199 Soissons Cathedral. Twin saints, grisly end.
199 Soissons Cathedral. Twin saints, grisly end. This was a special day out with fellow lefty churchlovers I. and J. The Gothic cathedral, at Soissons, an hour out from Paris on the train, is dedicated to Saints Gervais and Protais (Gervasius and Protasius). The story goes that they were twins, born in the first century from parents who both ended up saints. I imagine that being a twin and a saint is not always easy - sibling rivalry must be pretty ferocious - but they had a fine career and got martyred and everything, one of them flogged to the death and the other executed on the rack. The church boasts beautiful stations of the cross, amazing volumes, a fine pulpit, and a painting by Rubens - the Adoration of the Shepherds. Another fine painting shows Joseph’s dream (“Flee now, hug later” says the Angel. “ Egypt is cool at this time of year”.) The building was seriously damaged during the First World War. Its heaviest bell weighs more than 5000 kg, and its smallest, named Jeann...