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Origin and history

The lantern of the dead of Moutiers-en-Retz is a 13th-century Christian religious building located in the town of Loire-Atlantique (Land of the Loire). This monument, the only one of its kind still active in France, was used to light a lamp guiding the souls of the deceased during the night of the trepasses and every death in the parish. Its structure, 7 meters high, combines a stone tower surmounted by a hemispherical cap and a cross, accessible by a spiral staircase. Originally, it was implanted in the former cemetery, now extinct, adjacent to the parish church of St Peter.

The construction of this type of lantern was widespread in the 12th and 13th centuries, mainly in Limousin, Poitou and Saintonge. That of the Moutiers-en-Retz, located on the northern limit of this area, would have been built in tuffeau, a fragile stone replaced in the 19th century by a more resistant material. The major repairs of the 17th and 19th centuries complicate the precise dating of its original elements. The monument, originally illuminated by an oil lamp, was electrified in the 20th century. It has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1913 and remains owned by the municipality.

An altar and statue dedicated to Saint Joseph, "the patron saint of good death", adorn one side of the tower. The lantern stands today in the Church-Madam Square, about ten meters north of St Peter's Church. Its architecture, with a circular pedestal and three sommital windows, reflects its symbolic and commemorative function. Although its original cemetery has disappeared, it retains its spiritual and heritage role, testifying to the medieval funeral practices still alive in the region.

The lanterns of the dead, like that of the Moutiers-en-Retz, illustrated the belief in a light guiding souls towards the Hereafter. Their geographical distribution and their current scarcity make them study objects for religious and architectural history. This monument, always maintained, perpetuates a tradition several times centenary, while adapting to technical (electrification) and urban (disappearance from the cemetery).

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