the structure was refurbished around the time of the 1157 consecration, a larger and
higher arcade was integrated with the older one, providing additional support for a new
vaulted ceiling. Both arcades are visible today. A beautiful Gothic cloister of white
marble and double columns that reflect Languedoc models was the final, major addition
to the complex under the successful abbacy of Raimond de Bach (r. 1261–1303).
Arles-sur-Tech is most renowned for its 11th-century façade. A rare example of a
Lombard-type façade in Roussillon, it includes several series of blind arcades that
dominate the exterior. Significant examples of pre-Romanesque sculpture decorate the
small central window and the tympanum. The tympanum in particular features a fine
example of early sculpture depicting Christ and the symbols of the Evangelists inscribed
within a cross. The focus on a decorative and two-dimensional patterning of the figures is
typical and derives from techniques native to ivory- and metalworking. This approach to
sculpture had an unusually long life at Arles-sur-Tech, as evidenced by the 1211 tomb of
Guillaume Gaucelme, now embedded in a wall within the church.
Fragmentary evidence remains of wall painting in the central niche of the eastern end.
The representation of the Last Judgment, often found on the entrance wall of churches,
included Christ in Majesty in the hemidome and, below, cherubim and seraphim in
adoration. The artistic activity of Sainte-Marie d’Arles also extended to the glorification
of the saints Abdon and Sennen, whose relics were housed at the abbey.
Leslie Blake DiNella
Carbonell-Lamothe, Yvette. “Pyrénées-Orientales: Arles-sur-Tech, église Sainte-Marie, travaux de
restauration.” Bulletin monumental 144(1986):342–43.
Ponsich, Pierre. “L’abbaye de Saint-Marie d’Arles.” Congrès archéologique (1954):347–77.
“Le portail dans l’art roman du Midi de l’Europe.” Cahiers de Saint-Michel de Cuxa 8(1977).
ARMAGNAC
. The lands that came to comprise the county of Armagnac in southwestern France
formed part of the great duchy of Gascony in Aquitaine. In the early 10th century, the
eastern portion of the duchy was detached to form the large county of Fézensac, centered
on the town of Vic-Fézensac and including the archiepiscopal city of Auch. The county
of Fézensac in turn was dismembered by the creation of the county of Astarac and, in the
middle of the 10th century, by the detachment of its western region as the county of
Armagnac. The small county, whose chief towns were Riscle and Aignan, retained these
dimensions until the death of the the last count of Fézensac, Astronove II. In 1119, his
widow married Géraud III of Armagnac, reuniting the two counties.
Among the early counts of Armagnac, the most notable was Bernard II Tumapaler
(1014–1080), whose attempt to succeed to the duchy of Aquitaine-Gascony was defeated
in 1054. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the counts of Armagnac-Fézensac were
noted as vassals of their principal overlord, the king of England; Count Bernard-Aiz V
was conspicuous in the service of Henry III at Taillebourg in 1242. This traditional
alliance ended in the 14th century, as the counts acquired fiefs directly under the lordship
of France, most significantly the county of Rodez, added in 1302 through the marriage of
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