Saint Nicholas Of Tolentino. Feast Day, Today, 10 September.

Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.

Artist: Pietro Perugino (1448–1523).

Date: 1507.

Current location: Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica,

Rome, Italy.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Nicholas of Tolentino (Italian: San Nicola da Tolentino, Spanish: San Nicolás de Tolentino) (circa 1246 – 10 September 1305), known as the Patron of Holy Souls, was an Italian Saint and Mystic.

Nicholas Gurrutti was born at Sant'Angelo in Pontano, in Italy, in what was then the March of Ancona. He was the son of parents who had been childless into middle age. Compagnonus de Guarutti and Amata de Guidiani, Prayed at the Shrine of Saint Nicholas of Myra for his Intercession, and, when Amata became pregnant, they named their son after the Saint.

A studious, kind and gentle youth, at the age of sixteen Nicholas became an Augustinian Friar and was a student of the Blessed Angelus de Scarpetti. A Monk at the Monasteries at Recanati and Macerata, as well as others, he was Ordained in 1270, at the age of twenty-five, and soon became known for his preaching and teachings.

Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.

Illustration: LIVES OF THE SAINTS

Nicholas, who had had Visions of Angels reciting "to Tolentino", in 1274 took this as a sign to move to that City, where he lived the rest of his life. Nicholas worked to counteract the decline of Morality and Religion, which came with the development of City Life in the Late-13th-Century.

On account of his kind and gentle manner, his Superiors entrusted him with the daily feeding of the Poor, at the Monastery Gates, but, at times, he was so free with the Friary's provisions that the Procurator begged the Superior to check his generosity.

Once, when weak after a long Fast, he received a Vision of The Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Augustine, who told him to eat some bread, marked with a Cross, and dipped in water. Upon doing so, he was immediately stronger. He started distributing these rolls to the ailing, while Praying to Mary, often curing the sufferers; this is the origin of the Augustinian custom of Blessing and distributing Saint Nicholas Bread.

Church of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine,

Bronx, New York,

United States of America.

Illustration: SAINT NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINE

In Tolentino, Nicholas worked as a peacemaker in a City torn by strife between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, who, in the conflict for control of Italy, supported the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively. He ministered to his flock, helped the Poor and visited prisoners. When working wonders, or healing people, he always asked those he helped to "say nothing of this", explaining that he was just God's instrument.

During his life, Nicholas is said to have received Visions, including Images of Purgatory, which friends ascribed to his lengthy Fasts. Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory was the outstanding characteristic of his Spirituality. Because of this, Nicholas was proclaimed Patron of the Souls in Purgatory, in 1884, by Pope Leo XIII.

Towards the end of his life, he became ill, suffering greatly, but still continued the Mortifications that had been part of his Holy Life. Nicholas died on 10 September 1305.

Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.

Patron of The Holy Souls.

Image: HELPERS OF THE HOLY SOULS

There are many tales and legends that relate to Nicholas. One says that the devil once beat him with a stick, which was then displayed for years in his Church. In another, Nicholas, a vegetarian, was served a roasted fowl, over which he made the Sign of the Cross, and it flew out a window. Nine passengers on a ship, going down at sea, once asked Nicholas' aid and he appeared in the sky, wearing the Black Augustinian Habit, radiating Golden Light, holding a Lily in his Left Hand, and, with his Right Hand, he quelled the storm. An Apparition of the Saint, it is said, once saved the burning Palace of the Doge of Venice, by throwing a piece of Blessed Bread on the flames. He was also reported to have Resurrected over one hundred dead children, including several who had drowned together.

According to the Peruvian chronicler, Antonio de la Calancha, it was Saint Nicholas of Tolentino who made possible a permanent Spanish settlement in the rigorous, high-altitude climate of Potosí, Bolivia. He reported that all children, born to Spanish colonists there, died in childbirth or soon thereafter, until a father dedicated his unborn child to Saint Nicholas of Tolentino (whose own parents, after all, had required Saintly intervention to have a child). The colonist's son, born on Christmas Eve, 1598, survived to healthy adulthood, and many later parents followed the example of naming their sons Nicolás.

