Brévands (canton of Carentan, Manche) Church of Saint-Martin

    The church of St Martin in Brévands consists of a nave, transepts, crossing tower, and a choir with a straight east end. A tunnel vaulted crypt under the choir retains some mural paintings from the end of the 13th century or beginning of the 14th. Only the transepts, possibly the crypt, and vestiges of the herringbone masonry in the south wall of the nave remain from the Romanesque period. The transepts have rib vaults, which are supported on capitals decorated with scallops, stylised vegetation motifs and fantastical animals (birds confronting each other, and monsters disgorging foliage). The sculpted decoration dates from the second half of the 12th century.

Bibliography

- Lorphelin, Evelyne. " L’église de Brévands ", dans : Carentan et le marais, Art de Basse-Normandie, n° 110, , 2^ème trimestre 1997, p. 84 à 87
- Since, Marie-Hélène. " Art roman dans l’est du Cotentin ", n° spécial Art de Basse-Normandie, n° 68, p. 10