02C-abbaye de cluny EN_juin 2010 09/07/10 10:59 Page1
Visit
New technologies
Information
History
s
Visit
New technologies
Information
History
Visit
New technologies
s
Information
s
History
Visit
New technologies
Information
s
English
Glossary
Clerestory: row of windows in the wall of a
building.
Galilee: in the Cluniac rite, this space allowed
the monks to meet during certain feast days.
Lancet arch: a vault which, unlike the round
arch, meets in a point at the top.
Maior Ecclesia: a Latin name meaning “the
biggest church”.
Oratory: a place for private prayer.
Plainsong: unison singing which follows the
rhythm of the words.
Round arch: a semicircular arch.
Side aisle: side aisle of a nave.
Transept: the crosswise part of a church which
crosses the main nave at a right angle.
Triforium: a passage running above the large
arcades and opening onto the inside of the nave.
Practical information
Average length of visit: 2 hours.
Guided tour.
Tours are suitable for disabled visitors.
The Centre des monuments nationaux publishes a collection
of guidebooks about French monuments, translated into several
languages. Éditions du patrimoine publications are on sale
in the bookshop-giftshop.
Centre des monuments nationaux
Abbaye de Cluny
71250 Cluny
tél. 03 85 59 15 93
fax 03 85 59 82 00
www.monuments-nationaux.fr
crédits photos Cluny, musée d’Art et d’Archéologie (musée Ochier). dessin J.-D. Salvèque, Centre d’études clunisiennes. conception Plein Sens, Anders. réalisation beau fixe. traduction Caractères et cætera. impression Stipa, juillet 2010.
History
Some of the houses were built against the
enclosure wall with the help of builders from the
abbey, and thus are of very high quality.
The facades of the Romanesque houses can be
recognised by their large arcade on the ground
floor and a clerestory* on the first floor.
Remains in the town
15 Saint Hugh’s stables housed guests and their
mounts.
16 Jean de Bourbon’s palace was built in the 15th
century as a residence for Abbot Jean de
Bourbon. It houses the art and archaeology
museum and presents sculpted works from
Cluny III, medieval town houses and liturgical
furniture. A large model shows the town in its
heyday in the 13th century.
17 The narthex of Cluny III was added after 1130
in front of its facade. It was designed as a large
vestibule for solemn entrances. Its gate was
flanked by two towers called Barabans of which
the lower part remains. Like the nave, its
structure included large arcades, the remains
of which consist in the bottoms of some pillars,
a triforium* and one level of high windows.
Excavations have shown the presence of a large
number of lay persons’ graves.
18 The 12th-century gate of honour, of which
two round arch* arcades remain, provided
access to the great abbey church, the abbots’
palaces and gardens.
19 The national stud was built in part on the
destroyed choir area of Cluny III. Napoleon I’s
first stallions arrived in 1807 and the first
stables were built from 1814 onwards.
*Explanations overleaf.
New technologies
Cluny Abbey
Reconstruction
A spiritual capital
In 2004, at the initiative of the Centre des
monuments nationaux, a 3D film was made
to reconstruct the inside of Cluny church: Maior
Ecclesia*. This was produced with the scientific
input of archaeologists and the technical
contribution of engineers from Ensam
(École nationale supérieure des arts et métiers),
located at the abbey since 1866.
Interpretation
The film presents the inside of Maior Ecclesia*
in the 15th century, on the basis of current
knowledge. The space is enhanced by lighting
effects. The film does not present any decorative
items, as the destruction of the church led to
the loss of all information about these, except for
the capitals in the choir which are on display
in the flour store. However, the images contained
in the film give an idea of the quality of the lost
decor.
Augmented reality
In addition to the 3D film reconstitution
of Cluny III, there is a series of screens along
the route of the tour. These use the principle of
augmented reality using CGI to show the parts
of the great church which have been destroyed.
The overall effect is one of a complete
monument.
*Explanations overleaf.
A thousand-year-old foundation
Western
facade of
Cluny III,
drawing
by J.-B.
Lallemand,
18th century
In 910, William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine,
founded an abbey under the patronage of Saint
Peter and Saint Paul,
accountable directly
to the Pope. The abbey
grew considerably until
the 12th century thanks
to abbots such as Odilo
and Hugh of Semur, who were later canonised.
Cluny was the mother house for over 1,000
monasteries and became the headquarters of the
largest monastic order in the West: the Cluniac
order.
Shadow and light
The Wars of Religion in the 16th century
hastened the abbey’s decline. Richelieu, who
was appointed abbot of Cluny, reformed the
abbey to bring it back to a stricter monastic life.
It was not until the 18th century that a
reconstruction programme restored the abbey
to something of its former glory.
