ on the Cross
In polychrome wood, from the 17th century (IMH 18/01/1978)
Saint Bishop
In polychrome wood, from the 17th century (IMH 18/01/1978
Saint John the Baptist
In polychrome wood, from the 18th century (IMH18/01/1978)
Saint John the Baptist, last prophet and forerunner, baptized Jesus in the Jordan.
The doors
Three of the five church doors are today walled up. Each one served a particular purpose.
Originally, the south door was the most probable entrance. You can see where it was on the outside wall.
The Romanesque style door in the wall of the nave served as the entrance before the work done in the 15th century.
The door of death in the north wall gave direct access to the cemetery, just behind the church, until 1832.
The door of the Bar family chapel can still be seen on the gable end of the south chapel. Unfortunately its decoration has been badly damaged.
Angels bearing coats of arms
Two angels carrying banners are located below the statues of Faith and Hope, on either side of the west portal.
Four angels bearing coats of arms support the cross vaults in the transept. On one of them, you can make out the design of the Bar family coat of arms.
Four angels are present on either side of the Virgin in majesty on the bas-relief, in the lower bell tower room (not visible).
The south chapel
Created around 1496 by the De Bar family
In 1445, Jean De Bar, chamberlain of Charles VII, then of Louis XI, Bailiff of Touraine and friend of Jacques Coeur, bought the land of Baugy and other places. For 150 years the De Bar family had a profound impact on the history of Baugy. Their coat of arms, with its gold, silver and azure stripes, is present in the church.
There is a hearth and a door (now walled up) which gave direct access outside. The big window of the 15th century no longer has its original stained glass. It has been replaced by a work to the glory of the Virgin Mary (since then the patron saint of the chapel)
Fragments of tombstones were found among the paving stones in the church around 1803 and have been placed against the west wall of the chapel. They are badly damaged and the incomplete inscriptions are difficult to read.
Inscriptions de fondation
In the nave, on the south wall, above the credence table of an altar which no longer exists, an inscription:
On the left slab you can make out a bust with the beginning and end of the epitaph. It is very probably one of Robert de Bar’s sons
CY GIST NICOLAS DE B…
A LE XI DE JUILLET L4AN MIL CCCCLXXI
PRIEZ DIEU POR LUY.
On the right, on another slab, two coats of arms and:
CY GIST DAMOISELLE KATERINE DE LA MARCHE
FILLE DE FEU FRAN… MIL CINQ CENT TRENTE VIII
PRIEZ POR ELLE
At the entrance to the chapel on the right hand wall, Robert de Bar’s epitaph:
Cy git noble home Robert de bar Ci- git noble homme Robert de Bar
En son viuant seigneur de baugy et de la de son vivant seigneur de Baugy et de
Guierce eschancon du Roy loys Qui Guersche échanson du roi Louis qui
Trespassa le neufyesme jour de december trépassa le 9 décembre 1498
Lan mil CCCCIIII xx et XVIII
Virgin in majesty
Bas-relief in limestone, 15th century
The central scene shows a Virgin crowned in majesty, holding the child Jesus on her knees, seated on a throne, surrounded by four angels, and accompanied by a patron, or patron saint.
Below a delicate, decorative blind arcade, ogee arches delimit three spaces, each with a group of people.
In the centre, a woman faces forward. Her feet are resting on a cushion, and she is sitting on a monumental carved chair. The seat cushion is shown in perspective. She was no doubt holding a child on her right knee. Her slightly wavy hair hangs loose on her shoulders. She was wearing a crown. Her dress has a close-fitting bodice, a draped belt around the waist, and a long, full skirt. On her shoulders she wears a coat which covers her knees, and creates folds on reaching the ground. At her feet, on the left, a man is sitting on a stool. He is carrying an almoner’s purse on his belt. On either side of the seat back, two angels are holding phylacteries (scrolls). They are slightly smaller than the other characters, and their wings are finely sculpted.
The two side compartments are organized symmetrically with four characters facing forward, all sitting on one seat, the back of which has the same design as the chair in the central scene. Their feet are resting on cushions. Their clothes indicate they are important people.
On the left, there is a woman accompanied by three men; one has a long beard; the one on the right is an ecclesiastic, his left hand beneath a lace-edged scapular, and his right hand resting on a parchment on his knees. A child stands at the woman’s feet. On the right there are two couples; the woman on the left is accompanied by two children, the one on the right by three children, as well as a baby on her lap. One child is playing with a dog. In each compartment, the characters on the sides are slightly facing inwards, indicating that each group is independant, and has no apparent connexion with the central scene.
Autre dalle funéraire
Another funerary slab can be found outside the chapel, on the south wall of the nave, near the small door.
Immediately below is an alcove, where there would have been a statue, and which was probably created after the positioning of the slab. In effect, the ogee arch at the top of the alcove, hides the middle of the last four lines of the funerary inscription.
A second slab, of the same stone, but much narrower, is juxtaposed against the central slab, and continues the text if the inscription. On the other side, an identical slab bears no inscription.
Here is the text of the main slab with french modernized spelling.
L’an mil IIIc IIIIxx et dix (1490) le premier
Jour de juillet trespassa damoyselle
Jehanne Conigant en son vivant
Femme jacques de Bar escuyer bastard de
Baugy qui pour son salut son ame et
De la deffunte a fonde perpetuel tous
Les samedis soir un salut
Qui commenc(era ?) … inviolata et
Concede nos a haulte voix
De profundis… fidelium a basse
Voix devant… Notre dame
On the second slab can be seen the rest of the salutation: a bell shall be rung and for this four pounds of wheat flour given (…) and two hens (witnesses) “colas Chartier and Guillaume de la Bergerie, parish of Couy”
Baptismal font
At the back of the church, near the entrance. Baptisms were performed here.
The stone basin on its pedestal is covered by a painted wooden canopy in the neo-classical style. Also to be noted are the stoup of holy water and the statue of Saint John the Baptist.
Stations of the Cross
Fourteen rectangular glazed terracotta panels show the main scenes of Christ’s passion.
Gallery
was built in 1852 on the order of Monsieur de la Mardière for children and the workers of the juvenile detention centre in Baugy (La loge)
Confessional
This functional booth is used for the sacrament of reconciliation (or penitence).
In the centre, the priest, who is seated in one side, can close two shutters over wooden grids, through which he hears the confessions of penitents in their turns.
Pulpit
A raised platform surrounded by a balustrade, accessed by steps, and with a ciborium or canopy over the top, for acoustic purposes. Its position more or less in the middle of the church enabled the priest to make himself heard. There is a dove, the Holy Spirit, above the orator.
Stoup of holy water
The stoup, placed near the west door, was carved out of a sculpted capital from the former church in Villabon.