Bazas Cathedral: A Gothic Cathedral and Former Episcopal Seat in France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Duchy of Aquitaine, English, French
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Cathedral
On this page13 sections
History
Bazas Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Bazas, France, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Built mainly in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in the Gothic style, it served as the seat of the Diocese of Bazas until the French Revolution. Its medieval facade, later rebuilding, and continuing ecclesiastical associations reflect the long history of the church and the city.
Early cathedral and late antiquity
A cathedral stood on the site by the fourth century. Gregory of Tours, a sixth-century bishop and historian, referred to a bishop of Bazas during the Vandal invasion and mentioned a siege of the city in 406. A local tradition he recorded tells of a woman from Bazas who traveled to Jerusalem, obtained blood associated with the beheading of Saint John the Baptist, and returned with it in a flask for deposition in the church. The tradition is linked to the cathedral’s dedication.
The bishops of Bazas appear in the records of several early church councils. Sextilius was represented at the Council of Agde in 506 and attended the Council of Orléans in 541. Orestes was mentioned in 584 and attended the Council of Mâcon in 585, while Gudualdus attended the Council of Paris in 614 and Gundulfus the Council of Bordeaux in 673.
After Emperor Honorius granted Guyenne, a historical region of southwestern France, to the Visigoths, their Arian beliefs created conflict with the Catholic bishops of the area. Arianism was a Christian theological position that denied the full divinity of Christ and was associated with several Germanic peoples in late antiquity. Pierre, bishop of Bazas in 437, was later connected with a miracle recorded by Gregory of Tours. Faustus, bishop in 494 and secretary to Theodoric, king of Italy, wrote against Arianism.
Romanesque rebuilding
The cathedral was probably ruined by the Normans in 853. Bishop Raymond II began its restoration in 1070, and his successor, Raymond III, continued the Romanesque rebuilding. Pope Urban II dedicated the resulting cathedral in 1095.
Gothic construction
The present cathedral emerged from a Gothic rebuilding begun in the thirteenth century, following the model of the great Gothic cathedrals of northern France. Arnaud de Tontolon, seneschal of Agenais, laid the first stone in 1233. A seneschal was a high-ranking administrative official. Seguin, the cathedral archdeacon and operarius, managed the finances and practical organization of the project.
Construction continued through a succession of gifts and concessions. The king of England granted 30 marks in 1243 and ordered in 1253 that materials from houses intended for demolition be assigned to the works. Amanieu d’Albret contributed 500 sous in 1263, Guillaume-Arnaud de Ladils gave 100 sous in 1283, and Jean Du Mirail transferred one-fifth of the tithe of Langon to the building fund in 1296.
On 6 August 1313, Pope Clement V granted an indulgence to support work on the eastern end and endorsed the bishop’s plans to rebuild and enlarge the cathedral. Building was still under way in 1372, and the paving was renewed in 1489. Between 1520 and 1528, the chapter sued the bishop to force him to contribute to construction costs. The Parlement of Bordeaux, a high judicial and administrative court under the French monarchy, ordered him to pay 1,000 livres each year.
Mathelin Gallopin, master builder of Bordeaux Cathedral, worked repeatedly at Bazas between 1530 and 1535. He probably directed the building campaign and the western facade up to the level of the rose window. The facade was completed in 1537.
Destruction and reconstruction
Calvinist forces seized Bazas in 1561 during the Wars of Religion, the sixteenth-century conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in France, and sacked the cathedral. They returned in 1577 and 1578. The building was destroyed apart from its facade, which the inhabitants saved by paying 10,000 écus.
During the episcopate of Bishop Arnaud de Pontac, the cathedral was rebuilt on its former model from 1583 until his death in 1605. He left 12,000 écus for the reconstruction of the high vaults. His brother Geoffroi, president of the Parlement of Bordeaux, and Geoffroi’s son completed the work in 1635. A Latin inscription commemorates the completion.
