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CIAO ADRIANO

Poitiers

September 2007

THE ROUTE TO DATE WITH MAPS OF FRANCE AND OF ITS MEDIEVAL PILGRIMAGE ROADS

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The Palace building dates in part from the 1000s and housed the courts of the powerful Counts of Poitou / Dukes of Aquitaine.    Aliénor (Eleanor) d'Aquitaine, who was Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, spent quite a bit of time here early and late in her life.  She was the granddaughter of the lustily famous troubadour Duke William (Guillaume) IX of Aquitaine.  It is possible that Joan of Arc's trial took place in the great hall - the largest etc etc (photo below) (all things are possible in medieval reconstructions - why would the English have forgotten where they tried her?).  Since the revolution the Palace has housed the courts of law, and the great hall is an oversized entry vestibule occupied by little clumps of unhappy young people awaiting their moment in the courts on the left.

Notre Dame la Grande and its famous Romanesque Facade

Despite the name, Notre Dame la Grande is not very big - it was probably called la Grande to distinguish it from other, now vanished, Notre Dame churches in the centre of Poitiers.  Of the three "narrative levels", the bottom one is by far the most interesting.

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Go to the Page LIst for a full listing of pages and their status

All material © Adrian Fletcher 2000-08 - The contents may not be reproduced without permission - Adrian Fletcher can be contacted at afletch at paradoxplace dot com