Nicholas was Canonised by Pope Eugene IV (also an Augustinian) in 1446. He was the first Augustinian to be Canonised. At his Canonisation, Nicholas was credited with three hundred Miracles, including three Resurrections.

English: The Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic.

(A statue of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino is on the Charles Bridge (see next photo, below.)

Español: Puente de Carlos una mañana temprano, antes de llenarse de turistas.

Français: Pont Charles a Prague.

Čeština: Karlův most v Praze.

Photo: 7 May 2006 (Upload Date).

Source: Own work.

Author: Chosovi.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Remains of Saint Nicholas are preserved at the Shrine of Saint Nicholas, in the Basilica di San Nicola da Tolentino, in the City of Tolentino, Province of Macerata, in Marche, Italy.

He is particularly invoked as an Advocate for the Souls in Purgatory, especially during Lent and the month of November. In many Augustinian Churches, there are Weekly Devotions to Saint Nicholas, on behalf of the suffering Souls. 2 November, All Souls' Day, holds special significance for the devotees of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.

Pope Saint Pius V did not include him in the Tridentine Calendar, but he was later inserted and given 10 September as his Feast Day. Judged to be of limited importance worldwide, his Liturgical Celebration was not kept in the 1969 Revision of the General Roman Calendar, but he is still recognised as one of the Saints of the Roman Catholic Church.

Čeština: Sousoší Svatého Mikuláše Toletinského na Karlově mostě.

English: The statue of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino

on the Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic.

Photo: 31 July 2006 (Upload Date).

Source: Originally from cs.wikipedia; description page is/was here.

2006-07-31 19:50 Zp 1000×1500×8 (151101 bytes)

Sousoší Svatého Mikuláše Toletinského na Karlově mostě autor:Zp

Author: Zp.

(Wikimedia Commons)

A number of Churches and Oratories are dedicated to him, including San Nicolò da Tolentino, in Venice, San Nicola da Tolentino agli Orti Sallustiani, in Rome, and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, in The Bronx, New York. In the Philippines, the 16th-Century Church of San Nicolas de Tolentino, in Banton, Romblon, was built in honour of him and his Feast Day is celebrated as the annual Biniray Festival, commemorating the devotion of the Island's Catholic inhabitants to Saint Nicholas during the Muslim raids in the 16th-Century.

In the Province of Pampanga, Philippines, is a 440-year-old Augustinian Church, which was founded in 1575 and built in his honour. A Second-Class Relic of the Saint is Venerated every Tuesday after Mass.

He is depicted in the Black Habit of the Hermits of Saint Augustine — a Star above him, or on his breast, a Lily, or a Crucifix, garlanded with Lilies, in his hand. Sometimes, instead of the Lily, he holds a vial filled with money or bread.

The 2012

Saint Nicholas of Tolentino Parish

Fiesta poster,

Macabebe, Pampanga Province,

Philippines.

Photo: 23 August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jptoting.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.
Confessor.
Feast Day 10 September.

Double.

White Vestments.

Nicholas, called "of Tolentino", on account of his long sojourn at this place, received the Baptismal Name of the Holy Bishop of Myra, because he was born after a Pilgrimage, made by his parents to the tomb of the great Miracle-Worker at Bari.

Following the example of his Holy Patron, although only seven years old, he Fasted several times a week. Listening, one day, to a Sermon by a Preacher of the Order of Hermits of Saint Augustine, on contempt of the world, he determined to give up all he possessed (Gospel) and to enter that Order.

He is represented holding a Lily, because he was always a model of Innocence and Purity. He died in 1308.

Mass: Justus.

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The Earlier Mysteries Of The Blessed Virgin Mary.

This Article is taken from VULTUS CHRISTI

The image is a detail from Dürer’s Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (1519). I especially like Saint Anne’s motherly hand resting on Our Lady’s shoulder.

For some years now, especially around the Marian Feasts of September 8th, September 12th, November 21st, and December 8th, I have “told my beads”, while dwelling on five Mysteries of the first part of Our Lady’s life.

