Guillaume MARSAL & Hugo ABELARD write...
Historical context
In the Middle Ages, Riom was (re)built around Saint Amable
church which became a place of pilgrimage to the holy
relics of the saint. Riom was an important place
in the Auvergne: in 1212, it became the capital of the region. Thus, Riom had
it first prosperous period: the appanage of Alphonse de Poitiers between 1241 and 1271. An appanage is
the granting of an estate, title, office, or other thing of value to a younger
male child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the
system of primogeniture. It was common in much of Europe. In this period, a new urban plan was created: two
principal axes were drawn. Later, Riom had a new prosperous period: the
appanage of Jean de Berry between 1361 and 1416. During this period, the Ducal Palace and the Sainte-Chapelle were constructed.
The fourteenth century in Europe was a very difficult
century. It started with a drought with an exceptional year in 1303 (the Rhine
could be crossed on dry ground), followed by a very wet period 1312 to 1319;
the Black Death of 1347 to 1352 killed more than a third of the European
population. Finally, the Hundred Years War ravaged France and was accompanied
by famines. These events are the crisis of the late Middle-Ages.
The fifteenth century is a hinge period between the
Middle-Ages and the Renaissance. Historians locate the end of this century in
1492 with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.
The decapitated lion
The snail
The doorway
The doorway of n°24 rue Hyppolyte Gomot, in the medieval centre of Riom, was built in the last
quarter of the fifteenth century. Actually, this doorway was probably reconstructed
after a terrible fire: the ornamentation of the doorway shows that it was
ruined during this fire and then reconstructed.
Interpretation
The lion symbolizes the king or the appanage of the
country, the power, the nobility. His head has been decapitated and some unknown period…
The snail symbolizes the common people of the Middle Ages, the lack of power of
this population.
Certainly, it was a sculptor (of the king?) who sculpted
this doorway because he may have wanted to show the appanage’s power over the
people. It is probably a commoner, wanting to protest against the power of the
king, who decapitated the head of the lion during the appanage of Jean de Berry. Nobody
replaced the head and the population of the Auvergne seemed stronger than the
appanage.
I like these little sculptures because they give us an amusing
insight into an important part of the history of Riom. This doorway is an
interesting, albeit hidden, part of the town’s heritage.
What do the locals think of their medieval sculptures
and sculpted ornaments?
Most of the people that I interviewed don’t even know
that these sculptured ornaments exist. And even if they have heard of them,
they don’t know where they are in Riom. Most people are not able to talk about them
but nonetheless they are interested in the town’s heritage. A man in the street
I talked to said: “I think these sculptures are very interesting. They have an
important history… I didn’t know that Riom was so important in the Middle Ages.”
A second man in the street said: “I think the sculptures’ stories are
captivating and they explain part of the history of our town.”
Dialogue
Narrator (pointing at the
door): The snail symbolises the common people and the lion symbolizes the king.
Lion: My people…
Snail: (interrupting) We want bread! Life is hard your
Majesty!
Lion: Oh, dear, but I wanted to increase taxes so I
can buy a big new bed for myself and my Queen!
Snail: What!? Folk are starving and you prefer to buy
a new bed!? The destiny of the town is in your hands, Sire!
Lion: Well, you can’t expect us to sleep on an old bed
surely?
Snail: Kill the king! We want food, we too want new beds!
Narrator: The king tries to
escape but a courageous young man takes his axe and decapitates the king and
lifts the king’s head up to show the cheering crowd!
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