Apocalypse and zodiac signs of the large central portal, and representations of Avarice
and Luxuria in the lateral blind arches.
Saint-Michel. A longtime dependency of Sainte-Croix and the largest of Bordeaux’s
parish churches, the present church (vestiges of Carolingian and Romanesque structures
excavated) was begun ca. 1357, with the bulk of its construction dating from the second
half of the 15th century. Three polygonal apsidal chapels correspond to the nave and
wide side aisles. The choir has three bays; the nave, four. The transept arms terminate in
high gables flanked by turrets and pinnacles with sculptured portals at the bases
(sculpture of the south portal reworked in the 18th c.). The numerous chapels are
primarily 16th-century. Subsequent restorations include 19th-century revaulting of the
structure. A bombardment in 1940 destroyed the major part of the stained glass. There are
three Late Gothic sculptures: a large Deposition of 1495, a poignant Pieta (late 15th-c.),
and St. Ursula sheltering her companions under her mantle. The freestanding bell tower,
built over the ossuary of the parish cemetery by Jean Lebas of Saintes and his son (1472–
92), is the highest in southwestern France (also transformed by Abadie).
Sainte-Eulalie. Little remains of the church consecrated in 1175. The present
composite structure, originally conceived as a hall church, dates from the 13th to the 16th
centuries, with additions and restorations, including the new façade of 1901. The
polygonal apse was built in 1476; the majority of the buttress statues appear to be of the
same period.
Saint-Pierre. Built in the 14th and 15th centuries, the church was almost entirely
restored at the end of the 19th. It conserves, however, its elegant pentagonal chevet, the
Flamboyant west portal, the lower part of the walls of the south side aisle, and the
beautiful south portal.
Saint-Eloi. Founded in the 12th century, the church occupied an important site near the
ramparts, city gate, and route to Compostela; however, the present church dates from the
Late Gothic period. It is composed of a nave with a single wide side aisle and a
pentagonal chevet with bell tower. The upper part of the façade was reconstructed in
1828 by Poitevin.
Civil Architecture. The gate of Saint-Eloi, used by pilgrims on their way to
Compostela, was converted (15th-17th c.) into a belfry (the “Grosse Cloche”); the Porte
Cailhou, transformed into a triumphal memorial in 1495, was restored in the 19th
century.
Jean M.French
[See also: AQUITAINE; DAGOBERT I; EDWARD, THE BLACK PRINCE]
Brutails, Jean-Auguste. Les vieilles églises de la Gironde. Bordeaux: Feret, 1912.
Congrès archéologique (Bordeaux et Bayonne) 102(1941).
Dubourg-Noves, Pierre. Guyenne romane. La Pierre-qui-vire: Zodiaque, 1969.
Gardelles, Jacques. Bordeaux cité médiévale. Bordeaux: Horizon Chimérique, 1989.
——. La cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux: sa place dans l’évolution de l’architecture et de la
sculpture. Bordeaux: Delmas, 1963.
Higounet, Charles, et al. Bordeaux pendant le haut moyen âge. Bordeaux: Fédération Historique du
Sud-Ouest, 1963.
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