The Nave of Saint-Philibert at Tournus

Abstract

I argue that in the nave of Saint-Philibert at Tournus, the design, execution, and chronology of construction were different, and more complicated, than previously proposed. In the building, points of interruption occur at quite unexpected-although often structurally logical-locations. These changes reveal new information about the masons who built the church. The masons integrated architecture and sculpture; merged different traditions of building; and coordinated the processes of design, construction, and structure. Within campaigns they refined the design of the building, and between campaigns they radically altered the masonry, moldings, and capital decoration. Contradicting the idea that churches were first conceived and then built, at times during the construction at Tournus masons combined the separate stages of planning and execution.