30 – The Architecture…

History

Mont St Michel is frequently described as an example of Romanesque architecture, yet as we have already seen the most recently built parts of the abbey apse and chancel (if one may call the sixteenth century recent) are decidedly Gothic. So too, as we will shortly see, are other parts of the Marvel. For a construction that has evolved over many centuries the entirety of the mount forms a surprisingly cohesive whole. The differing styles of architecture are as I have mentioned before sympathetically blended, as is the restoration work which continues to this day.  It retains a most attractive profile from almost any angle. Although there are records of an earlier pre-Romanesque church, the earliest known records of the Mont’s grand design date from around 1020 – the time of Abbot Hildebert. This early construction was only completed in 1135. The original three storied Marvel built above the existing church was begun in the early thirteenth century and completed in around 1230. Much damage was caused by a fire in 1204. The Marvel comprised of a number of halls, refectory, cloisters and the abbey towers. It is believed that one tower collapsed in 1300 followed by the collapse of the nave in 1421. Reconstruction began in 1450 and was completed in 1521. In 1618 this façade too began to collapse and was removed in the mid eighteenth century – all barring four arches. Further fire damage occurred in 1856, and restoration was begun in 1874 under Napoleon III who declared the site a national monument, and the government of France took responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of the Mont.

As seen here, the nave of the abbey church displays a distinctly Romanesque style of construction.