These five Mysteries of The Blessed Virgin Mary are:

– The Immaculate Conception of The Blessed Virgin Mary in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne (Feast December 8th);
– The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary (Feast September 8th);
– The Most Holy Name of Mary (Feast September 12th);
– The Presentation of The Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple (Feast November 21st);
– The Betrothal of The Blessed Virgin Mary to Saint Joseph (Feast January 23rd).

There is a particular sweetness in dwelling on these Mysteries of "Maria Bambina", the "Infant Mary", the "Child Mary". They distill Graces of Purity, of childlike simplicity, and of littleness.

All five Mysteries are Commemorated in The Sacred Liturgy. The Liturgical Books are rich in Texts to nourish the meditation of each one. It is enough to take an Antiphon, a Verse, a single phrase, and to hold it in the heart while telling one’s beads. The Rosary corresponds to the "meditatio" and the "oratio" of Monastic Prayer; it begins necessarily in Lectio Divina, the hearing of the Word, and then, gently, almost imperceptibly, draws the Soul into "contemplatio".

The Rosary is, I am convinced, the surest and easiest school of Contemplative Prayer. The Rosary decapitates Pride, the single greatest obstacle to union with God. The repetition of the "Aves", like a stream of pure water, cleanses the heart.

Carcassonne (Part Two).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Carcassonne, France.

View of the Mediaeval Citadel and vineyards.

Français: Carcassonne, France, vue de la Cité Médiévale, vignes.

Source: http://www.gnuart.net/data/photo/Harry/Carcassonne/ville_3.zip (zip)

Author: Harry.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Basilica of Saint Nazaire and Saint Celse, or Saint Nazarius and Saint Celsus (Basilique Saint-Nazaire-et-Saint-Celse de Carcassonne), is a Minor Basilica, in Carcassonne, Southern France, listed as a national monument of the country.

It was formerly the Cathedral of Carcassonne, until 1801, when it was replaced by the present Carcassonne Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Michel de Carcassonne).

The original Church is thought to have been constructed in the 6th-Century, during the reign of Theodoric the Great, King of the Visigoths. On 12 June 1096, Pope Urban II visited the town and Blessed the stones used to build the Basilica; construction was completed in the first half of the 12th-Century.

It was built on the site of a Carolingian Cathedral, of which no traces remain. The Crypt, despite its ancient appearance, dates from the new construction. The Church was enlarged, between 1269 and 1330, in the Gothic Style, largely at the expense of the Bishop of Carcassonne, Pierre de Rochefort.

The Exterior was largely renewed by Viollet-le-Duc, while the Interior has largely remained in the original Gothic Style.

Français: Carcassonne (Aude - France), la Cité Médiévale dans son écrin de verdures.

Deutsch: Carcassonne (Aude - Frankreich), die mittelalterliche Stadt in seiner grünen Seite.

English: Carcassonne (Aude - France). The Mediaeval City.

Español: Carcassonne (Aude - Francia), la ciudad medieval con su agradable verde paraje.

Photo: 14 June 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1849, the French Government decided that the City fortifications should be demolished. This decision was strongly opposed by the local people. The Mayor, Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille, and Prosper Mérimée, an eminent archaeologist and historian, led a campaign to preserve the fortress as an historical monument. The Government later reversed its decision and, in 1853, restoration work began. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, the architect, was charged with renovating the fortress. Viollet-le-Duc's work was criticised during his lifetime as inappropriate to the climate and traditions of the region. After his death, in 1879, the restoration work was continued by his pupil, Paul Boeswillwald, and, later, by the architect Nodet.

The Citadel was restored at the end of the 19th-Century and, in 1997, it was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.

The first signs of settlement in this region have been dated to about 3,500 B.C., but the hill site of Carsac – a Celtic place-name that has been retained at other sites in the South – became an important trading place in the 6th-Century B.C. The Volcae Tectosages fortified the Oppidum.

English: The Citadel at Carcassonne.

Français: Panorama de la Cité de Carcassonne vu depuis le Pont-Neuf

Photo: 21 March 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jondu11.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Carcassonne became strategically identified when Romans fortified the hilltop, around 100 B.C., and eventually made the Colonia of Julia Carsaco, later Carcasum (by the process of swapping consonants known as metathesis). The main part of the lower courses of the Northern ramparts dates from Gallo-Roman times. In 462 A.D., the Romans officially ceded Septimania to the Visigothic King, Theodoric II, who had held Carcassonne since 453 A.D.; he built more fortifications at Carcassonne, which was a frontier post on the Northern Marches: Traces of them still stand. Theodoric is thought to have begun the predecessor of the Basilica that is now dedicated to Saint Nazaire.

