We can thus date the construction of the Romanesque
church to 959/60-1067. It seems that the single-vessel Romaneque nave, 16m
wide and 43m long, had a wooden roof and was divided into two almost equal
spaces by a screen. To the west was a central tower (collapsed in 1454). The
choir was formed of an apse some 13m wide and 13m deep. A tower with eastern
apsidal chapel (opening to the choir) was added on the south side of the
choir after the transfer of the house to Cluny: the lower two stories
survive but upper parts of the tower were demolished in 1808.
S-Martin-des-Champs then became one of the principal houses of the Cluniac
order, critical for relations with the Ile-de-France and England and mother
church of (by 1109) 17 dependent priories.
There are is no
textual evidence for the work of reconstruction on the choir: most
historians have placed it in the decade 1130-40 during the period of priors
Eudes I (1126-31), Mathieu II (1131-20 and Thibaud II (1132-43) at a time
the priory enjoyed the generosity of the kings of England as well as France.
Soon before his death in 1137 Louis VI established the celebration of his
anniversary in the priory. In 1121 Henry I of England established a similar
memorial celebration.
The nave of the church was rebuilt circa 1230 upon
the lower walls of the old nave.
Nearly all the monastic buildings were
replaced between 1702 and 1720. On the suppression of the priory in 1790 the
priory buildingss were distributed to the mairie of the VI. Arrondissement
and to the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers which transformed the church
into a museum. Extensive restoration and rebuilding was undertaken by
Vaudoyer c1850 and Deneux, 1913-16. Excavations undertaken that this time
revealed the southern apsical chapel of the older church. (
http://mappinggothic.org)
The reconstruction of the chevet of S-Martin-des-Champs, pre-dating the
work at S-Denis ... (
mappinggothic.org)
The nave of the church was rebuilt circa 1230 upon the lower walls of
the old nave.
Nearly all the monastic buildings were replaced between 1702 and 1720. On
the suppression of the priory in 1790 the priory buildingss were distributed
to the mairie of the VI. Arrondissement and to the Conservatoire des Arts et
Metiers which transformed the church into a museum. Extensive restoration
and rebuilding was undertaken by Vaudoyer c1850 and Deneux, 1913-16.
Excavations undertaken that this time revealed the southern apsical chapel
of the older church. (
mappinggothic.org)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Since there is no textual
evidence for the work of reconstruction of the Gothic choir with a double
ambulatory, why date it in the decade 1130-40?
Double ambulatories were not common in the middle of the 12th century.
Indeed, they are a rare feature in general and do not appear in drawings
until around 1220, when they featured in a choir design for an unknown
church by Villard de Honnecourt.
It is a mistake to
think that this choir had inspired Suger's choir of Saint-Denis!
See
Saint-Denis with a single ambulatory and apse chapels, not a double
ambulatory.
The choir of
Saint-Martin-des-Champs
was more likely built circa 1230, when the nave
of the church was rebuilt. (H. T.)
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