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Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Marie de Nasbinals, located in the department of Lozère in the Occitan region, is a Romanesque religious building built in the 11th and 12th centuries, and subsequently renovated in the 14th and 15th centuries. It is distinguished by its Latin cross plan, its octagonal bell tower overlooking the cross of the transept, and its materials typical of the Margeride: granite, basalt and volcanic tuff. The vaults, initially in cradle, were partially redone in warheads in the Gothic era, while the Romanesque portal with double yousure features carved capitals, one representing a fight between a sagittarius and a lancet.

The history of the church is linked to the Christianization of the Aubrac from the fifth century, as can be seen from the writings of Gregory of Tours. In the 11th century, Nasbinals became a stage on Via Podensis, a pilgrimage path to Santiago de Compostela, under the influence of the abbeys of the Chaise-Dieu and Saint-Victor de Marseille. An act of donation of 1074 confirms the existence of a church and a village, followed by papal bubbles (1079, 1113, 1135) attributing the priory to Saint-Victor. In 1155, the bishop of Mende, Aldebert, obtained the jurisdiction of the terroir before the Domerie d'Aubrac took control of the priory until the Revolution.

The conflicts of the Hundred Years' War damaged the church: the nave, whose vaults were destroyed, was rebuilt in the 15th century with dogive crosses decorated with the cross of the knights of Aubrac. In the 16th century, a north side and a staircase leading to the bell tower were added. The building, classified as a historic monument in 1921, houses a 16th century Christ and 18th century polychrome furniture. It is also marked by the history of Marc-Antoine Charrier, notary and member of the third state, baptized in his walls in 1755, then executed in 1793 for royalism.

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