Avant de passer de ce monde à son père, Jésus disait à ses disciples : « c’est la paix que je vous laisse, c’est ma paix que je vous donne ; ce n’est pas à la manière du monde  que je vous la donne.  Ne soyez donc pas bouleversés et effrayés.  Comme le Père m’a aimé, moi aussi je vous ai aimés.  Demeurez dans mon amour.  Si vous êtes fidèles à mes commandements, vous demeurez dans mon amour.  Mon commandement, le voici : Aimez-vous les uns les autres comme je vous ai aimés.  Il n’y a pas de plus grand amour que de donner sa vie pour ses amis. » 

Le Manoir du Parc à Saint-Lô-d'Ourville is a souvenir of rural life in the Cotentin during the 15th and 16th centuries.  Its architecture presents a variety of elements which have come to symbolize the power of a lord in a feudal society complete with stately manor house, chapel, dovecote, moats, defensive towers, a mill and cider house all grouped around a large courtyard.  In 1998, owner Valentin Giard bought the manor house and surrounding lands with plans to completely renovate and restore the ruinous state of the buildings.  He served as our guide and showed us this remarkable piece of cultural heritage.   He was well versed in the manor’s history and lineage.  Before the annexation of Normandy by the French king Philippe Auguste in 1204, the fief and fort on this site belonged to the Aubigny family.  The king had the castle and fort demolished and gave the fief to the Argence family who constructed a manor house that was passed down to the succeeding lords of Criqueboeuf, d’Argouges and Clamorgan.  In the 15th century, the manor then passed to the family of La Rivière and, by succession, to that of Thieuville for almost one hundred years until the marriage of Marie de Thieuville and François de Pierrepont.  The Pierrepont family were the lords of the manor until 1711.  After that, it went to Jean Antoine de Thère and finally to Barnabe d’Osmond Medavy.  The last lord was Adolphe de Mauconvenant, a chevalier and marquis of Sainte-Suzanne.  He died in 1829 in Valognes.  After entering the property through the large welcoming hall, which has an amazing wood beam roof structure, one enters the main courtyard.  To the right are three buildings that served specific purposes during feudal times.  The old charretterie / wagon house is remarkable for its two walled arcades which rest on pillars topped with square capitals.  Its location, near the monumental gate opening on the court, allowed people living outside of the mansion to deposit their royalties without having to enter the precincts.   Beside the charreterrie is the old chapel, which dates to around 1450.  It is rectangular in form with its own small bell tower built into the wall.  The remains of a window with fine stone tracery can be seen in one of the walls.  Over time the functions of the chapel were lost (perhaps during the French Revolution) and the building was adapted for agricultural use.  To the left of the chapel is a newer building that also served as a carriage house and stable.  The manor house stands proudly within the courtyard surrounded by defensive towers that overlook the moat allowing for a stronger defense of the property and recalls the power and social status of the lord of the fief.  Rectangular in shape, the main part of the manor house is divided in two parts by two interior walls that rise to three levels accessed by a spiral staircase beginning at the main entrance.  The first part of construction began around 1480.  Reached by the stairs of the outside tower is a great room with a cellar topped with an upper room adjoining the western part of the building.  The great room was an important element of life in the manor as it served a variety of functions both official and ceremonial.  The room was often used to hear court cases where the lord served as judge and dispensed justice.  Royalties to the lord were also paid here.  More often than not, it was a place for socializing, accessible to all and where banquets and parties were held.  The large beams that made up the upper floors are all that remain allowing the visitor to look up and see the large stone fireplaces that would have heated each room.  The second phase of construction began in the late 16th and early 17th centuries when mullioned windows were added as well as a straight staircase.  To the left is another smaller rectangular building of two levels.  It is divided internally by a central bearing wall and originally included a wine cellar and bakery with access by an outside staircase.  Some researchers believe that this building could have served as a private area reserved for the lord alone, elevated and separated from the great room.  This was a traditional practice for lords in the Cotentin region during the 15th and 16th centuries.  In the southwest corner of the part of the manor is a small tower called an échauguette which overlooks the moat and once served as a watchtower.  Beside it, imbedded in the wall, are the niches of the former colombier / dovecote.  It was the privilege of a lord to own and raise pigeons as a sign of his rank and social superiority.  At the back of the manor house one can see the remains of defensive towers with splayed windows to aid in defending the property as well as an opening over the moat which once served as a drawbridge.  The pressoir / cider house was one of the first buildings to be renovated by the current owner and now serves as a private residence for his mother.  Other elements within the prerogative of the lord of the manor were the mill and the fishpond.  The mill wheel was driven by the overflow of the moat, itself dependent on a particularly abundant source (a stream which runs through the property).  Downstream, a pool would form allowing for a fishpond.  The pond not only offered fish for the lord’s dinner table but a place where ducks, geese and other birds could nest before they too were added to the menu.