In 508 A.D., the Visigoths successfully foiled attacks by the Frankish King, Clovis. Saracens, from Barcelona, took Carcassonne in 725 A.D., but King Pepin the Short (Pépin le Bref) drove them away in 759 A.D.

A Mediaeval fiefdom, the County of Carcassonne, controlled the City and its environs. It was often united with the County of Razès. The origins of Carcassonne as a County probably lie in local representatives of the Visigoths, but the first Count known by name is Bello, at the time of Charlemagne. Bello founded a dynasty, the Bellonids, which would rule many honores in Septimania and Catalonia for three Centuries.

The fortified City of Carcassonne

and the Pont Vieux,

crossing the Aude river.

Date: 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jplavoie. Jean-Pierre Lavoie (c), 2005.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1067, Carcassonne became the property of Raimond-Bernard Trencavel, Viscount of Albi and Nîmes, through his marriage with Ermengard, sister of the last Count of Carcassonne. In the following Centuries, the Trencavel family allied in succession either with the Counts of Barcelona or of Toulouse. They built the Château Comtal and the Basilica of Saint Nazaire and Saint Celse. In 1096, Pope Urban II Blessed the Foundation Stones of the new Cathedral.

In 1240, Trencavel's son tried to reconquer his old domain, but in vain. The City submitted to the rule of the Kingdom of France in 1247. Carcassonne became a border fortress between France and the Kingdom of Aragon, under the Treaty of Corbeil (1258). King Louis IX founded the new part of the town across the river. He and his successor, Philip III, built the outer ramparts. Contemporary opinion still considered the fortress impregnable.

During the Hundred Years' War, Edward the Black Prince failed to take the City in 1355, although his troops destroyed the Lower Town. Carcassonne became famous for its rôle in the Albigensian Crusades, when the City was a stronghold of the Occitan Cathars. In August 1209, the Crusading Army of the Papal Legate, Abbot Arnaud Amalric, forced its citizens to surrender. Raymond-Roger de Trencavel was imprisoned whilst negotiating his City's surrender, and died in mysterious circumstances three months later in his own dungeon. Simon De Montfort was appointed the new Viscount. He added to the fortifications.

Français: L'expulsion des Albigeois de la ville de Carcassonne en 1209,

miniature extraite d'un manuscrit des Grandes Chroniques de France.

English: Expulsion of the Albigensians from Carcassone in 1209.

Image taken from Grandes Chroniques de France.

Artist: Workshop of Boucicaut Master.

Date: Circa 1415.

Current location: British Library.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1659, the Treaty of the Pyrenees transferred the Border Province of Roussillon to France, and Carcassonne's military significance was reduced. Fortifications were abandoned, and the City became mainly an economic centre that concentrated on the woollen textile industry, for which a 1723 source, quoted by Fernand Braudel, found it "the manufacturing centre of Languedoc".

The fortified City consists essentially of a concentric design, with two Outer Walls, with fifty-two Towers and Barbicans to prevent attack by Siege Engines. The Castle possesses its own Drawbridge and Ditch leading to a Central Keep. The Walls consist of Towers built over quite a long period. One section is Roman and is notably different from the Mediaeval Walls with the tell-tale red brick layers and the shallow pitch terracotta tile roofs. One of these Towers housed the Catholic Inquisition in the 13th-Century and is still known as "The Inquisition Tower".

Čeština: Bazilika Saint-Nazaire v Carcassonne.

Français: La basilique de Saint-Nazaire de Carcassonne.

English: Basilica of St. Nazaire and St. Celsus, Carcassonne.

Español: Basílica de Saint-Nazaire y Saint-Celse, Carcasona.

