Misericords S

Saint-Martin-aux-Bois, Picardy, France

Abbey of Saint-Martin-aux-Bois

Built in the 13th century, the Abbey is a very striking building: the 27 meter vault gives an impression of scale emphasised by the flat Picardy landscape, substantially free of the woods that gave the village its name.

Internally, the apse has seven stained-glass windows that rise to the top of the building amplifying this effect of elevation and intensifying the brightness of the building.

Although classified as a historical monument in 1840, the building is in a dire state:

The 7 bays of the apse are also deteriorating considerably, as are the mullions which weaken the entire building, making a large-scale intervention urgent. The municipality of Saint-Martin-aux-Bois has launched an appeal for the restoration of the majestic stained-glass windows of its abbey.

Picardy Stalls Association has been founded to promote, enhance, and preserve the church of Saint-Martin-aux-Bois and its furnishings, choir stalls, murals, stained-glass windows.

The Misericords

There are two rows of misericords on each side of the apse, the left being more northern than the right. I use the same scheme for identification of stalls as the detailed guide by the Picardy Stalls Association, numbering the misericords away from the camera with H for the higher back row and L for the lower front row, N for north on the left and S for south, on the right.

The carvings predominantly seem to represent proverbs and improving mottos.

North Higher (back) Row

NH1

This is God and the devil creating woman with stonemason’s tools.

NH2

NH3

This pious woman is taking on the devil with a saw.

NH4

North Lower (front) Row

NL1

This man is apparently trying to put a shoe on a duck, a proverbially misconceived enterprise.

NL2

NL3

This carving of a woman stroking a cat sleeping on the edge of a well was created by the cabinetmaker who restored the stalls in 2002.

NL4

Sources: Fondation du Patrimoine; Picardy Stalls Association;

Seville, Andalusia, Spain

Seville Cathedral

This photograph by Rafael Garzon (qv)

Iglesia Colegial del Divino Salvador

The Collegiate Church of the Divine Saviour is a Catholic church in Seville, located in the square of the same name . It occupies the site of a mosque built in the ninth century and demolished in 1661. The base of the old minaret from the Caliphate period can be seen at the foot of the bell tower. It was the main mosque in the city until 1182 and was Christianised under Ferdinand III after the conquest of Seville in 1248. In the 15th century it became a collegiate church as a result of which the choir came to have wooden stalls. Between 1512 and 1514 a new choir was built. The church deteriorated over time, falling below street level to the extent that it was necessary to go down about 20 steps to enter. In 1671 it was demolished and the current Baroque church was built by Leonardo de Figueroa between 1674 and 1712. The church stands out because of its gilded woodcraft, a beautiful main altar and numerous frescos.

In the Sacristy there are eleven seats attributed to “José and Felipe González” and dated 1790. According to a detailed assessment by Antonio Martín Pradas in 2003, these are José Gabriel González and Felipe González Lobera and they were paid 540 reales de vellón. This was Castilian unit of count equivalent to 1/20 of the 8 real coin, also known as the duro. The misericords are made of mahogany, cypress and Flanders pine. The seats are 64 by 41 by 53 cm.

Pradas describes the images as “Anthropomorphic masks” and, indeed, they have something of the Comedia del Arte. In 1861 the choir was moved down the central nave to the foot. The 1865 inventory notes that part of the choir stalls had been reused for the new choir, so there were a number of stalls that were moved to San Andrés parish, where thirteen upper backs and four stalls are preserved.

Sources: wikipedia Church of the Saviour; Laboratorio de Arte, 16-2003 El Conjunto Coral de la Iglesia Colegial y Parroquia Del Divino Salvador De Sevilla (1512-2003): Sillería De Coro, Facistol Y Órgano 1 • Por Antonio Martín Pradas Art Laboratory, 16-2003 The Choral Ensemble of the College Church and Parish of the Divine Saviour Of Seville (1512-2003): Choir Stalls, Facistol And Organ 1 Antonio Martín Pradas Seville choir stalls: Analysis and evolution. Unpublished doctoral thesis, defended on February 6, 2002, with a unanimous grade of Outstanding Cum Laude.