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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Saint-Martin de Gonneville-sur-Honfleur is a Catholic church in the Calvados department of Normandy. Dating mainly from the 13th century, it is distinguished by its cross structure and its use of travertine as the main material. The façade, with an ogival door, replaced an old Romanesque door, while the massive tower, with an octagonal truncated roof covered with slates, dominates the building. The nave, without a vault, is covered with wood panelling, and the church houses a remarkable 15th century fresco, The Dit of the Three Dead and the Three Living, rediscovered in 1957 under a layer of badigeon.

The building of the church was linked to the Abbey of Saint-Évroult, who held the appointment. The choir and transept, typical of the thirteenth century, were completed in 1778 by the addition of a sacristy. The building was listed as historic monuments on May 17, 1933 for its heritage value. Among its notable features are carved capitals, a north chapel decorated with a 17th century shield, and sculptures of angels partially destroyed after their discovery in 1957.

The murals, inspired by the poem by Baudouin de Condé, illustrate a moralizing scene where three young gentlemen are confronted with three dead in a cemetery, symbolizing the vanity of earthly pleasures and the importance of the soul's salvation. These paintings, dated between 1450 and 1480, bear witness to the artistic and religious influence of the late medieval period in Normandy. Arcisse de Caumont, in his work Statistique monumentale du Calvados (1862), also describes the architectural features of the building, highlighting its evolution since the Middle Ages.

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