The treasures of Saint-Pierre church in Bommiers
And also
The tops
The church
It belonged to the church of Vouillon (Indre): a bull gave by pope Pascal II in 1115 mentioned it for the first time.
It dates back to the 12th century, with a portal restored in the middle of the 19th century by architect Dauvergne.
A church with plenty of treasures inside… let’s go!
Stalls
We have 45 stalls, coming from old Minims convent founded by Jacques de La Trémoille, lord of Bommiers: a convent located near the village.
They date back to the beginning of the 16th century.
On one of those stalls, we can see La Trémoille’s blazon (with eagles) but also Chabannes’ blazon, family of his wife: these stalls were given by the couple on the occasion of their wedding in 1511!
Each seat is separated by an armrest decorating with characters: monks reading a book, angels holding the Passion’s tools (a cross, a sponge, a spear)…
On the misericords, we have contorted heads, animals, even a fleur-de-lis.
A misericord? What’s this? The part of the stall where you can sit down, even if the seat is picked up, when the Mass was too long…
They were kept for old or sick monks, that’s why they called it misericord: well, have mercy for them!
At the end of the stalls, we have panelling with scenes: Temptation, Samson hitting a Philistine with a donkey’s jaw, Samson against the lion, David fighting Goliath.
Capitals
They date back to the 12th c. Besides the traditional decoration of leaves, lions on the corners, we have two nice scenes: Jesus Christ giving keys to saint Peter, with saint Paul holding a scroll; the sacrifice of Abraham with the angel trying to prevent him from immolating Isaac.
Look closer: you’ll see something different in those capitals... eyes!
The sculptor added leaden balls in the characters’ eyes: their black pupils seem alive!
Furniture
Except the stalls, we notice nice statues (16th and 17th c.) and a beautiful medieval basin made of stone.