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Das Wallfahrtswesen der Provence – Wallfahrten in der Provence selbst und von der Provence aus – ist in Schriftquellen belegt, aber auch durch Objekte, die die Pilger bei ihren Besuchen der Gnadenstätten kauften. Überwiegend handelt es sich dabei um Pilgerzeichen und Pilgerampullen aus Zinn, aus Blei oder aus Legierungen beider Metalle. Die Untersuchung dieser Metallfunde zeigt die Vielzahl der Gussformen, die Beständigkeit ihrer Motive und liefert Erkenntnisse zur Popularität der Heiligtümer und zur Größe ihres Einflussbereiches. Am Ende des 15. und im 16. Jh. ändern sich die Form und die Gestaltung einiger Pilgerzeichen und kündigen so das Erscheinen der Medaillen aus Kupferlegierungen an. Die Analyse der Fundkontexte von Pilgerzeichen, -ampullen und -medaillen macht deutlich, dass es Unterschiede in der Bedeutung der Objekte gab., Pilgrimage in Provence and from Provence is well documented from written sources but also from the artefacts pilgrims would acquire in the sanctuaries they visited. Most of those artefacts are badges and phials made of tin, lead, or an alloy of these two metals. The study of these metallic elements reveals the diversity of moulds as well as the long use of the motifs throughout time. It also contributes to a better understanding of the reputation of the sanctuaries and its geographical extent. At the end of the 15th and in the 16th c., the shape and ornemental motifs of some of the badges evolve, foreshadowing the apparition of the copper alloy medallions. The analysis of the context of discovery reveals the diversity in the objects’ symbolism., La pratique du pèlerinage en Provence et au départ de Provence est documentée par les sources écrites, mais également par des objets achetés par les pèlerins dans les sanctuaires visités. La plupart sont des enseignes et des ampoules en étain, en plomb ou en alliage des deux métaux. L'étude de ces pièces métalliques révèle la multiplicité des moules, la persistance des motifs au cours du temps et participe à renseigner sur la renommée des sanctuaires et l'étendue de celle-ci. À la fin du XVe siècle et au XVIe siècle, la forme et le décor de certaines enseignes évoluent et annoncent l'apparition des médailles en alliage cuivreux. L'analyse des contextes de découverte des enseignes, ampoules et médailles révèle des différences dans la symbolique des objets.

International audience; The quatrains associated to the Desert of Religion (DIMEV 1099) in its manuscript circulation (three witnesses) are often copied on three sides of frames surrounding images. Several traditions are suggested for this specific layout: a byzantine or Italian iconographical origin, illuminations of romances in French in 14th-century manuscripts representing tombs or graves. The best candidates are in fact pilgrim badges with surround inscriptions, and the quatrains can be defined not just as imagetexts, following Brantley's study of MS Additional 37049, but as objectexts in their own rights.

Migrating from Greek mythology to scripture and ecclesiastical writing, sirens are best known for the perils they put on the road of Odysseus, and conversely, on that of the crucified Christ and on that of the pilgrim, two significations that Odysseus, the eternal voyageur tied to the mast, came to symbolize in the Middle Ages. Long acknowledged in past scholarship, the siren motif was perceived of as a multi-layered image, whose negative Homeric connotations suited an even vaster range of destructive meanings, moral, social and political. More than sheer misogyny, the hybrid sirens represent violation of social order, mainly that of the manly world. It is therefore no coincidence to find them dwelling in the biblical debauched town of Babylon, and in the land of Edom, destined to be destroyed, alongside hybrid centaurs, both in the Septuagint and in the Vulgate. These beasts gained much popularity throughout the Middle Ages, and embody the ultimate significance of evil in the medieval bestiary, as well as in a wide-ranging exegetical literature. This development may stand for the immense dispersion of the siren motif in Romanesque sculpture. Meant at an edifying purpose, sirens associated with urban destruction, lust, and avarice, signify the menace of sin they seduce humanity to fall into. The virtuous Christian, recognizing the long-enduring classical motif in its new Christian context should take the paradigm of Odysseus in his Christological typology, and restrain from evil. Though constituting a rather popular motif of Romanesque sculpture in general, sirens seem to inhabit many of the churches of the Auvergne and the Velay regions of France, along pilgrimage shrines, located lengthwise the Via Podiensis and crosswise routes, thus forming a marked feature of the local imagery. More than sheer enthusiasm for the antique, as past scholarship would have it, sirens seem to have chanted a very specific local chant in Auvergne-Velay. Constituting a major motif, which testifies to a profound understanding of their contextual implications, they represent a multifaceted image, denoting didactic, apotropaic, liturgical, social, and political messages. The context of pilgrimage and pilgrimage roads seems to have constituted a perfect setting for this multitude of sirens. The Via Podiensis was known as particularly uninviting. The mountainous topography, infested with thieves and brigands, provided lucrative opportunities of ambushing pilgrims on their way. It is the purpose of this paper to uncover the versatile imports of the siren antique motif in Romanesque Auvergne-Velay, by pointing out their meticulous perplexing delineation in the context of actual hardships pilgrims and congregants endured within pilgrimage shrines and roads. The first part of this paper will survey the range of allegorical significances of sirens from Homer to Jerome and to medieval exegeses, followed by a description of sirens in Auvergne-Velay. Then, I would like to suggest a new reading of the particular rendering of sirens in the small church of Pont-du-Château and in the pilgrimage church of Notre-Dame of Orcival, which may bear a local historical significance, resulting from the conflicting situations of pilgrims, on their way to worship the celestial realm.

International audience

International audience