Calvary, dating from the 1400s, in the parish close (enclos paroissial), Church of Saint Nonne, Dirinon, Finistère, Brittany, France. Christ on the cross is flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist. Square detail.
Church of Saint Nonne, Dirinon, Finistère, Brittany, France: calvary in the parish close (enclos paroissial). The calvary, sculpted in Kersanton stone, dates from the 1400s and is thought to be the oldest part of the parish close. Below Christ's feet is a depiction of the shield of the Simon de Kerbringal family: "Sable with a silver lion, armed and with red tongues visible”. Christ is flanked by Saint John the Evangelist (the Beloved Disciple) and the Virgin Mary who both have their hands crossed on their stomachs. The Church of St Nonne was built between the late 1500s and early 1700s. The parish close was built in the 1400s as a result of the prosperity of the cloth trade and patronage of noble families. Parish closes (les enclos paroissiaux) are a feature of Breton art. They refer to enclosed cemeteries beside a church, each including a calvary. Breton calvaries are elaborate sculptures detailing biblical scenes and sometimes secular scenes. Many ancillary figures wear not biblical robes but elaborate 16th century dress. The naive carvings were worked in granite. At a time when many were illiterate, the stone carvings provided pictorial information. Saint Nonne (or Non) who lived in the 500s AD was the daughter of Brecan, a Welsh chieftain, and of Dinam, an Irish princess. Following a rape, Nonne sailed to Brittany to give birth to her son, Divy (Dewi in Welsh, David in English) and came to Dirinon, the place now named after her. (In other versions of Nonne’s life, she settled at Altarnun in Cornwall, England, where a church and well were built in her honour and later travelled to Brittany where she died.)
Size: 4886px × 4885px
Location: Church of Saint Nonne, l’église Sainte-Nonne, Dirinon, Finistère, Brittany, France
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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