POITIERS, Diocese of. – A city and diocese in the Vienne department of France; it comprises the two civil departments of Vienne and Deux-Sèvres, with an area of 12,970 sq. km. and a population of 620,000, of whom 580,000 are Catholics, distributed in 61 deaneries with 643 parishes, served by 666 diocesan priests and 100 religious. The major seminary is in Poitiers, the minor in Montmorillon; it also has the "École cléricale" in Châtillon-sur-Sèvre and the Collège St-Joseph in Bressuire. In the diocese there are 14 male religious communities and 195 female. The diocese is a suffragan of Bordeaux. Poitiers was the capital of the Pictavi under the name of Limonum and was part of the Roman province of Aquitania.
After the Poitou was occupied by the Saracens, they were defeated in 732 by Charles Martel; it then passed to the Carolingian Kingdom and the Duchy of Aquitaine, and later under the English through the marriage of Henry Plantagenet to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It was reunited with the French crown by Philip Augustus. Charles VII established the Parliament of Paris in Poitiers in 1423, where it remained until 1436. Four episcopal catalogues of Poitiers are known prior to the 13th century; that of Robert of Torigny, now in ms. Lat. 6042 of the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, ends with Gilbert de la Porrée (1142–54); another in ms. 4955 of the same library ends with John "aux Blanches mains" (1162–82), as does ms. 450 of the Regina collection (Christina of Sweden’s collection in the Vatican Library); while ms. 711 of the same collection reaches William III (1184–97). The last three lists were compiled at St-Aubin d’Angers at the end of the 12th century, from which derive mss. Bibl. nat. 4955 and Regina 711. The catalogue contained in the great chronicle of Tours extends to Bishop Philip (1233); while the Cartulary of Poitiers, known by the title of the Grand Gautier, dates from the beginning of the 15th century; it appears to be identical to that of the chronicle of Tours but continued into the 15th century. John XXII (1316–34) dismembered Poitiers to create the new dioceses of Maillezais and Luçon.
St Hilary was already bishop of Poitiers around 350; he was exiled after the Council of Béziers in 356 and took part in that of Seleucia in Isauria in 359. The Hieronymian Martyrology commemorates him on 13 January, the day of his death in 367 or 368. Other bishops include Adelius, present at the Council of Orléans in 511; Daniel, who attended that of 541; followed by Pientius, who died after 561 and is commemorated on 13 March, and then Paccencius, abbot of St-Maixent, to whom Fortunatus dedicated in 565 the Life of St Hilary; Maroveus, mentioned several times by Gregory of Tours between the years 585–90 (Hist. Franc., VII, 24; IX, 30, 33, 39–41, 43; X, 15, 16), and succeeded by Plato, archdeacon of Gregory of Tours, who presided over the entry into the diocese (ibid., Miracula s. Martini, IV, 132). Then came Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus, whose epitaph was composed by Paul the Deacon (Hist. Langobard., II, 13). Later bishops include Dido, uncle of St Leodegar of Autun, between 628–70 ca.; Ansolado, who transferred the relics of St Leodegar to St-Maixent at the end of the 7th century; John, to whom Alcuin dictated the epitaph (PL 101, 750); Ebroin, who took part in the Council of Ver in 844 and was killed by the inhabitants of Poitiers around 850; Engenald, who attended the Councils of Toul in 860 and was Dousy in 871; Ecfrid, to whom Pope John VIII wrote in 878 (Jaffé-Wattenbach, 3145, 3181). Among later bishops are: St Peter (1087–1115), exiled by William IX of Aquitaine; Gilbert de la Porrée (1142–54); the Blessed Walter of Bruges (1278–1306); Arnaud d’Aux (1306–12), created cardinal in 1312; Guy de Malsec (1371–75), and Simon de Gramaud (1385–91), who in 1413 became administrator of the diocese until 1422; while in 1394–95 Bishop L. de Bar, later cardinal in 1397, was administrator in 1423; also G. Orsini (1449–57), Cardinals G. F. de la Trémoille (1503–07), G. de Grammont (1532), Claude de Longwy de Givry (1534–51), A. Barberini (1632–57). Pius VII consecrated in Paris in 1805 as bishop of Poitiers Mgr D. de Pradt, who died in 1837; from 1849 to 1880 the bishop was Mgr L. PIEVE (v.), later cardinal.
Synods were held in Poitiers in the years 355, 389, 395, 937, 1000, 1004, 1023, 1030, 1036, 1073, 1078, 1094, 1100. Pope Pius VII granted the use of the mitre to the deacon and subdeacon serving the bishop in the cathedral.
