Vézelay Abbey (French: Abbaye Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay) is a Benedictine and Cluniac monastery located in Vézelay, in the east-central French department of Yonne. It was built between 1120 and 1150. The Benedictine abbey church, now known as the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (Saint Mary Magdalene), features detailed artwork in carved stone details and entranceways. It is considered one of the most important examples of Burgundian Romanesque art and architecture. In 1569, the building was attacked by the Huguenots and suffered damage. It was not well maintained during the 17th and 18th centuries and experienced more harm during the French Revolution.
The church and the hill where it is located were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979 because of their significance in medieval Christianity and their exceptional architecture.
Relics of Mary Magdalene are displayed inside the Basilica.
History
The Benedictine abbey of Vézelay was built on land that had been a Roman villa, known as Vercellus, which later became Vézelay. The villa was passed down to the Carolingians and eventually belonged to a Carolingian count named Girart of Roussillon. Two convents he established there were attacked and destroyed by Moorish raiders in the 8th century, and a convent on a hill was burned by Norman raiders. In the 9th century, the abbey was rebuilt under the leadership of Badilo, who joined the reformed Benedictine order of Cluny. Vézelay also became one of the four main routes in France for pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.
Around 1050, the monks of Vézelay claimed to possess the relics of Mary Magdalene, which they said were brought to the abbey either by Badilo or by envoys sent by him. Later, a monk from Vézelay discovered a carved image of the Unction at Bethany—when Jesus’ head was anointed by Mary of Bethany, who was later believed to be Mary Magdalene—in a crypt at St-Maximin in Provence. The monks of Vézelay declared this to be Mary Magdalene’s tomb and claimed her relics had been moved to their abbey. Captives who were freed brought their chains as offerings to the abbey. In 1037, the newly elected Abbot Geoffroy had the chains melted down and made into wrought iron railings around the altar of Mary Magdalene. This allowed the construction of one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture, made possible by pilgrims visiting the claimed relics and the physical objects that showed the power of prayers. Mary Magdalene is seen as the model of a repentant person, and Vézelay remained an important pilgrimage site for Catholics. However, the claimed relics were destroyed by Huguenots in the 16th century.
To handle the growing number of pilgrims, a new abbey church was started and completed on April 21, 1104. However, the cost of building the church increased taxes on the abbey’s lands, leading peasants to rebel and kill the abbot. The large number of pilgrims required an extended narthex (a covered porch) to accommodate them, which was inaugurated by Pope Innocent II in 1132.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux gave a speech at Vézelay in 1146, encouraging a second crusade in front of King Louis VII. In 1190, Richard I of England and Philip II of France met at Vézelay and spent three months at the abbey before departing for the Third Crusade. In 1166, Thomas Becket, while in exile, delivered a sermon at Vézelay on Whitsunday, announcing the excommunication of Henry II’s supporters and threatening the king himself. The nave of the abbey, which had been burned once with great loss of life, burned again in 1165 and was later rebuilt in its current form.
The abbey’s monks defended their rights and independence against various groups, including the bishops of Autun, who challenged the abbey’s exemption from certain rules; the counts of Nevers, who claimed authority over Vézelay; the abbey of Cluny, which sought to control the abbot; and the townspeople of Vézelay, who wanted more self-governance.
Vézelay’s decline began in 1279, when the body of Mary Magdalene was discovered at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in Provence. Charles II, the Angevin king of Sicily, supported the discovery and helped establish a Dominican convent there. The shrine was found intact with an inscription explaining why the relics had been hidden. Local Dominican friars collected stories about miracles linked to the relics, which weakened Vézelay’s status as the main shrine for Mary Magdalene in Europe.
After the French Revolution, Vézelay was at risk of collapsing. In 1834, Prosper Mérimée, the French inspector of historical monuments, warned that the abbey was about to fall apart. He recommended that Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, a young architect, lead a major restoration project. Between 1840 and 1861, Viollet-le-Duc’s team repaired much of the damaged and weathered sculpture. The flying buttresses that support the nave were added during this restoration.
Interpretation of the tympanum
The tympanum on the central portal of the Madeleine de Vézelay is different from similar designs in other European churches. It was created specifically to support the Crusades and to show a Christian message about the Crusaders' mission. Compared to churches like St. Lazare d'Autun and St. Pierre de Moissac, the design of Vézelay stands out clearly.
