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Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in Neuilly-en-Donjon, located in the Basses Marches du Bourbonnais (Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), is a 11th century Romanesque building, although its first written mention dates back to a foillée of the diocese of Autun before 1312. It then depended on the priory of Marcigny (Saône-et-Loire), suggesting a foundation or reconstruction in the 12th century, because absent from Marcigny's older cartular. Its simple architecture, in sandstone and micro-granite, includes a unique rectangular nave, a vaulted apse in cul-de-four, and a bell tower in a building. The western portal, with rare finesse in the region, is decorated with a tympanum depicting Epiphany and a lintel illustrating the Fall of Adam and Eve as well as the Supper, merged with a scene of the Madeleine washing the feet of Christ.

Ranked a historic monument in 1944, the church benefited from major restorations between 2008 and 2010, financed by the municipality (230 inhabitants) and an American patron. The work involved the roof, the frame, the western façade and the gate. Inside, the nave, initially vaulted with plaster in the 19th century at the expense of Romanesque windows (replaced by larger bays), regained its apparent structure. Historic capitals, such as the one evoking Daniel in the lion pit or a miracle of St.Madeleine, as well as the tympanum, bear witness to a rich iconography, mixing biblical narratives and eschatological symbols. A moulding of the tympanum and lintel, made in 1955 by Georges Latapi, is preserved at the City of Architecture and Heritage.

The building illustrates the clunisian influence in the Brionnais, while presenting local peculiarities, such as the absence of low sides or the use of raw materials (irregular sandstones). His tympanum, combining the Adoration of the Magi, the incomplete tetramorph, and angels ringing with the olifant, offers a theological synthesis of the history of Salvation, from the Incarnation to the Parousia. Winged animals (lion and bull) under the feet of the Magi could refer to the prophecy of Isaiah or Pseudo-Matthew, while the Madeleine, patron saint of the church, is represented as a model of redemption. These elements underline the educational and spiritual role of Romanesque art in medieval countryside.

The church's location, at the top of a hill around which the village developed, reflects its central importance in community life. Prior to recent restorations, the building had undergone modifications in the 19th century, such as the suppression of Romanesque windows, partially altering its original character. Today, it remains a remarkable testimony of the rural religious architecture of the Middle Ages, preserved thanks to its ranking and local and international initiatives.

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