I come to my nice Rennes. This time one of the nicest monument , and of course the City is in Îlle et Vilaine dept 35,of my lovely Bretagne, I have come back to this beautiful City after a long hiatus and it was wonderful, Bear with me as the next posts will be on this beautiful City, Let me tell you about the Cathédrale Saint Pierre de Rennes, part II !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The facade and its two classical granite towers of 48 meters high were built in several stages throughout the 16C and 17C. The towers have four levels. The first level was built from 1541 to 1543, the second as well as the third from 1640 to 1654 and the fourth and last from 1654 to 1678. Finally the coronation of the towers between 1679 and 1704, bearing them at their present height of 48 meters and added on the pediment to the top of the façade the motto of Louis XIV. Besides the front, the façade has five coats of arms of tufa , showing from top to bottom, from right to left we have that of the Beaumanoir, that of Charles Albert of d’Ailly, 3rd Duke of Chaulnes, governor of Brittany, that of Jean-Baptiste de Beaumanoir de Lavardin, Bishop of Rennes from 1676 to 1711. that of Henri de La Mothe-Houdancourt, Bishop of Rennes from 1642 to 1662. And that of Duke Charles de la Porte. To underline the strength and solidity of the new ensemble as opposed to the fragility of the previous construction, the architects have endowed the facade with 22 granite columns. The pediment is to the arms of Louis XIV. Sculpted in the tuffeau, the bas-relief includes, in its center, a circular badge with the arms of France, wearing a royal crown. The necklaces of the Order of Saint-Michel and the Order of the Holy Spirit surround the crest. Above, the figure of the sun with the motto of Louis XIV: Nec pluribus imper. On the pediment: the keys to Saint Peter.These royal badges were not hammered during the French revolution ! Maybe too high up.
The nave has forty-four ionic columns. It was the most austere part of the Church. In order to alleviate this austerity, in the 19C, the columns and part of the walls (this is a mixture of marble dust, lime and chalk) were made into stucco, giving the building a greater brightness. The vault on the other hand is decorated with gold leaves. The vault contains crests to the arms of Brittany and the dioceses of the Archdiocese of Rennes.
The dome and the four living done in Classic style, The so-called four living sculptures in the pendants are recent (early 21C) ; the four living, that is to say the four evangelists, for Matthieu, Jesus is surrounded by birds In reference to the passage of Matthew’s Gospel: for Marc and his lion, Jesus touches his face with the blind of Bethsaide with his hand; As for Luke, he holds a tight sheep against his heart; Finally, for John and his eagle, Jesus stands kneeling before the apostle Peter which tends his right foot. The four living are sculptures made of pink clay, 3.50 meters high and each weighing between 400 and 600 kg.(882 to 1332 lbs)
The vault is one of the masterpieces of the cathedral. The visitor will take advantage of looking up to admire, with a pair of binoculars, central panels in regular boxes, in the middle of fines and gold lilies, made from 1843, displays badges with arms of Brittany and to the arms of the suffranging dioceses of the archdiocese of Rennes. These vaults are an essential element in the general beauty of the cathedral. The central nave, the arms of the transept and the choir, were vaulted in semicircular form.
The floor covering of the Choir is made up of austere slabs of granite. These offer a violent contrast to the high altar made with marbles offered by Pope Pius IX and from the Roman Forum (Rome). The cul-de-furnace of the apse is adorned with a painting depicting the giving by Christ of the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to Saint Peter, made circa 1871 by the 19C painter Alphonse le Hénaff. The Choir is surrounded by an ambulatory whose walls are decorated with representations of the various Saints of Brittany grouped according to their diocese (Rennes, Dol-de-Bretagne, Saint-Malo, Saint-Brieuc, Tréguier, Saint-Pol-de-Leon, Quimper, Vannes). They are also due to Alphonse Le Hénaff.
The Cathédrale Saint Pierre, houses a great Flemish Altarpiece masterpiece from the 16C adorned with 80 characters, which was restored in 1984. There is also the painting of Saint Peter by the painter Henri-Joseph de Forestier given by king Charles X. The work dates from 1827 and represents Saint Peter delivered from his prison by an angel.
Above the crossing of the transept, an artistic project for the development of the four pendants was chosen; consisting in the installation of four statues of three meters in height each, in the four pendants under the dome which will represent the symbolic tetramorphous of the four Evangelists, associated with scenes from the Gospels, such as the Man for Saint Matthew, the Lion for St. Mark, the Bull for St. Luke, and the Eagle for Saint John. The crypt entrance is under the heavy slab engraved with the names of the buried bishops, in the middle of the Cathedral’s central aisle. This crypt is only open during burials. You can go down only upon the burial of a bishop or archbishop.
An anecdote worth telling me think, Once the Hundred Years War ended (1453), the war of the two roses, which the English more properly called the wars of the roses, opposed, for the throne of England, the Lancasters to the Yorks. These two families, resulting from two sons of Edward III, tore after the ouster of King Lancastre Henri VI for the benefit of the York Édouard IV. This eviction was largely the work of the Count of Warwick, which remained in history under the singular name of Kingsmaker . For thirty years, the Yorks will manage England, but constantly warlike against the opposing family. During these thirty years, Louis XI of France served as a basis for the Lancasters’ opposition, while the Tudors will use Brittany for theirs. In 1483, the Duke of Buckingham launched an attack from Wales, while Henri Tudor, coming from Brittany, landed in Plymouth and Poole, on the southern coast of England. Buckingham was expected to be supported by local uprisings. The coordinated attack failed completely in the face of Richard III’s counter-offensive. Buckingham was captured and executed in November. Nevertheless, the main heads of the rebellion (among whom were former supporters of Édouard IV York, who died in April 1483) were able to escape and join the Tudor party in Brittany. It was there that on Christmas day 1483, in the St Peter’s Cathedral of Rennes, they recognized Henri Tudor as their king. For his part, he promised to marry Élisabeth d’York, daughter of Édouard IV. In 1485, the army of Tudors, landed in Wales and reinforced by French and Scottish, confronted that of Richard III at the battle of Bosworth, on August 22. Thanks to the intervention of Thomas’ troop, Lord Stanley, second husband of Margaret Beaufort, Henri Tudor won the victory and went on the throne of England under the name of Henry VII. The Tudor dynasty, inaugurated on the battlefield, died in 1603 at the death of the Queen Elisabeth Ist.
The official Cathédrale Sainte Pierre of Rennes: https://cathedrale-rennes.fr/
The Rennes tourist office on the Cathedral: https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/decouvrir-rennes/histoire/cathedrale-saint-pierre/
The Îlle et Vilaine dept 35 tourist office on the Cathedral: https://www.ille-et-vilaine-tourisme.bzh/a-voir-a-faire/visites-et-patrimoine/la-cathedrale-saint-pierre-rennes-fr-2725595/
The Bretagne region tourist office on Rennes: https://www.brittanytourism.com/destinations/the-10-destinations/rennes-and-brittanys-historic-gateways/
There you go folks ,another jewel in my wonderful capital city of Rennes. The walks are worth it with plenty of lovely areas, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Cathédrale Saint Pierre de Rennes, part II !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 