Photo: 3 July 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Harmonia Amanda.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Carcassonne was struck off the roster of official fortifications, under Napoleon and the Restoration, and the fortified Cité of Carcassonne fell into such disrepair that the French Government decided that it should be demolished. A Decree to that effect, that was made official in 1849, caused an uproar. The Antiquary and Mayor of Carcassonne, Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille, and the writer, Prosper Mérimée, the first Inspector of Ancient Monuments, led a campaign to preserve the fortress as a historical monument. Later in the year, the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, already at work restoring the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire, in Carcassonne, was commissioned to renovate the place.

Français: Carcassonne (Aude - France), la basilique Saint-Nazaire (XI/XII/XIXe siècles).

Deutsch: Carcassonne (Aude - Frankreich), die Basilika St. Nazarius (11/12/19. Jhdt).

English: Minor Basilica of Saint Nazaire, Carcassonne, France.

Photo: 14 June 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1853, Works began with the West and South-West Walling, followed by the Towers of the Porte Narbonnaise and the principal entrance to the Cité. The fortifications were consolidated here and there, but the chief attention was paid to restoring the roofing of the Towers and the ramparts, where Viollet-le-Duc ordered the destruction of structures that had encroached against the Walls, some of them of considerable age. Viollet-le-Duc left copious notes and drawings on his death in 1879, when his pupil, Paul Boeswillwald, and, later, the architect Nodet, continued the rehabilitation of Carcassonne.

The restoration was strongly criticised during Viollet-le-Duc's lifetime. Fresh from work in the North of France, he made the error of using slates and restoring the roofs as point-free environment. Yet, overall, Viollet-le-Duc's achievement at Carcassonne is agreed to be a work of genius, though not of the strictest authenticity.

Historically, the language spoken in Carcassonne, and throughout Languedoc-Roussillon, was not French, but Occitan (King Richard I of England's native tongue).

The Nativity Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Feast Day 8 September.

Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary.
Feast Day 8 September.

Double of the Second-Class
      with a Simple Octave.

White Vestments.

Birth of The Virgin.

Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682).

Date: 1660.

Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris, France.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This very ancient Feast was already Solemnised in the 7th-Century, and Pope Innocent IV, to fulfil the Vow made by the Cardinals before the election of his predecessor, gave it an Octave at the First Council of Lyons in 1245.

This date (8 September) served to fix that of the Feast of The Immaculate Conception on 8 December.

Mary is inseparable from Jesus in the Divine Plan, wherefore the Liturgy applies to her what Holy Scripture says of the Eternal Wisdom, which is The Word "by Whom all was made".

Like Christ, The Virgin presides over the whole work of creation, for having been chosen of all Eternity to give us The Saviour, it is she, with her Son, whom God had chiefly in view when He created the world.

Every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

Mass: Salve, sancta parens.

Commemoration: Saint Adrian.

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Carcassonne (Part One).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Carcassonne, France.

View of the Mediaeval Citadel and vineyards.

Français: Carcassonne, France, vue de la Cité Médiévale, vignes.

Source: http://www.gnuart.net/data/photo/Harry/Carcassonne/ville_3.zip (zip)

Author: Harry.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The fortified Outer Walls of Carcassonne.

Photo: 25 July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Bmsgator.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Carcassonne (Occitan: Carcassona), is a fortified French town in the Aude Department, of which it is the Prefecture, in the Region of Languedoc-Roussillon.

Occupied since the Neolithic era, Carcassonne is located in the Aude Plain, between two great axis of circulation linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Its strategic importance was quickly recognised by the Romans, who occupied its hilltop until the demise of their Western Empire, and was later taken over by the Visigoths in the 5th-Century, who founded the City. Also thriving as a trading post, due to its location, it saw many rulers, who successively built up its fortifications until its military significance was greatly reduced by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.

The City is famous for the Cité de Carcassonne, a Mediaeval fortress, restored by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1853, and added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997. Consequently, Carcassonne greatly profits from tourism, but also counts manufacture and wine-making as some of its other key economic sectors.

English: Coat-of-Arms of Carcassonne (Languedoc).

Drawn by Manassas, for the Blazon Project of

French-speaking Wikipedia, with Inkscape.

Français: Blason de la commune de fr:Carcassonne (Aude)

dessiné par Manassas pour le Projet Blasons de Wikipédia francophone, avec Inkscape.

