Evrecy (canton of Evrecy, Calvados) Church of Notre-Dame

    The interest of the church of Evrecy does not lie in the monument itself, but in a collection of 265 items of sculpture discovered after the destruction of the building in 1944.
These pieces were re-used and originate from an older building : either the monastic establishment of the beginning of the Carolingian period (end of the 8th century – beginning of the 9th), destroyed by the Vikings, or a parish church of the time of the first Dukes of Normandy (end of the 10th century – early 11th).
These sculptures have motifs with a flat surface, cut to stand proud from small limestone blocks. They are mostly voussoirs decorated with stylised architectural or plant motifs. There are also fragments of columns, capitals and a sculpted frieze with geometric, plant or zoomorphic motifs.
Some of these fragments have become part of museum collections. Others can still be seen at the site where they have been re-used. They pose the question of the continuity of Carolingian artistic influences in the development of Romanesque sculpture.

Bibliography

- Baylé, Maylis. - Les origines et les premiers développements de la sculpture romane en Normandie, Art de Basse-Normandie, n⁰lOObis, 1992, p.44-50
- Delacampagne, Florence. – " Chronique des fouilles médiévales, Evrecy l’église ", dans Archéologie Médiévale, t. XXXIII, 1993, p.368-369
- Musset, Lucien. " L’église d’Evrecy et ses sculptures pré-romanes ", dans B.S.A.N., t. LIII, 1955-1956, p. 116-168
- Musset, Lucien. "  Du nouveau sur l’art pré-roman en Normandie: Evrecy ", dans Art de Basse-Normandie, n°3, 1956, p.l8-l9
- Musset, Lucien. - Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie ecclésiastique, t.XVI, 1967, p. 167-168
- Musset, Lucien. – " Colonnettes préromanes moulurées d’Evrecy et de Northumbrie ", dans B.S.A.N., t. LX, 1967-1989, p.289-291
- Les siècles romans en Basse-Normandie, Art de Basse-Normandie, n° 92, Printemps 1985, p. 92