Collégiale Saint-Léonard de Noblat

Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat

Tradition makes Leonard a son of the Frankish nobility, baptised by Saint Remigius at the time of the baptism of Clovis, who refused the mitre to live as a hermit in the forest of Pauvain. Called to the side of the wife of the king of Aquitaine, in danger during childbirth, he is said to have obtained through his prayer that mother and child be saved. In reward, the king offered him all the land he could cover in twenty-four hours: Leonard named it Noblac, in memory of this royal origin, and built a chapel there. From this comes his most famous patronage, that of prisoners and captives, whom legend has him delivering by the hundred. His tomb, in the south transept arm of the collegiate church, is surmounted by a prisoner's chain, an ex-voto that has become an emblem; custom has it that women wishing to marry or to have a child touch its bolt. The church itself, built from 1030–1070 through to the 13th century, is one of the high points of Limousin Romanesque: a 52 m bell tower with four square storeys and two octagonal ones, a lantern tower with eight windows above the crossing, and a choir with ambulatory sized for the crowds of pilgrims. A major stage on the Via Lemovicensis to Compostela, it has been listed since 1859 and inscribed on the World Heritage List since 1998. Every seven years, the town brings out its relics for the septennial ostensions, a Limousin tradition recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage.

Collégiale Saint-Léonard — Wikipédia ↗

Getting there : 2 place Gay-Lussac, 87400 Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, some twenty kilometres east of Limoges by the N141; free admission, at the heart of a medieval town best explored on foot. Saint Leonard's tomb and the prisoner's chain are in the south transept arm. The town is one of the Limousin cities that hold the septennial ostensions, inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage: the last ostensions were in 2023, the next will be in 2030.

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

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