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Origin and history

The church of Saint Trojan de Rétaud, dedicated to the fifth bishop of Saintes, was built around 1140-1150 by the chapter of Saint Eutrope de Saintes. In Saintongese Romanesque style, it consists of a nave with three spans originally vaulted in a cradle, an octagonal bell tower of the 15th century (replacing an anterior structure), and a chorus ending in a hemicircular apse vaulted in cul-de-four. Five windows in full hanger, framed by arcades and carved columns, illuminate the abside. The building suffered damage during the Wars of Religion, its bell tower being fortified and with still visible murderers.

The interior decoration, sober, concentrates its ornaments in the choir and the abside. The nave, without its original vault, is home to traces of funeral liters (17th-15th centuries) and coat of arms scratched at the Revolution. The historic capitals of the triumphal arch and the abside represent symbolic scenes: bicorporated lions, men pulling hair braids, or demonic masks. These sculptures, as well as the models of the facade and the abside (demons, animals, human heads), reflect the Romanesque iconography linked to the capital sins. The western facade, sober, presents a three-piece portal and a cornice with atypical modillons, including peaceful heads perhaps attributed to the sculptors themselves.

Ranked as a historical monument in 1862, the church illustrates the specificities of Saintongese Romanesque art: "telescopic" foothills of the abside, finely carved archatures, and re-use of stones (like the cat mask of the gable). Its bell tower, although redesigned in the 15th century, preserves a medieval strain. The modillons (about 40 around the abside) depict moralizing themes – demons, sinners, symbolic animals – absent from the usual musical representations. Stylistic comparisons link Saint-Trojan to the churches of Rioux and Corme-Écluse, highlighting its anchoring in the regional heritage.

The building, owned by the commune of Rétaud, bears witness to the transformations undergone over the centuries: partial destruction of the vaults, defensive additions, and revolutionary erasures. Its Latin cross plan (nef, transept reduced to foothills, apse to seven sides) and its narrow windows in the middle of the hanger recall the Romanesque cannons, while traces of disappeared polychromy evoke a past decorative richness. The funeral liters of the Guillard (1783) and Brétinauld families of Saint-Seurin recall its role as a place of aristocratic memory.

The sculptures of the sanctuary offer a varied iconographic repertoire: the triumphal arch shows men taming lions (symbols of evil?), while the capitals of the abside combine plant motifs and enigmatic scenes (demonheads, birds pinging ears). These elements, combined with the "self-portrait" modillons ( serene heads), suggest an interaction between sacred art and secular culture. The absence of musicians among the modillons, rare in the region, intrigues historians.

Located 5 Place de l'Eglise in Rétaud (Charente-Maritime), the church of Saint-Trojan remains a major example of the Romanesque heritage in New Aquitaine, combining religious function, defence and artistic expression. Its early ranking (1862) underscores its historical importance, while its architectural details – such as the fluted columns of the abside or the ogival arches of the fourth span – make it a subject of study for medieval Saintongese art.

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