The 12th and 13th centuries marked Tournai’s apogee and saw the construction of its
cathedral, as well as the churches of Saint-Piat, Saint-Brice, Saint-Jacques, Saint-
Quentin, Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, Saint-Nicolas-du-Bruille, and Saint-Jean-des-
Chauffours, as well as the abbey of Saint-Médard or Saint-Nicolas des Prés. The
cathedral of Saint-Étienne-et-Notre-Dame was founded during the Merovingian period by
St. Éleuthère (d. 531), destroyed by the Vikings, reconsecrated after 1070, then
completely rebuilt in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is one of the largest and most
innovative churches in Belgium. The nave was built ca. 1110–41 in Romanesque style
and the transept between ca. 1150 and 1171; the four transept towers and the lantern at
the crossing were constructed in the late 12th century; rib vaulting was installed in the
transept and lantern in the early 13th century; and the choir was completely rebuilt in
Gothic style between 1243 and 1255.
The nine-bay nave with side aisles is one of the most imposing in Romanesque
architecture. It measures 165 feet in length and 30 in width and rises to a height of 86 feet
in four distinct levels, which, for the harmony of its superposed arcades, has been
compared to a Roman aqueduct. The exterior, with its three levels of windows, is equally
remarkable. The enormous transept measures 33 by 221 feet, culminating in magnificent
semicircular ends with ambulatories that continue the play of arcades and galleries of the
nave, but now more open to the light under Gothic influence. The later choir contrasts
sharply with the western portions of the cathedral. At 221 by nearly 40 feet, it is longer
and wider than the nave; its vaults rise some 30 feet higher than those of the nave. Much
influenced by the International Gothic style found in the roughly contemporary cathedrals
of Beauvais or Soissons or the Saint-Chapelle in Paris, it appears to be all stained glass.
Built of seven bays, it ends in a broad ambulatory with five apsidal chapels.
The cathedral and its treasury are a tribute to local artists. Of the original three
sculpted Romanesque portals of the western façade, two remain, although largely
restored. The capitals throughout the cathedral are notable for their variety and skill. In
the treasury, the reliquary of St. Éleuthère is one of the richest examples of the 13th-
century goldsmith’s art, and numerous other reliquaries, chalices, and ecclesiastical
vessels testify to the importance of Tournai as an artistic center.
William W.Kibler
[See also: JEWELRY AND METALWORKING; NICOLAS DE VERDUN]
Genicot, L.-F. La cathédrale de Tournai. Gembloux, 1969.
Héliot, Pierre. “La cathédrale de Tournai et l’architecture du moyen âge.” Revue belge
d’archéologie et d’histoire de l’art 31–33(1962–64):1–139.
Rolland, Paul. Les églises paroissales de Tournai. Brussels: Nouvelle Société d’Édition, 1936.
——. Tournai, noble cité. Brussels: Renaissance du Livre, 1944.
TOURNAMENT
. In the early 12th century, as military conflict in France became less common than it had
been earlier, much martial energy was turned toward tournaments, which functioned both
as training grounds for and as substitutes for war. Young nobles and knights could make
The Encyclopedia 1733