Pressouyre, Léon, and Terryl N.Kinder, eds. Saint Bernard et le monde cistercien. Paris: CNMHS,
1992.
CIVRAY
. The squat, four-bay, 12th-century Romanesque church of Saint-Nicolas of Civray
(Vienne) is anomalous in the Poitou region. Triangular pendentives, each with a crudely
sculpted grotesque, support an unusual octagonal tower over the square crossing of the
transept. Wall paintings on the south arm of the transept (late 13th or early 14th c.)
celebrate the life of St. Gilles.
The western façade exhibits a decorative and iconographic program of striking
richness and exceptional quality. A cornice divides the space into two levels, each of
which is further subdivided by three arches. The moldings around the central door depict
Christ in Majesty surrounded by the four Evangelists, the parable of the wise and foolish
virgins, the Assumption of the Virgin, and the signs of the zodiac. The flanking arches in
the ground level include scenes of St. George fighting the dragon, a demon devouring the
host, acrobats, a tightrope walker, and human busts.
On the upper level, to the left, is a heavily mutilated equestrian sculpture—possibly an
allegory of Constantine crushing paganism. The upper-central arch exhibits the vic-
Civray (Vienne), façade. Photograph
courtesy of Whitney S.Stoddard.
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 430