Abbatiale Saint-Martin de Plaimpied

Plaimpied-Givaudins

Founded around 1080 by Richard II, Archbishop of Bourges, the abbey of Plaimpied raised at the very beginning of the 12th century a massive Romanesque abbey church, with a three-aisled crypt, one of the few in the Berry. But what brings the curious here from all over the world rests on a single basket of stone: the capital of the Temptation of Christ, carved around 1140 in the first south bay of the nave, at eye level for the pilgrims to whom it spoke. Christ is enthroned on a lyre-shaped seat, his head ringed by a broad cruciform halo, draped in concentric folds of astonishing delicacy; two winged demons — one naked, the other covered in scales — throw themselves backwards in a great movement, as if repelled by his stillness alone. The scene illustrates the first temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4). Art historians recognise in it the hand of an exceptional sculptor from Burgundy, the "Master of Plaimpied", whose style can be traced as far as the south portal of Bourges Cathedral (the Samson capital) and even, an extraordinary attribution, to the Holy Land, on capitals of the Church of the Annunciation at Nazareth. This masterpiece is held to be one of the jewels of Western Romanesque sculpture: a cast of it stands in the gallery of casts at the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine in Paris — the only Romanesque sculpture from the Berry to enjoy that honour. The original, for its part, has not moved in eight centuries, and the untouched half-light of the 11th-century crypt completes the visit.

Getting there : Church in the centre of the village, place de l'Église, 10 km south of Bourges via the D2076 then the D46. Car park immediately nearby. The Temptation capital is in the first south bay of the nave; crypt freely accessible.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound