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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Généroux, located in the village of Saint-Généroux (Deux-Sèvres), is the former church of a priory dependent on the Abbey of Saint-Jouin de Marnes. As a parish church during the Revolution, it was listed as a historical monument in 1846. Its preroman characteristics, rare in the region, make it a major architectural testimony of the High Middle Ages in Poitou. Its primitive plan includes a unique nave, a non overflowing transept and a vaulted choir in a cradle, with decorative elements inspired by Asturian architecture.

Local legend attributes its foundation to a religious of Saint-Jouin de Marnes, withdrawn at Saint-Généroux between the 5th and 6th centuries. The building, almost intact before its restoration, attracted the attention of Prosper Mérimée in 1840, which emphasized its ancient state. Archaeologists of the 19th century, such as Arcisse de Caumont and Jules Quicherat, cite it in their books, comparing its triumphal arcades and its decorations (tickets, reticulated apparatus) with churches in the Loire Valley, such as Saint-Mexme de Chinon or Cravant-les-Côteaux.

The triumphal arch, pierced by three arches and surmounted by arched bays, has influences outside the region, evoking the Asturian architecture of the IXth-XI centuries. The nave, originally carpented, was later divided into three vessels by arches falling on square piles. The low and overflowing transept cribs, as well as the lateral apses, could date back to later construction campaigns. The curved windows, decorated with billet cords and ground triangles, recall those of Cravant-les-Côteaux, suggesting a link between their builders.

Built between two hills near Thouet, the church appears on the Napoleonic cadastre of 1826 with two transept crusillons, of which the southern one retains an absidiole. Its early classification (1846) underlines its heritage importance, while its decorations—reticulated apparatuses, double arches—exemplify the transition between the Carolingian and Romanesque periods. The studies of Erlande-Brandeburg (1967) and Lesueur (1966) confirm his key role in understanding pre-Roman architecture in New Aquitaine.

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