After visiting the windmills at Besneville, our AVF group headed to the small town of Saint-Lô-d'Ourville where we were to have lunch at the restaurant "Au p'tit creux".  Before that, we had quite a surprise when we were given a guided tour of the parish church.  This church owes its patronage to Saint-Lô, the fifth bishop of Coutances during the 6th century.  Tradition says that when he was only 16 years old, he was appointed bishop by the people when they all cried out in unison, “Lô évêque ! Lô évêque !”  They did not say, “Vox populi, vox Dei” meaning (the voice of the people is the voice of God).  Therefore, an election took place in the year 525 and he held the post of Bishop of Coutances for nearly 40 years.  The origin of this parish church dates from the 11th century, but the construction that we see today dates from the 14th and 15th centuries.  The tower, with its gabled roof, is from the second half of 15th century while the rest of the building has been redesigned over the centuries.  The window above the altar came from the late 16th century, the Gothic arch of the entrance to the choir was enlarged and the rood beam above the sanctuary dates from the second half of the 18th century.  Long missing and forgotten, it was found in the attic of the sacristy in 1952 and in 1959 it was returned to its place between the chancel and the nave.  The crucifix attached to the rood beam is probably from the 16th century.  The main altar and its reredos come from the 17th century and refer to two scenes from the life of Saint-Lô: to the left, his ordination, to the right, the miracle of the bishop healing the eyes of a blind woman.  Statues of Saint-Lô and Saint John the Baptist can be found above the altar as well.  The nave, the choir and part of the transept belong to a period of transition from late Romanesque to early Gothic.  The chapel to the left of the nave has an exquisite limestone baptismal font and a stone statue of Saint-Sébastien.  In 1572, the arch of the entrance to the choir was enlarged and expanded to create the Chapel of the Virgin.  This beautiful stained glass window dedicated to Notre-Dame-des-Compagnes can be found in the Virgin’s Chapel.  There are also a number of fine statues here as well such as a small wood statue of Mary Magdalen from the 15th century as well as some older statues of Saint-Maur and Sainte-Barbe.  To the left of the transept is a statue to the Blessed Thomas Hélye.  To the right of the transept is a 14th century polychrome stone statue of the Virgin and Child.  The organ, built in 1852 by the Bataille brothers, organ builders from Saint-Nicolas-de-Pierrepont, was restored in 1912.  Heavily damaged during the events of 1944 it was restored again in 1956.  This time it was equipped with an electric blower.  The presence of such an organ in a modest parish church is exceptional.  Inventories of organs in la Manche totals 78 with most of them being in religious buildings of large towns.  Anyway, after the guided tour of the church, we all headed across the street to the restaurant "Au p'tit creux" where we had lunch together.  I had the roasted chicken with green beans while others had steak and fries.  I have to say that for only 21 EUROS, the trip was well worth it and I am anxious to go on another excursion with AVF.

