Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste

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 villa or parish of Saint-Jean de Murviel is mentioned in 1031 and 1122 in the documents of the abbey of Gellone. The bishops of Maguelone became the sole lords of Murviel from the 13th century until the Revolution. They had a fortified residence built there. The oldest part is probably the fortified gate, seemingly a vestige of the defences constructed in the 12th century. The church appears somewhat later despite its Romanesque features. Built towards the end of the 12th century, it was then connected to a first château-fort of which only a few beginnings remain, contemporary with the chevet. Also on the side of the chevet, some arcades from the 14th century recall the existence of a promenade gallery, a type of cloister gallery. The vaults of the church also date from the 14th century. A discordance between the north and south facings of the nave shows that it was extended towards the west probably in the 18th century. The sanctuary is vaulted on diagonal arches which rest on engaged little columns, furnished with small sculpted capitals. These capitals are linked by a band forming a cornice, decorated with dentils. The triumphal arch rests on engaged semi-circular pillars, with large capitals. On the outside, the polygonal chevet is pierced by five round-arch windows, with triple moulding. At the angles of the cut corners, rectangular lesenes support little columns with sculpted capitals. These arches support the upper part of the facings of the cut corners. This superstructure, higher than the interior vault of the sanctuary, suggests a fortified raising but carried out at the same time as the entire elevation of the chevet. On the north side of the chevet, a thicker mass with staircase stoppers and arches, represents the vestiges of the old fortified château. There must have been a passage there between the church and the primitive château. The primitive bell tower was located at the north-west angle before the extension of the church towards the west. This tower presents an exterior projection and is probably contemporary with the other fortifications of the 14th century.