On 2 September 1792, the parish priest of Niort, Jean Gozet, with his vicars Pierre Landry and Jean Philippe Marchand, were martyred in the Carmelite convent; they were beatified by Pius XI in 1926 and are venerated in a chapel of the church of Notre-Dame in Niort, built between 1491 and 1520. Charles VII founded a university in Poitiers, approved by Eugenius IV with a bull of 28 May 1431; among its students was Roger Bacon. There were ten colleges attached to the university. In 1540, the Collège Ste-Marthe had M. A. Muret; in 1570 Fr. Maldonatus arrived in Poitiers to establish a Jesuit college, which in 1605 was merged into the Collège Ste-Marthe, to which was later joined the Collège de Puygareau. In 1674 the Jesuits founded a college for Irish ecclesiastical students. The university was suppressed during the French Revolution.
The cathedral is dedicated to St Peter. Begun in 1166, it was completed in 1271, except for the two outer towers and the upper part of the façade, which were finished between the 14th and 16th centuries. It was consecrated in 1379. The interior has three naves with eight bays, measuring 90 x 27 metres. The windows date from the early 13th century with magnificent contemporary stained glass, among which the most notable, depicting the Triumph of the Cross, was donated by Thibaud de Blason, seneschal of Poitou, for the victory at Las Navas (1212). The choir stalls are also from the 13th century. On the exterior, the three portals are decorated with
belong to the series of twenty bishops representing the episcopal glories of Christian Poitiers. Now lost is the image of FULGHETTO, Bishop of Chartres and treasurer of this collegiate church, who died in 1029 (R. Crozet, L'art roman en Poitou, Paris 1948, pp. 252-53; P. Deschamps et M. Thibout, La peinture murale en France, le haut moyen-âge et l'époque romane, ibid. 1951, pp. 64-65, fig. 20 and plates 20, 22 and 37, 11). The capitals display scenes of the Nativity, the Flight into Egypt, the death of St Hilary, monsters, confronted lions, doves beside a chalice; two bear the names of the Romanesque craftsmen Ugo Monedarius and Nillacus. The choir is raised, with a main apse, an ambulatory and four radiating chapels from the 12th century.
St Radegund: originally the church was St Mary outside the walls and served as a burial place for the nuns of St Cross, but it later took the name of St Radegund, foundress of the abbey, who died in 590 and was buried in the crypt. The church burned in 1083; rebuilt, it was consecrated in 1099, to which belong the choir, the ambulatory, the lower part of the portico and the bell tower; the rest is from the 12th century, while the Gothic nave is from the 13th, the portal from the 15th. Inside there is an upper gallery; the capitals are foliated or display rough scenes such as Adam and Eve, Daniel. The richly decorated portal, with Christ in Majesty and saints under tabernacles, has a double entrance; around it are arranged stone benches with angels and lions, where ecclesiastical justice was administered inter leones. In a niche to the right is depicted the Lord appearing to St Radegund shortly before her death. The stained glass (13th-14th centuries) contains episodes from the life of the saint and the Last Judgement. G. B. De Rossi reported the discovery of a gold ring with a seal (Radegund) probably belonging to Queen Radegund (Bull. arch. crist., I [1863], p. 40).
St-Porchaire: this is a 16th-century building with two naves and decorated capitals, including one with Daniel among the lions. The great bell tower (late 16th century) stands above the entrance portico. Notable for 17th-century art is the ancient chapel of the Jesuit college with an artistic sacristy (now ‘Lycée des garçons’).
The church of St-Hilaire-de-la-Celle was built in the 12th century on the site of the original tomb of St Hilary; it has a crossing covered by an octagonal dome and a tower. The chapel of the monastery of St Cross (erected in 1865) preserves relics of St Radegund.
Near Poitiers, at a place called ‘la pierre levée’, there is a large Gallo-Roman then Christian necropolis where Fr C. De la Croix discovered a vaulted funerary monument with an underground chamber; on its door were two inscriptions. The first reads: ‘In the name of God, I Mellebaudo, debtor and servant of Our Lord Jesus Christ, have built for myself this underground sepulchre, in which, though unworthy, I shall be laid. I have done it in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ whom I have loved, in whom I have believed because He must be acknowledged as the living God, shining with glory. In Him is peace, faith and charity. He is God and man and God is in Him. If anyone does not wish to worship Our Lord Jesus Christ here and destroys this monument, let him be anathema, “maranatha” until the end of the ages.’ The second inscription reads: ‘Here is the sepulchre of Mellebaudo, abbot and debtor of Christ... beginning and end, since everything grows worse day by day, the end of the ages draws near.’ On the threshold is carved a cabalistic formula: ‘grama, grumo, ax, cax, pix.’ In the crypt were found stone sarcophagi, some within large niches; at the far end a base for an altar. The barbarous form of the Latin and the rough decoration of one of the sarcophagi with the archangels Raphael and Raguhel point to the end of the 7th century (L. Duchesne, La crypte de Mellebaude et les pretendus martyrs de P., in Revue poitevine et saint-tongeaise, 1885, pp. 120-54; L. Le Blant, Nouveau recueil des inscriptions chrétiennes de la Gaule, Paris 1892, pp. 250-73; L. Levillain, La «memoria» de l'abbé Mellebaude, in Bulletin de la Société des antiquaires de l'Ouest, 3e série, 2 [1911], pp. 355-416; H. Leclercq, Mellebaude, in DACL, XI, 1, cols. 241-66. A. W. Clapham, English romanesque architecture before the conquest, Oxford 1930, p. 43, fig. 14).
