Dol Cathedral
Dol-de-Bretagne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in Dol-de-Bretagne. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Samson, one of the seven founding saints of Brittany. It was formerly the seat of the Archbishop of Dol, one of the nine ancient bishoprics of Brittany. The cathedral suffered badly from the excesses of the French Revolution, becoming successively a "Temple de la Raison", then a stable, then a warehouse. Revolutionaries caused considerable damage and many treasures were lost. When it eventually returned to being a house of worship, its role as a bishopric was abolished by the Concordat of 1801 when the Dol diocese was merged into the Dioceses of Rennes and Saint-Malo. The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris, which sought national reconciliation between revolutionaries and Catholics. The Concordat was abrogated by the law of 1905 on the separation of church and state.
The building is notable for its eclectic mix of styles and idiosyncrasies, such as the incomplete north tower on the main west-facing entrance. The tower was begun in 1520 but never finished due to lack of funds. A local myth has it that the top was knocked off by the devil, who threw the nearby Dol-de-Bretagne menhir at the building.
The seat of the ancient bishopric of Dol, the Saint-Samson cathedral dates to the 13th century and is primarily Gothic in style with both Norman and English influences. It was built on the site of an old church where Nominoë was crowned as the first king of Brittany in 850. This old church was replaced by a Romanesque style cathedral which was in turn destroyed in 1203 by the soldiers of Jean sans Terre and little is left of that building today. From Saint Samson in the 6th century to Monseigneur de Hercé, shot at Vannes in 1795, more than 80 bishops have occupied the bishopric of Dol. Since 1880 the Archbishop of Rennes is the Archbishop of Rennes, Dol and Saint-Malo. The cathedral has retained little of the old furnishings as in 1742 the cathedral chapter decided to get rid of all the old bishop's tombs and relaid the choir paving and in 1793 the rood screen which had separated the choir from the nave was demolished and was replaced by an iron grill on the orders of the zealots of the revolution.
Samson was born in Wales at the end of the 5th century. He became a monk and was the superior of a monastery in Caldey. He moved to Ireland and in around 548 made the journey to Armorica with several colleagues and founded a monastery there. Later, with the support of the Breton king Judicael, he played a key role in the foundation of the city of Dol and its bishopric. He died in 565 in Dol having nominated Magloire as his successor and his tomb was to become the destination of numerous pilgrims and is included in the Breton Tro Breizh. One of the stained glass window frames in the cathedral depicts Samson sailing for Armorica.
Landmarks in the cathedral's history
It was in 548 that Samson arrived in Dol from Wales and founded a monastery there and in 555 that Judael, the Breton king, directed that the monastery be regarded as a bishopric.After the coronation of Nominoë, the Breton ruler in 848, he promoted the bishop to archbishop and the city became the religious capital of Brittany and soon a cathedral replaced the existing church. This was destroyed by the Vikings in 1014. A Romanesque cathedral was then built. In the middle of the eleventh century there was a dispute between Pope Gregory VII and the kings of France supported by the Archbishop of Tours over Dol-de-Bretagne filling the role of a bishopric and in 1199 the bishopric was withdrawn and jurisdiction was returned to the Archbishop of Tours. Nominoë's actions were effectively reversed.
William the Conqueror laid siege to Dol on three occasions. In 1065, William the Conqueror was in conflict with Conan II who had succeeded Alain III and laid siege to Dol. This siege is depicted in part of the Bayeux tapestry. A second siege took place in 1076 and lasted 40 days until the intervention of King Philippe Ist. A third siege is said to have taken place in 1086.
In 1203, the English king, John Lackland, known in France as "Jean sans Terre" and the presumed murderer of Arthur de Bretagne burned the Romanesque cathedral down and occupied Dol for one year; there are few remnants of that building. Then, fearing for his soul and in a fit of remorse, he put up funds towards the cathedral's reconstruction which was started the same year under the episcopacy of the bishop Jean VII de Lizaunet. In a small corner of the south tower, there is a carving depicting "Jean sans Terre" bearing a rictus grin. He was certainly no friend of the people of Dol.
By 1223, the nave had been completed and subsequently, the relics of Saint Samson were brought back to the cathedral from Normandy to where they had been taken for reasons of security. The nave has seven crossings and the classical gothic elevation of arcades, triforium and high windows with a walkway beneath them. De Lizaunet's successor Clément de Vitré saw to the construction of the transept and the choir. The choir has five crossings and ten side chapels and terminates with a rectangular chevet. The presence of the relics of Saint Samson attracted pilgrims and this necessitated the addition of an ambulatory. The choir, ambulatory and ten side chapels around the ambulatory were completed by 1279. The cathedral was now functional although it's Gothic towers had still to be constructed.
The porches on the south side of the cathedral were added in the 14th and 15th century. At around this time, the chapter-house and treasury were also added.
Stendhal described the cathedral as "un des ouvrages les plus remarquables que l'architecture gothique puisse offrir à notre admiration".
The cathedral exterior
Some images of the cathedral exterior
The Western façade
An architrave with a leaf pattern extends across the entire width of the façade. The gable is surmounted by the statue of a bishop.The Northern façade
The side-chapels of the choir are surmounted by a crenellated parapet with arrow-slits giving the cathedral the look of a fortress.Dimensions
- Exterior length: 93.50m
- Nave length: 39.25m
- Width of nave : 17.05m
- Height below the vault of the nave: 20.20m
- Transept : 8.80m by 8.35m
- Length of the arms of the transept : 9.85m
- Length of choir: 27.55m
- Width of choir : 8.65m
- Height of the vault of choir: 20.50m
- Depth of choir with ambulatory: 31.80m
- Width of choir and sides: 18.35m
- Total width of choir with side chapels 26.05m
Porches
The West Porch or Great Porch
Situated between the cathedral's two towers, the large rectangular west porch is a remnant of the earlier Romanesque cathedral. In the 15th century Bishop Coeuret had the vaulting erected on intersecting ogival arches. The trefoiled doors within the porch give access to the cathedral. The measurements of the porch are 6 metres 20 by 7 metres 60. The keystone on the porch's vaulting bears the Coeuret coat of arms.The cathedral's "Grand Porch", also known as the "Chapitret" or the "Porche Saint-Magloire", consists of three arcades decorated with 38 bas-reliefs and 132 statuettes in white stone by the Prix de Rome winner Jean Boucher. The doorway itself is made from granite and dates to the 14th century.
The central arcade shows scenes from the life of Christ: The Calvary; Jesus healing a sick man; Jesus amongst the lawyers; the agony in the garden of Gethsemane; Mater Dolorosa ; Simon of Cyrene; the Adoring Angels; the "Sainte-Face" and Adam and Eve
The east facing arcade by the well shows scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary: Mary carrying the baby Jesus; the flight into Egypt; the coronation; the Visitation; the Annunciation; the Nativity and the Annunciation to the shepherds.
The west facing arcade shows scenes from the history of Bretagne: the death of Saint Samson; the calling of Judicael; the arrest of Sainte-Catherine; Charity; the blessing of Nominoe as he departs for the crusades; a Dol saint receiving a visit from several people one of whom carries a plea to the king; the martyrdom of Sainte Catherine and the good and the bad rich man.
Here are some images of Boucher's magnificent carvings.
Etienne Nicol described Boucher's carvings "Dignes de la grande tradition des imagiers en granite du moyen age".