Source : oeuvre personnelle - Blasonnement : D'azur semé de fleurs de lys d'or au portail de ville flanqué de deux tours couvertes d'argent, maçonné, ajouré et ouvert de sable, la porte coulissée aussi d'argent surmontée d'un écusson de gueules chargé d'un agneau pascal d'argent à la tête contournée nimbée d'or, portant une bannerette aussi d'argent surchargée d'une croisette du champ.

Date: 30 July 2007.

Source: Own drawing.

Author: Manassas.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Français: Carcassonne (Aude - France), l’ Aude, le vieux pont et la Cité Médievale.

Deutsch: Carcassonne (Aude - Frankreich), die Aude (Fluss),

die Alte Brücke und die mittelalterliche Stadt.

English: Carcassonne (Aude - France). The Aude River, the old bridge and the Mediaeval City.

Español: Carcassonne (Aude - Francia), el Rio Aude, el Puente Viejo y la ciudad medieval.

Photo: 13 June 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cité de Carcassonne is a Mediaeval Citadel. It is located on a hill on the right bank of the River Aude, in the South-East part of Carcassonne. It was the historic City of Carcassonne and features on the emblem of the local rugby league team, AS Carcassonne.

In 1659, after the Treaty of the Pyrenees, the Province of Roussillon became a part of France, and the town lost its military significance. Fortifications were abandoned and the town became one of the economic centres of France, concentrating on the woollen textile industry. Founded during the Gallo-Roman period, the Citadel derives its reputation from its three kilometres (1.9 miles) double-surrounding-walls, interspersed by fifty-two Towers.

Čeština: Bazilika Saint-Nazaire v Carcassonne.

Français: La basilique de Saint-Nazaire de Carcassonne.

English: Basilica of St. Nazaire and St. Celsus, Carcassonne.

Español: Basílica de Saint-Nazaire y Saint-Celse, Carcasona.

Photo: 3 July 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Harmonia Amanda.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The town has about 2,500 years of history and has seen the Romans,Visigoths, Saracens and Crusaders. At the beginning of its history, it was a Gaulish settlement, then, in the 3rd-Century A.D., the Romans decided to transform it into a fortified town. It was finally annexed to the Kingdom of France in 1247. It provided a strong French frontier between France and the Crown of Aragon.

The Minor Basilica of Saint Nazaire and Saint Celse,

Carcassonne, France.

Date: 4 October 2009.

Source: Carcassonne. Uploaded by russavia

Author: Andy Mitchell from Glasgow, U.K.

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART TWO FOLLOWS

Chester Cathedral's Stained-Glass Windows.

Chester Cathedral's Nativity Window,

in the Chapel of Saint Werburgh,

by Michael O'Connor (1853).

Photo: 24 June 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Hystfield.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Chancel Window, Chester Cathedral,

by Heaton, Butler and Bayne (1884).

The subject is Jesus, Saviour of the World.

It is a Trinity Window, with the Name of God, the Lamb of God and the Holy Spirit,

represented in the Upper Tracery. The Main Central Light shows God as High Priest,

holding the Infant Jesus. From left to right, the other figures are

Saint Joseph, The Blessed Virgin, Saint Anna and Simeon.

Photo: 24 June 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Hystfield.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Monreale Cathedral (Part Two).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The Cathedral of Monreale, Sicily, Italy, is one of the greatest extant examples of

Norman architecture in the world. It was begun in 1174 by William II, and in 1182,

the Church, dedicated to The Assumption of The Virgin Mary, was, by a Bull of

Pope Lucius III, elevated to the Rank of a Metropolitan Cathedral.

Illustration: SHUTTERSTOCK

Monreale Cathedral,

Palermo, Sicily.

The outside of the Arab-Norman Cathedral is plain, except the Aisle Walls,

and three Eastern Apses, which are decorated with intersecting Pointed Arches

and other ornaments inlaid in marble.

Photographer: Bernhard J. Scheuvens aka Bjs.

Photo: August 2004.

(Wikimedia Commons)

"Monreale" is a contraction of "Monte-Reale", "Royal Mountain",

so-called from a Palace built there by Roger I of Sicily.