A hurricane on 1 January 1723 destroyed part of the facade and the first two vaults. The upper section, formed by a pediment with side scrolls, was rebuilt and completed in 1725.
Ecclesiastical status and preservation
The Diocese of Bazas was not restored after the Concordat of 1801, the agreement between Napoleonic France and the Catholic Church that reorganized the church after the Revolution. Its former territory was divided among the Archdiocese of Bordeaux and the dioceses of Agen and Aire. In 1937, the diocese was symbolically restored when the archbishop of Bordeaux also received the title of Bishop of Bazas, and the church became a co-cathedral of Bordeaux. A co-cathedral shares cathedral status with another cathedral in the same ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Bazas Cathedral was classified as a French historic monument in 1840. In 1998, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage property The Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.
The cathedral organ
Organs existed in the cathedral from at least the sixteenth century. The first instrument was destroyed by Protestants during the Wars of Religion, and revolutionaries destroyed its replacement on 20 October 1793. A new organ was built in 1837. Georges Wenner replaced it in 1878, and his instrumental section was later replaced by Robert Chauvin between 1979 and 1983, while many Wenner pipes were retained. Bernard Raupp carried out a further overhaul in 2001.
Remains
The cathedral is a predominantly Gothic stone building with a long, broad nave and no transepts. Its surviving medieval fabric is joined by later elements created through reconstruction after attacks and the hurricane of 1723. A single tower stands on the north side, and the surviving base of the medieval bell tower dates from the eleventh century. The building has nineteen bells.
Western facade
The western facade is arranged in three levels. The lowest contains three portals dating from the mid-thirteenth century. Above them is a Flamboyant Gothic rose window made in the sixteenth century before the facade was completed in 1537. The upper level, including the pedimented section with side scrolls, was rebuilt after the hurricane of 1723 and finished in 1725. Despite this later work, the facade preserves major medieval sculptural features.
Central portal
The central portal’s tympanum, the sculpted field beneath the arch, represents the Last Judgment in three registers. The scenes show the Resurrection of the Dead, the separation of the righteous and the wicked, and Christ in Majesty between the Virgin, Saint John, and angels carrying the Instruments of the Passion, objects associated with Christ’s suffering and crucifixion.
The decorated bands around the central arch, known as archivolts, contain 80 statuettes. The first three archivolts show angels. The fourth depicts martyrs carrying palms and other saints, while the fifth also represents saints.
South portal
The south portal is dedicated to the Coronation of the Virgin. Its lintel depicts the Dormition, the Christian tradition describing Mary’s death or falling asleep. The archivolts contain a choir of angels, scenes from Mary’s life from her birth to the Flight into Egypt, and the Tree of Jesse, a genealogical image representing Christ’s lineage through Jesse, the father of King David.
The outer archivolt is arranged in parallel series showing the labors of the months and the zodiac. Together, the portal’s sculpture combines scenes from the life of the Virgin with religious genealogy and representations of the yearly cycle.
North portal
The north portal is dedicated to Saint Peter, another patron of the cathedral. Its tympanum centers on the miraculous catch of fish in the Sea of Galilee. The lintel shows the giving of the keys to Saint Peter, Peter’s crucifixion, Nero as judge, and the beheading of Saint Paul.
The lower archivolt depicts six prelates. Its third archivolt contains ten figures representing the Parable of the Ten Virgins, while the final archivolt presents the Creation, the Fall, and the story of Cain and Abel.
Interior and organ
Inside, the long nave leads to the choir and the eastern end. The cathedral includes vaulted spaces, gargoyles, and the western rose window. The surviving facade and the interior structure together preserve evidence of the medieval building campaign and of later reconstruction.
The organ has 26 stops distributed across two manuals and a pedalboard. Manuals are keyboards played by the hands, stops control sets of pipes, and the pedalboard is played with the feet. The manuals and stops have mechanical action. The case is classically styled and painted green and gold.
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