The Abbey and Cloister of Moissac

We met our guide George out the front of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre. He was extremely passionate and knowledgeable and really brought the history of the Abbey and Cloister to life. He shared some lovey anecdotes during the tour, which made it more interesting. The Abbey is very impressive, with an ornate and well maintained Tympanum above the entrance (not as impressive as the one in Conques but still very good), and Romanesque sculptures around it.

The Moissac Abbey was a Benedictine and Cluniac monastery. It is unusual inside as it only has one knave; most would have three. The rationale, as explained by George, was to ensure nobody could hide in the shadows or behind pillars or steal stuff! Historical records indicate that it was founded by Saint Didier, Bishop of Cahors in the middle of the 7th century.

The Abbey has been attacked by the Moors, Norseman and the Arabs of al-Andalus. The roof collapsed due to lack of maintenance and in 1042 there was a serious fire. Restoration and building work continued through the 10th to 15th centuries. In the Abbey we saw an amazing carving of Jesus being buried - it is carved from walnut wood and depicts a scene of Mary and Mary Magdalene mourning his death. George told us that the other two women in the scene were probably actresses, typically employed by rich people at the time to attend funerals and mourn the deceased person.

The tympanum depicts the Apocalypse of the Book of Revelation. Mark is represented by the winged lion, Luke is the bull, Matthew is an angel and John the winged eagle. There are also six lions and lionesses guarding the Abbey.

To the east of the tympanum there is good news - Mary with child, three wise men etc. To the west there is bad news, which is quite graphically illustrated - greed and power is bad and you should share your wealth with the church and the poor, otherwise you will end up with nothing. Adultery is a big no no and the scene depicting this is very violent and shocking, even by today’s standards. The illiterate people of the time would have been greatly influenced by these carvings, as they would have to walk past them every time they entered. (Ed - I’ve been on my best behaviour ever since!) The layout and story was designed by the Abbott. The Abbey took three centuries to complete, the cloisters took 50 years and the carving of the capitals in the Cloister took 2 years, with 10 artisans working on it.

The Cloister is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world. It has 76 exceptional capitals (the carvings at the top of the columns) which all tell stories, some about the Creation and some commenting on episodes in the Bible. The scenes of the Old Testament, New Testament and early life martyrs are represented on all four sides of the capitals, as a real ‘comic book’ story. Unfortunately, the heads of most of the sculptures have been removed. George said this was probably vandalism by bored soldiers, rather than being for religious reasons. We have seen this practice in most villages and cities we have visited, but usually as the result of religious wars (e.g. Protestants vs Catholics). The only in tact one in the Cloister was that of a soldier. George thought that this was because the soldiers thought that it would be bad form and bad luck to vandalise one of their own.Read more