Montierneuf: that is, monasterium novum, founded by Count Guido Geoffrey William c. 1078 under the care of the monk Ponce of Cluny and consecrated by Urban II in 1096, as recorded by an inscription inside; it has a Romanesque ambulatory with chapels and
Poitiers, diocese of — West façade of Notre-Dame-la-Grande (12th century).
scenes of the death, coronation of the Virgin and the Last Judgement. On the north flank is the portal called of St Michael, with scenes from the life of the B
The rich library contains over 75,000 volumes, 215 incunabula and 629 manuscripts, among them a Carolingian gospel in uncial script from the end of the 8th century; a Life of St Radegund and a 11th-century Pontifical; the Psalter of Jeanne de Laval from the 15th century. Attached are the municipal archives with parish registers dating back to 1412.
The ‘Société des Antiquaires de l’Ouest’ has established three museums: the ‘de l’Échevinage’ contains a prehistoric collection, furnishings from the ancient Gallo-Roman necropoleis of Poitou and material from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, including the so-called ‘capital of discord’, formerly in St Hilary-le-Grand, the scene of St Hilary and St Trias; the ‘de Chièvres’ museum contains a lapidary collection, furniture, ceramics and paintings from Flemish, German and other schools; Merovingian art is gathered in the baptistery of St John. The ‘Musée des Beaux-Arts’ contains collections of paintings from the Italian, French and Flemish schools, enamels, furniture, works of art and sculpture, including the archaizing Hellenistic statue of Minerva in marble and a bronze statuette of an athlete. The ‘Musée des Augustins’ is the headquarters of the ‘Société des Antiquaires de l’Ouest’. Its portal comes from the ancient church of the Augustinians. It is rich in collections of porcelain, ceramics, furniture, bronzes, tapestries, enamels and ivories; it has a room of religious art and a lapidary museum. Beneath an altar, in the chapel of St Sixtus, a lead reliquary was found with an inscription recalling the bishops Sixtus and Isicius (L. Levillain, Note sur l’ancien reliquaire en plomb trouvé dans la chapelle de St-Sixte et la cathédrale de P., in Bull. de la Soc. des ant. de l’Ouest, 2e série, 10 [1906], pp. 54-56).
The principal shrines of the diocese are Notre-Dame de l’Agenouillec at Azay-sur-Thouet, Notre-Dame de Pitié in the chapel of St Lawrence, and Notre-Dame de Beauchêne at Cerizay. At Liguévenne the earliest monastery in France was founded by St Martin, giving its name to the abbey, which was suppressed during the French Revolution and restored in 1853. The chamber at the base of the present bell tower corresponds to the south transept of the original church, where about 1075 the Feast of Herod and the beheading of St John the Baptist were depicted (P. Deschamps – M. Thibout, op. cit., pp. 65–66 and fig. 66). The abbey church, rebuilt in the 15th century, has recently been restored (P. Monsabert, Le monastère de Liguévenne, Liguévenne, 1929; Cottineau, I, col. 1613).
The Benedictine abbey of St-Savin-sur-Gartempe, in the district of Montmorillon, was founded at the end of the 8th or the beginning of the 9th century and rebuilt in the 11th; it passed to the Maurist Congregation in 1643. The abbey church dates from the 11th century; it has three naves, each ending in an apse, and the ambulatory opens into five similarly apsidal chapels, as well as the two ends of the transept. The crypt contains the relics of St Savinus. The crypt, the interior of the church and the porch display the most important iconographic cycle yet known in France. The porch contains the principal episodes of the Apocalypse; the biblical cycle in the central nave covers about 412 square metres and is arranged in two registers on each side, beginning on the north with the Creation, Adam and Eve, their entire story, Cain and Abel, Enoch, the story of Noah, and the Exodus of the Hebrews. The tribune is decorated with scenes from the Passion of Christ, while the crypt contains episodes relating to the martyrdom of SS Savinus and Cyprian. The technique, style and inscriptions all support the dating of the paintings to the end of the 11th century, proposed as early as 1905 by E. Mâle (in A. Michel, Hist. de l’art, I, Paris 1906, p. 758; Cottineau, II, cols. 2881–82; E. Maillard, L’église de St-Savin sur Gartempe, Paris 1926; P. Deschamps – M. Thibout – A. Grabar, Observations sur les fresques de St-Savin, in Cahiers archéol., 4 [1949], pp. 135–47; P. Deschamps – M. Thibout, La peinture murale en France, le haut moyen-âge et l’époque romane, Paris 1951, pp. 71–86; figs. 21–27, pls. 23–32 and 37,1).
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(d) P. Deschamps – M. Thibout, La Peinture murale en France, Paris 1951, pl. 27)