Église Saint-Gilles

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

The first bishop of the commune, Agidius, who became Saint Gilles, was originally from Athens. He settled in the vicinity of Nîmes during the 7th century and founded a monastery which was the birthplace of the church. Arab invasions interrupted this construction and forced Agidius to take refuge in Orléans. Upon his return, after the victory of Charles Martel, the monastery was destroyed. After his death, the church, where his relics had been deposited, became the centre of a new monastery around which a town formed. The port of Saint-Gilles became, at the end of the 11th century, the meeting point of all pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. At this time, the monastery counted three churches, one of which was under the invocation of Saint Gilles. These buildings were demolished and their materials used to build a great basilica whose foundations were laid in 1116. Choir, transepts and portal belong to the second half of the 12th century. The troubles caused by the war against the Albigensians interrupted construction and the church remained unfinished. Secularized around the middle of the 16th century, the monastery suffered from the Wars of Religion during which Catholics and Protestants disputed its possession. The church, transformed into a fortress, withstood several sieges. In 1622, the Duke of Rohan, general of the reformed churches of Languedoc, ordered its demolition, but the order was only partly executed (fragment of the old choir preserved). The Revolution completed the demolition. Nothing remains of the building except part of the underground church and the west portal. Three doors compose it. A frieze with biblical subjects unites these three openings. The trumeaux which separate the two lateral doors from the great door are decorated with niches furnished with statues representing the apostles. The name of the sculptor Brunus is engraved at the back of the niche which shelters the statue of Saint Jude. Traces of painting still remained on the statues in the 19th century. Graffiti cover two columns of the façade (sailing galley; birds; tracings; armed warriors; illegible characters; perhaps a representation of Saint Louis wearing a crown with three leaves). These graffiti are perhaps the work of crusaders who came to Saint-Gilles in 1270.