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St.Germain, inside church Saint-Germain inspired by Arthur Gillette (part 2)-medieval sampler

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Like I said in my previous article, Childibert founded -and fund-in the fertile fields outside the city a rich abbey with an exquisite church, consecrated in 558. You can still see the influence of this abbey all along the rue de Vaugirard, the longest street in Paris, which was an immense terrain evangelized by a 9th century monk. 
But greed and bloodthirsty Vikings had their eye on all these treasures and the abbey's wealth was pillaged. The broke off the beams to repair the drakkar long boats on which they had sailed up the Seine, and roofing (shiny bronze they thought it was gold, the morons:-))
But as a century later Saint-Germain was rebuilt, we can visit it now under the supervision of Arthur Armedv@aol.com, let's step over the walkway of the church to see all that remains today of the abbey. We stand at no.16, rue de l'abbaye. Look back to the west and up, to the left of the statue atop the building opposite Saint Germain. It will seem to you that there is a rough-hewn rounded segment of masonry 'embedded in the stonework of an apartment house beyond. Wrong! You are in fact seeing the upward extension of a (probably) 13th century TOWER OF THE DEFENSIVE WALL built 

Ancient wall of abbey St.Germain

around the abbey. How about that? Is Arthur not a genius researcher? You can enjoy this view even more since hundreds of Parisians who pass by here every day do not raise their eyes, the ignorants ;-), and even if they did, there would be no Arthur Gillette to explain to them what's going on. 
Let's enter now the Saint Germain door; slowly please to understand the full fact you are passing through THREE widely separated architectural periods! Explanation: the outside portal is 1607 neo-classical, the lintel "bas relief" is 12th century representing delicate columns, fantastic animals and a last supper. Then you move further back, in the belfry base to a military looking 11th century structure and that you are now in the oldest church space extant in the French capital.
Inside Saint Germain you should not miss, immediately to your right, the intimate, pre-Romanesque Saint-Symphorien side chapel. It's built on a site where the remains of St. Germain and other notables of time are buried. Look at a vast fresco (vestiges) on the back wall probably from the 13th century. Notice the mid-19th century neo-Byzantine style of the nave restoration. Arthur asked me: how do you like the taste. Medium, I said. But what do you think? 
On the right side of the main entrance there is a multilingual documentation of the abbey's history in a chapel. The very back of the church (the apse) up some short black columns that rhythm the triforium (look it up), a monk's gallery that discreetly separated them from the parishioners below. Specialists say these are still remains of the first Saint-Germain church of the 6th century. A most evocative and moving relic, still visible in Paris. 
This first stop at the church was quite long but the exceptional personality of Saint-Germain needed that. Next stroll will move more briskly, out of the church's north side, to the rue Mazarine!
Remember this stroll is still part from Arthur's Gillette stroll no. 2: a medieval sampler"

Bibliography

A Medieval Sampler, stroll no.2 by Arthur Gillette (ed.Media-Cartes)
Sources of culture, volume 1 abbaye of Saint-Germain(.M.Biggs TH.Dill, E.Schermacj and E.Gordon Whatley edited by Frederick M. Biggs, Thomas
Saint Germain On Alchemy by Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Mark Prophet