On Sunday, October 9th, I went with a group of 40 people from the AVF Cherbourg Association on a tour of several private and public manors, châteaux, churches, windmills and gardens that make up a large part of this region’s cultural heritage.  The first stop of the day was the Manoir de Gonneville near the small village of Saint-Jacques-de-Néhou.  It is a fortified farm with a large courtyard and is representative of the civil architecture of this region that has its roots in the 13th century.  The lord of the manor and his tenant lived in buildings with openings mainly on the inner courtyard.  The exterior walls had few if any windows in order to protect the residents from unfriendly neighbors.  The main entrance to the manor was enclosed by a large imposing porch, which has long since disappeared.  The main residence, which has been restored, is in the Renaissance style of the 16th century.  The ceiling of the roof reaches to great heights, it has mullioned windows and the chimneys are decorated with small stone balls (a sign that the manor belonged to a lord or someone of royalty).  Above the dormer window to the right is a sundial facing south.  The house of a lower height on the right has its origins in the 13th century and served as the residence for the lord’s tenant.  Further to the right are the cellar and the stables.  They were built here for practical reasons so that one could quickly and easily look after the horses.  Naturally the carriage house was placed next to the stables.  The ceilings and roofs have all been restored with original materials.  The beams and joists are made of oak with cracks and chinks filled in with strips of chestnut.  On the other side of the courtyard are buildings strictly regulated for agricultural and storage use.  The stone walls against the hillside are close to a meter in thickness.  There is a small barn for storing wood, a small stable, a large barn and a special room with a cider press.  The cider press, called a pressoir, is an exact replica of the one that used to be here.  It was able to produce one metric tonne of cider from the apples that grew in the orchards.  The time-honored tradition of making apple cider on the premises may have diminished over the centuries in Normandy but there is still a large number of people who embrace the art of cider making in our region.  (Here is a link that allows you to see the entire process of cider making as it was practiced using such a press.)  In the corner of the courtyard is a cylindrical pigeonnier (dovecote).  This is evidence that the lord of the manor had certain rights and powers.  For centuries, only important people could own pigeons due to the fact that they were used for communication purposes and their droppings used as fertilizer.  Inside there are about 400 niches for the birds corresponding to the number of hectares of land on which a lord’s power extended.  The central pillar allowed for a rotating ladder, or "potence", providing an easy way to collect eggs and to provide maintenance to the tower.  On the grounds outside of the courtyard are three different buildings which served very different purposes.  In front of the courtyard entrance is a garage.  Cited in nearly all regional records, this was once a chapel dedicated to Saint-Clair.  The garage was built long ago using the stones from the ruins.  In the meadow behind the lord’s residence is a bakery with a bread oven maintained in perfect condition.  The entire roof is made of lauze stone. Originally, the rooftops of the manor house were also made of such stone.  Over time however, when the roofs collapsed, various owners put up thin slates instead.  The difficulties of having a roof of lauze stone is the fact that the stones are quite rare, they are extremely expensive and it is necessary for the walls and internal skeleton to have a immense structural strength to support the weight of the stones.  Only the dovecote and the bakery are covered with lauze stones today.  It should be noted that the roof of the bakery has been restored using old methods, which means that no metal at all was used in its reconstruction.  The anchor of the roof frames are made of wood while stones are held to the slats by small pegs made from chestnut (prevents wood rot).  The pegs pass through an eye carved into each stone.  The stones are larger toward the bottom and smaller toward the top.  Also in the meadow behind the pigeonnier is the lime oven.  It is the oldest part of the manor since it was first necessary to build the oven in order to then build the house.  The lime mortar was used for building walls.  In fact, only the tops of doors and windows are framed in local stone.  The remaining “stones” throughout the manor were created here in the lime oven.  The manor has always been occupied and used as a working farm since its inception up until 1976.  The requirements of modern agriculture and the development of a restoration program of old homes in the region made it so that the manor is now only a place to live.  It also serves as a reminder of times gone by in this part of Normandy.  The manor has the distinct honor of once being owned by the maternal grandfather of French writer, Guy de Maupassant, Paul Lepoittevin.  He was born in 1778 at the mill of Gonneville (on the road near the bridge) because his father was the miller.  Having been well educated by the parish priest of Perques, he moved to Rouen, where he made his fortune in the textile industry.  His family was then located in the Caux region where he befriended the family of Gustave Flaubert.  In his old age, Paul Lepoittevin returned to his home in the country, buying the Gonneville mill, the Manoir de Gonneville and the Manoir Derécu on the other side of the river.

