SAINT-LOUP-DE-NAUD
. The village of Saint-Loup-de-Naud (Seine-et-Marne) stands on a ridge not far from the
fortified medieval town of Provins. Of medieval buildings, the rural village retains only a
parish church with a formidable history. Some type of ecclesiastical building dedicated to
St. Loup existed even before the foundation of the Benedictine monastery ca. 980.
Founded as a dependency of the abbey of Saint-Pierrele-Vif in Sens, Saint-Loup
maintained a close relationship with its mother house. In 1161, Archbishop Hugues de
Tourcy brought the body of the patron saint to Saint-Loup from the abbey of Sainte-
Colombe, much to that abbey’s dismay. The theft of the relics reinforced the strong cult
of St. Loup and initiated a 200-year-long controversy over the rightful ownership of the
relics. Little documentary evidence survives about the church in the 13th and 14th
centuries, but the structure suffered much in the Hundred Years’ War and Wars of
Religion.
Open on three sides, the single-bay, rib-vaulted porch leads into the six-bay, 12th-
century nave, initially barrel-vaulted but partially restored with rib vaults in the first few
bays. Irregular alternating supports carry an arcade and blocked windows. The slightly
projecting transept arms stand to either side of the crossing tower and barrel-vaulted east
end.
Recent scholarship suggests that the portal complex is probably entirely medieval and
dates to the mid- to late12th century. The sculpted portal is protected by a porch tower
with round-headed windows and a simple gable. Similar to the royal portal at Chartres,
the program includes a tympanum with Christ in Majesty and Evangelist symbols, the
Virgin and Apostles on the lintel, a trumeau statue of St. Loup, and figures on piers and
jambs. Maines suggests that the composition is a composite integration of sculpture from
Sens designed for another location (spolia) and sculpture designed for the portal of St.
Loup.
Original frescoes were damaged and overly restored in the 19th century, although
Salet suggests that the figure of St. Savinien, bishop of Sens, escaped restoration and
dates to the middle of the 12th century. Other medieval remains inside the church include
a 14th-century stone Virgin in the right apsidal chapel and a 12th-century font.
Stacy L.Boldrick
Droulers, Charles. Saint-Loup-de-Naud. Provins: n.p., 1934.
Lefèvre-Pontalis, Eugène. “Église de Saint-Loup-de-Naud.” Congrès archéologique (Troyes et
Provins) 69 (1902):82–85.
Maines, Clark. The Western Portals of Saint-Loup-de-Naud. New York: Garland, 1979.
Salet, Francis. “Saint-Loup-de-Naud.” Bulletin monumental 92 (1933):129–69.
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