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Origin and history

The Church of Notre-Dame de Carentan, located in the former municipality of Carentan (now Carentan-les-Marais, Manche), is a religious building dating back to the twelfth century. It was mentioned as a welcoming place for the King of England Henri I Beauclerc in 1106, while he landed at Barfleur to seize the ducal throne of Normandy. The Romanesque building was partially destroyed during the Hundred Years' War by the English, requiring major reconstruction in the 15th century, in a context of English domination and early economic recovery.

The reconstruction of the church in the 15th century, financed in part by papal indulgences granted by Innocent VI in 1357, adopted the flamboyant Gothic style. Guillaume de Cerisay, Viscount of Carentan and Grand Baili of Cotentin under Louis XI, played a key role in the construction of the choir between 1466 and 1490. This choir, at walk-by and bow-buttons, illustrates the architectural climax of this period. The western portal, the only Romanesque vestige with the piles of the cross, contrasts with Gothic additions, such as capitals decorated with fantasy or musical motifs.

The building retains traces of its later evolution, including an axial chapel added in 1517 and modifications in the 19th century (sacristy, vault). Ranked a historic monument in 1862, the church houses remarkable furniture: glass windows of the 15th–12th centuries illustrating its destruction and reconstruction, 16th century stalls, and a statue of Leon de Carentan, an apostle of the Basque Country born around 856. The medieval gargoyles, expressive and varied, adorn the choir and the north side, while the square bell tower, pierced with twined bays, recalls that of the church Saint-Pierre de Caen.

The outside of the church is characterized by its compactness, with low sides as high as the nave, rhythmic foothills, and gables surmounted by musical angels. Inside, the capitals of the cross combine Romanesque (bases of the pillars) and Gothic (seals of the 15th century), while 15th-century murals, like a damasked background, remain in the walk. The epitaph of Gillette Le Monnier (1597), with its coat of arms, and the stained glass windows narrate the history of the building, complete this rich and diverse heritage.

The historical context of the church reflects the tumults of medieval Normandy: English occupation, ducal rivalries, and post-war economic revival of Hundred Years. Its hybrid architecture, mixing novel and flamboyant, symbolizes this transition from destruction to renewal. The additions of the 15th and 16th centuries, such as the stone arrow or the glass windows, bear witness to an active parish community, supported by local patrons such as Guillaume de Cerisay. Ranked among the first French historical monuments (1862), it now embodies a religious, artistic and memorial heritage.

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