The French Revolution
The dissolution of the monastic orders led to the
dispersion of the monks in 1791. Then in 1798,
the sale of the buildings as national property
marked the beginning of the dismantling of the
church. Preservation of the abbey ruins began
in 1821; it was listed as a historic monument
in 1862.
02C-abbaye de cluny EN_juin 2010 09/07/10 10:59 Page5
History
Visit
New technologies
Information
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Jacques d’Amboise Palace
1
2 34 6
5
Round tower
Fabry tower
7 8 9
10
19
16
18
12
AB
17
11
B
13
15
Mill tower
14
Cheese tower
A welcome desk
B shop
destroyed area
surviving area
There were several successive churches over the
first two centuries of the abbey’s existence.
The abbey church consecrated in 927 is known as
Cluny I; Cluny II refers to the one built from 981
onwards, while Cluny III, which was built from
1088 to 1130, was known as the Maior Ecclesia*
in its time. It is the remains of this church which
can be seen today.
1 Pope Gelasius’ palace was remodelled in the
17th century and again in the 19th, but its upper
level still dates back to 1300-1330 with
remarkable sculptures. Pope Gelasius II, having
been driven out of Rome, took refuge in Cluny
and died here in 1119.
Maior Ecclesia, a 3D film, provides a virtual tour
of Cluny III using high-definition CGI images.
2 The small cloisters feature sculpted remains
illustrating each of the major periods in the history
of Cluny - evidence of its constant artistic activity
from the 10th to the 17th centuries.
The cloisters were recreated in 2010.
3 The Galilee* passage linked the cloisters to the
Cluny III abbey church in the Middle Ages. It is
named after Cluny II, the 10th-century church, as
this was the site of part of its narthex, known as
the “Galilee”.
4 The Congregation courtyard runs along the
Cluny III gutter wall. The octagonal “Holy water”
bell tower sits atop the south wing of the great
transept*, and is the only remaining bell tower of
the original four of the Cluny III abbey church.
The top floor has a Lombard strip decor.
Cluny III abbey church
5 The great transept* gives an idea of the height
beneath the vaulting in Cluny III, with the highest
point of the nave standing 30 metres tall. It has
lancet arch* vaulting, and a cupola houses the bell
tower.
6 The nave has been reconstructed on an augmented
reality terminal with a mobile screen. There are
three levels: a level with large arcades topped by a
triforium* and large windows which opened above
the double side aisle*, to let in the light directly
from the outside.
7 The small transept*: Cluny III has a second
transept*, an exceptional feature, similar to an
earlier instance at Saint-Benoit-sur-Loire.
8 The chapels in the small transept* and choir
have been reconstructed on the augmented reality
terminal. They were used for the veneration
of relics and private masses celebrated by monks
who had been ordained as priests. The monks
offered hope of better protection against eternal
damnation through their constant prayers, which
is why lay people gave land to the abbey and
sought to be buried in its church.
9 The Jean de Bourbon chapel is named after the
abbot who had it built around 1460, at the very
end of the small transept*, in flamboyant Gothic
style. Its sculpted decor, which was defaced during
the Wars of Religion, was composed of a set of
statues of the apostles standing on sculpted bases,
akin to Old Testament prophets, illustrating the
link between the Old and New Testaments. This
burial chapel includes an oratory* fitted with a
fireplace, providing Jean de Bourbon with a
certain degree of comfort.
10 The cloisters, dating from the 18th century, were
for the most part built on the site of the Roman
cloisters and the Cluny II church. Their blend of
austerity and grandeur is typical of the reform of
the abbey implemented in the 17th century.
Buildings on the garden side
11 The 18th-century monastery buildings form a
U shape around the garden. Decorative items, such
as wrought iron balustrading on the balconies and
rocaille patterns on the window lintels, added an
additional degree of sophistication.
12 The 13th-century building was probably first
used as a workshop. It then served to store food,
with a vaulted cellar on the lower level and a
flour store upstairs. The roof timbers are original.
Eight capitals from the choir of Cluny III abbey
church have been arranged according to the
suggestion of Kenneth John Conant, in charge
of archaeological excavations from 1928 to 1950.
The iconography celebrates the liturgy uniting
man with God in plainsong* notes, and shows the
harmony which exists between music and the
universe, with the four seasons and the four winds.
A presentation of the European network of
Cluniac abbeys and old manuscripts in digital
format shows how economic power and artistic
influence went hand in hand.
The fortified enclosure
and monastic village
13 The fortified enclosure of the abbey included
defence towers such as the Mill tower and the
Cheese tower, the lower part of which dates back
to the 11th century.
14 The village grew as a result of the economic
activity created by the abbey, attracting a large
lay population.
*Explanations overleaf.