Cathedral of Tours
Encyclopedia
Saint Gatien's Cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
church of the Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
diocese and the metropolitan cathedral of the Tours ecclesiastic province, in Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Saint-Gatien's Cathedral was built between 1170 and 1547. At the time construction began, it was located at the south end of the bridge over the Loire, on the road from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to the south-west of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It has been a classified Monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
since 1862.
History
The first cathedral of Saint-Maurice was built by Litorius (Lidoire), bishop of Tours from 337 to 371 (preceding St MartinMartin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
). Burnt in 561, it was restored by Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
and rededicated in 590. Its location, at the south-west angle of the castrum, as well as its eastern orientation, resulted in the original access being through the late-Roman surrounding wall (such a configuration is quite rare).
The cathedral was then rebuilt during the second quarter of the 12th century and again burnt in 1166 during the conflict between Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
and Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
(also count of Anjou, the neighboring region).
The present cathedral replaces the 13th century Romanesque building. The first phase concerned the south transept and the towers, as early as 1170. The chancel was rebuilt from 1236 to 1279 by Étienne de Mortagne but the nave took much longer to build. The architect Simon du Mans rebuilt the transept and started the nave, including six spans, aisle and chapel, built during the 14th century — the first two spans correspond to those of the old Romanesque cathedral and date back to the 12th century. The nave was only finished during the 15th century by architects Jean de Dammartin, Jean Papin and Jean Durand, thanks to the generosity of Charles VII
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
and the Duke of Brittany
Duke of Brittany
The Duchy of Brittany was a medieval tribal and feudal state covering the northwestern peninsula of Europe,bordered by the Alantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north with less definitive borders of the Loire River to the south and Normandy to the east...
Jean V.
While building the present cathedral, the nave was then extended westward and the towers surrounding its entrance were erected during the first half of the 16th century, the first tower in 1507 by Pierre de Valence 87 m high, and the second tower during 1534 and 1547 by Pierre Gadier. Highlighting the special feature of the building, called supra, the towers were erected outside of the old city. The late-Roman surrounding wall is visible in cross section at the rear of the towers from the north.
In 1356, the cathedral received its new name of saint Gatien. Its construction having been particularly slow, it presents a complex pattern of French religious types of architecture from the 13th century to the 15th. For example, the tower buttresses are Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
, the ornamentation generally is pure Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, and the tops of the towers are Renaissance (beginning of the 16th century).
Specifications
- Total length : 97 m
- Width : 28 m
- Height under vaults : 29 m
- Heigh of north tower : 87 m
Treasures
The organ, donated by Archbishop Martin de Beaune, was built by Barnabé Delanoue in the 16th century. One can also see, in the cathedral, the tomb of the children of Charles VIIICharles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
and Anne of Brittany
Anne of Brittany
Anne, Duchess of Brittany , also known as Anna of Brittany , was a Breton ruler, who was to become queen to two successive French kings. She was born in Nantes, Brittany, and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Eleanor of...
, who died as infants. This tomb, in Carrara marble, made by Girolamo da Fiesole, in the Italian style, and whose recumbent statues are reminiscent of 15th-century French medieval tradition (school of Michel Colombe
Michel Colombe
Michel Colombe was a French sculptor whose work bridged the late Gothic and Renaissance styles.Born in Bourges into a family of artisans, he was active in Tours. Colombe's surviving works all date from his old age. He created the gisant figures of the two deceased children of Charles VIII of...
), was kept since 1506 in Saint-Martin de Tours before being moved in 1834 to Saint-Gatien.
Environment
To the north of the cathedral is a small cloisterCloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
, also built during the Renaissance. This cloister is known as the cloître de la Psalette, in reference to its function as a school of psalms (religious chants). To the south of the cathedral is the former archbishop's palace, built in the early 18th century, which has now become the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours
The Musée des beaux-arts de Tours is located in the bishop's former palace, near the cathedral St. Gatien, where it has been since 1910...
.
Burials
- Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, Duke of Touraine, buried with his son, Sir James Douglas in the Choir, following the Battle of VerneuilBattle of VerneuilThe Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil in Normandy and was a significant English victory.-The black time:...
1424.