Église Saint-Pierre de Brancion, Romanesque church in Martailly-lès-Brancion, France
Église Saint-Pierre de Brancion is a 12th-century Romanesque church built of irregularly laid yellow limestone and covered with stone slabs. Its square bell tower rises over the crossing, with round-arched openings on each face and a pyramidal roof. The nave has a pointed barrel vault on transverse arches, and the chevet consists of a central apse with three arched windows flanked by two semicircular apsidioles.
A church at Brancion is first recorded in a 964 charter of Cluny Abbey, to which a castle church dedicated to Saint Peter belonged. The present building was rebuilt by the lords of Brancion in the 12th century, and it was listed as a monument historique in 1862. In 1967 it hosted the first "communauté d'accueil", an initiative that led to the founding of the CASA association in 1972.
The wall paintings, made around 1325–1330, cover the choir apse and the apses of both transept arms. In the choir, Christ in a four-lobed mandorla holds a book, flanked by the four Evangelist symbols and two seraphim, above apostles including Peter with his key and Paul with his sword. The north transept apse shows the Resurrection of the dead and the Crucifixion; the south apse shows six pilgrims at the Holy Sepulchre.
The building is accessible to visitors during open hours, though viewing may be limited outside service times. It helps to check access routes around the structure and be prepared for uneven ground.
The recumbent effigy of Josserand IV de Brancion, who died in 1250 at the Battle of Mansurah during the Seventh Crusade, lies in the north side aisle. Carved in the 13th century, it shows a knight in a surcoat over mail, hands joined, a dog at his feet and two angels kneeling beside his head. It comes from the chapel of Uxelles castle, destroyed around 1805.
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