Starting from Bagnères-de-Luchon heading east is the famous Col du Portillon, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees that connects Luchon to the town of Bossòst in the Val d'Aran of Spain.  The climb from Luchon is 10.2 km long while the climb from Bossòst is 8.6 km—quite a gruelling ride for any cyclist.  The Col du Portillon was first used in the Tour de France in 1957, and since then it has been featured 18 times, most recently in 2006, when the leader over the summit was David de la Fuente.  From the summit, one has spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.  Down below is the valley itself with small villages with churches and chapels dating as far back as the 11th century.  The information I had about each town was practically nil except for a map with one or two sentences describing all there is to see.  I’m not going to go into any history lessons with this post—just some simple explanations of what I saw and where I visited.  For more information on each site, click on the highlighted words.  I provided links to a site with some fairly decent information.  My first stop was the small village of Les.  While I was there, I walked the quiet streets until I came to the local church.  Although it was very nice inside, I thought that I was visiting the Chapelle de Sant Blas.  As it turned out, it was just the village church.  Inside, there was an old alter reredos above a glass display case with small statues of venerated saints.  Behind the main altar were statues of St-Joseph, St-John the Baptist and Santa Lucía.  I missed altogether the 12th century chapel.  Walking down the main road, I eventually came to a small chapel which I can only assume is one of many hermitages found in this region.  The next stop was the town of Bossòst with its stunning mountain chalets and its 12th century Romanesque church called Église d’Era Mair de Diu dera Purificacion.  In addition, Bossòst is surrounded by seven Romanesque chapels that, according to its inhabitants, were built to protect the village from the plague.  One of these that I visited was named Chapelle de Sant Joan Crisotòm.  (I am using the spellings given on the French tourist map which you can find here as a PDF file.)  My third stop was the oldest village in the Val d’Aran, Vilamòs.  It is known for its museum where one can see what life in the Val d’Aran was like during the 18th century.  The museum, called the Çò de Joanchiquet, has a covered limestone lavoir which dates from 1832.  The church of Santa María de Vilamòs dates as far back as the 11th century while the main door dates from 1816.  Interestingly, the belfry of the church and that of the church of Bossòst, are the only two Romanesque belfries conserved in the Aran Valley.  Halfway down the road, I had to get out of the car and get this photo of the Maladeta mountain range—the day was just too nice to pass it up.  My next stop was the capital city, Vielha.  The church of Sant Miquèu dates from the 13th century and has a 16th century octagonal bell tower.  Inside is a sculpture of Christ called the Crist de Mijaran and was once part of a larger ensemble piece now destroyed.  To the right of the main altar are the baptismal font and a beautiful organ.  Of course, the most treasured part of the church and something not to be missed are the Gothic and Baroque paintings on some of the arches.  They depict the following: Jesus is scourged and a crown of thorns is placed on His head, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane with the sleeping apostles Peter, John and James.  An angel of God presents Him with the cup of poison (mankind’s sins).  To the right is the apocryphal Veronica as she wipes Jesus’ face with her veil, Christ resurrected and to the right, the crowning of Mary, The Magnificat, when Mary is greeted by her cousin Elizabeth and beside it the Nativity of the Lord, The Last Supper.  Among other things to see in Vielha are the museum of local history and the stately home Ço de Rodes which serves as a wool museum.  Before leaving, I stopped at a grocery store and bought things to make sandwiches for lunch.  That's when I headed to the next stop on my journey, the church of Sant Martin de Tours in Gausac.  Under the shade of its octagonal tower, I ate my sandwich and then explored the interior which houses a beautiful 12th century baptismal font.  After lunch it was off to my next destination, the town of Escunhau with its 11th century Church of Sant Pèir.  Its bell tower was added between the 17th and 18th centuries.  The tympanum above the door has a sculpted figure of Christ.  I was unable to see the interior since it was closed.  As it turns out, many churches in the area are closed when it is not peak season.  The tourist map that I was using recommended that one visit the oldest home in the Val d’Aran called the Çò de Perejoan, built in 1393.  I couldn’t find it anywhere.  There were no signs in the town and so I missed it completely.  I hate that.  The next to last stop was the town of Arties and its 12th century Church of Santa Maria.  It has a five-story belfry with a pyramidal roof and dates from the 13th and 14th centuries.  Beside the church is a 16th century tower called the Çò de Portola which was part of an old manor house.  Also from the 16th century is the Casa Paulet which possesses several large mullioned windows with interesting Renaissance sculptures.  This town, just like many of the others I saw in the Val d’Aran had beautiful chalets as well as traditional homes decorated with garlands of corn.  The last place I saw was the old mill in the town of Salardú.  It is no longer used but it has been restored and is open for tourists during the peak season.  All I got to see were the original hydraulic mechanisms underneath the mill that were once powered by the Garonne River which runs around the town.  The bridge which connects the town with the mill is of modern construction.  I wanted to see more of the region but it was getting late; and you should try driving for 20 kilometers on roads full of hairpin turns throughout the mountains.  I felt it was time to call it quits and head back to Bagnères-de-Luchon.  My advice to anyone wishing to visit this region is plan on spending more than just one day to see everything.  It looks small and reasonable on a map but trust me, there is a whole lot to see and do.  Hopefully, I can go back someday.