The Church's Plan is a mixture of Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic arrangement. The Nave is like an Italian Basilica, while the large Triple-Apsed Choir is like one of the early Three-Apsed Churches, of which so many examples still exist in Syria and other countries. It is, in fact, like two quite different Churches put together end-wise.

The Basilican Nave is wide, with narrow Aisles. Monolithic Columns of grey oriental granite (except one, which is of cipolin marble), on each side support eight Pointed Arches, much stilted. The Capitals of these (mainly Corinthian) are also of the Classical Period. There is no Triforium, but a high Clerestory with wide Two-Light Windows, with simple Tracery, like those in the Nave-Aisles and throughout the Church, which give sufficient light.

The other half, Eastern in two senses, is both wider and higher than the Nave. It also is divided into a central space with two Aisles, each of the divisions ending at the East with an Apse. The roofs throughout are of open woodwork, very low in Pitch, plain construction, but richly decorated, with colour now mostly restored.

At the West End of the Nave, are two projecting Towers, with a Narthex (Entrance) between them. A large open Atrium, which once existed at the West End, is now completely destroyed, having been replaced by a Renaissance Portico, by Giovanni Domenico and Fazio Gagini (1547–1569).

Monreale Cathedral,

Palermo, Sicily.

The outsides of the principal doorways, and their pointed Arches, are magnificently

enriched with carving and coloured inlay, 

a curious combination of

three styles; Norman-French, Byzantine and Arab.

Photographer: Bernhard J. Scheuvens aka Bjs.

Photo: August 2004.

(Wikimedia Commons)

It is, however, the large extent (6,500 m²) of the impressive glass mosaics covering the Interior which make this Church so splendid. With the exception of a high Dado, made of marble slabs with bands of mosaic between them, the whole Interior surface of the walls, including Soffits and Jambs of all the Arches, is covered with minute mosaic-pictures, in bright colours on a gold ground.

The mosaic pictures are arranged in tiers, divided by horizontal and vertical bands. In parts of the Choir, there are five of these tiers of subjects or single figures, one above another.

The Half-Dome of the Central Apse has a colossal half-length figure of Christ, with a seated Virgin and Child, below. The other Apses have full-length figures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Inscriptions on each picture explain the subject or Saint represented; these are in Latin, except some few which are in Greek.

The subjects in the Nave begin with scenes from the Book of Genesis, illustrating the Old Testament types of Christ and His scheme of Redemption, with figures of those who prophesied and prepared for His coming. Around the lower tier and the Choir, are subjects from the New Testament, chiefly representing Christ's Miracles and Suffering, with Apostles, Evangelists and other Saints. The design, execution, and choice of subjects, all appear to be of Byzantine origin, the subjects being selected from the Menologion of Basil II, drawn up by the Emperor, Basil II, in the 10th-Century.

Monreale Cathedral's

religious images in the Nave, circa 1200 A.D.

Photo: December 2007.

Author: Jerzy Strzelecki.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The tomb of William I of Sicily (the founder's father), a magnificent porphyry sarcophagus contemporary with the Church, under a marble pillared canopy, and the founder William II's tomb, erected in 1575, were both shattered by a fire, which, in 1811, broke out in the Choir, injuring some of the mosaics, and destroying all the fine walnut Choir-fittings, the organs, and most of the Choir roof. The tombs were rebuilt, and the whole of the injured part of the Church restored a few years after the fire.

On the North of the Choir are the tombs of Margaret of Navarre, wife of William I, and her two sons, Roger and Henry, together with an urn containing the viscera of Saint Louis of France, who died in 1270.

The pavement of the triple Choir, though much restored, is a specimen of marble and porphyry mosaic in opus alexandrinum, with signs of Arab influence in its main lines. The mosaic pavement of the Nave was completed in the 16th-Century, and has discs of porphyry and granite with marble bands intermingled with irregular lines.

Two Baroque Chapels were added in the 17th- and 18th-Centuries, which are shut off from the rest of the Church. The bronze doors of the mosaic-decorated Portal, on the left side, was executed by Barisano da Trani in 1179.

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON MONREALE CATHEDRAL