AUXERRE
. Situated on the left bank of the Yonne, medieval Auxerre (Yonne) grew from the
Roman Autessiodurum, founded on the site of the Gallic settlement of Autricum. Sources
on early Christian activity mention the martyrdom of Priscus (late 3rd c.) and the
establishment of early church leadership under Peregrinus and Germain (418–48). One of
the seven cities of the civil province Lugdunensis Quarta in 400, Auxerre and its see
came under Frankish control in the 6th century. The episcopal domain, established by
700 and restored in the 10th century, changed hands a number of times before being
reunited to France under Charles V in 1370. In the Middle Ages, the Benedictine abbey at
Auxerre was celebrated for its schools, founded in the 11th century. In the late Middle
Ages, the flourishing religious communities in Auxerre began to decline, due largely to
the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of Religion. However, much of the medieval fabic
of the city remains.
With its asymmetrical west front of one bulky tower and series of blind canopies, the
former cathedral of Saint-Étienne dominates the city. Its 11th-century painted crypt is 40
feet wide and divided into a nave and two side aisles
Auxerre (Yonne), Saint-Étienne,
chevet section. After King.
by two rows of early compound piers. In the upper church, with its three-story elevation,
the 13th-century Gothic choir has quadripartite rib vaulting, with sexpartite vaults in the
nave. The base of the west portals (ca. 1285–1385) carry Old Testament and other scenes
in relief, framed by quatrefoils and trefoils. The painted vaults of the crypt, dated to ca.
1100, feature Christ and angels on horseback and were probably executed under Bishop
Humbaut. Stained glass from the 13th-16th centuries can be found in the east end. The
treasury features medieval enamels, manuscripts, and miniatures.
Built from the 12th century to the 16th, the church of Saint-Eusebius has a
Romanesque nave, but little else remains from the medieval period. In contrast, much of
the abbey church of Saint-Germain survives. Founded in the early 6th century, the abbey
initially consisted of a basilica with a number of tombs in an above-ground crypt built
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