Art historian George Zarnecki wrote, "Most people think of Romanesque sculpture as showing a large church portal with a tympanum carved with an apocalyptic vision, like the Last Judgment." This is usually true, but Vézelay is an exception. In a 1944 article, Adolf Katzenellenbogen said the Vézelay tympanum was linked to the First Crusade and showed the Apostles' mission during Pentecost.
Thirty years before the Vézelay tympanum was made, Pope Urban II planned to announce a call for a crusade at La Madeleine. In 1095, he changed his plan and preached the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont. However, Vézelay remained important in the history of the Crusades. The tympanum was finished in 1130. Fifteen years later, Bernard of Clairvaux chose Vézelay to call for a Second Crusade. Vézelay was also a key place for the Third Crusade, where King Richard the Lionheart of England and King Philip Augustus of France joined forces to invade the holy land. It makes sense that the portal at Vézelay reflects its important role in the Crusades.
Art historian Peter Low said the central tympanum shows both the Pentecost and a passage from the Book of Ephesians. It was meant to teach visiting pilgrims about Benedictine monasticism and the idea of a church that welcomes people from all parts of the world.
The lintel of the Vézelay portal shows people who are not Christian. It represents the first Pentecostal mission to spread the word of God to all people. The figures who have not accepted the message are shown as not fully human. Some have pig snouts, others are misshapen, and some are shown as dwarves. One small figure is shown climbing a horse with a ladder. On the far right, a man has large ears like an elephant, and in the center, a man is covered in feathers. The artists made these figures look physically strange to show what they believed were the moral flaws of non-believers. This reflects how Western people viewed foreigners like the Moors, whom the Crusaders targeted. Pope Urban II encouraged this view by calling on people to "exterminate this vile race." Most Westerners had no idea what the Turks or Muslims looked like and assumed that non-Christians had unattractive physical features. Some say the artists made the figures look monstrous to make them seem less human. This helped support the Crusaders' goal of capturing the holy land and converting or killing Muslims. The Vézelay lintel is both a political and religious message.
The political purpose of Vézelay becomes clearer when compared to other church portals in France. The Vézelay lintel is unique, but it shares some similarities with other Romanesque carvings. Like the lintel at St. Lazare d'Autun, the Vézelay lintel shows people who have sinned. However, while the Vézelay lintel focuses on "heathens," the Autun lintel shows people being judged on Judgment Day. The two lintels are similar because the same master artisan, Master Gislebertus, worked on both. The two tympana also share the tradition of placing an exaggerated image of Christ in the center. However, the designs differ. The Autun tympanum is more traditional and shows the Second Coming, a common theme in Romanesque art. It includes frightening images of demons. The Vézelay tympanum, on the other hand, supports the Crusades and is not meant to scare people back to church.
The lower part of the Vézelay tympanum shows nations that had already accepted the Gospel, such as the Byzantines, Armenians, and Ethiopians. Including the Byzantines is important because they were the ones who first asked for help from the West to reclaim Jerusalem from the Seljuk Turks.
The people in the lower compartments are shown as regal and well-proportioned, unlike the grotesque figures in the lintel. They are human, showing that they have received God's grace. These images represent the unity of different nations fighting together for a common goal during the Crusades.
The upper part of the Vézelay tympanum shows the second mission of the Apostles, as described in the Bible. It includes scenes of miracles, like healing the sick and driving out demons. These acts are compared to the Crusaders' mission to remove non-Christians from the holy land. Pope Urban II criticized the Turks for taking over the holy land, calling them "a race so despicable, degenerate, and enslaved by demons." This shows the connection between the Apostles' mission and the Crusaders' goal.
The central part of the Vézelay tympanum continues to link religion with politics. It shows a kind and welcoming Christ speaking to the Apostles. This image is different from the angry Christ in the tympanum at St. Pierre de Moissac, which shows a harsh figure on a throne of judgment. The Vézelay Christ is shown in a relaxed pose, delivering a message rather than punishing people. This makes the Vézelay tympanum unique compared to other Romanesque designs.
Astronomical alignment
In 1976, Hugues Delautre, one of the Franciscan fathers responsible for caring for the Vézelay sanctuary, found that the building of La Madeleine is not only aligned in the usual east-west direction but also uses the positions of the Earth and the Sun in its design. Every June, shortly before the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, the special design features of the church become visible when the Sun reaches its highest point of the year at local noon on the summer solstice. At this time, sunlight passing through the windows in the southern part of the church creates lighted areas exactly along the middle of the church floor.