52 Toulouse, France, Couvent des Jacobins : great cloister

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 Really beautiful towering spaces and cloister.

This was built for an order of begging monks back in the thirteenth century (vow of poverty, give us a bob or two and we'll pray for your soul). It is a high point of your Southern French Gothic style, and provided a significant amount of work for local brickies. The style was part of a more austere more aggressive architecture which was meant to help persuade people tempted by the heresy of the Cathars (no sacraments, no private property, big role for women) to remain within the fold and therefore avoid risking torture and death. Albi cathedral (my favourite cathedral) is another example of this style.

The building contains the relics of St Thomas Aquinas (star 14th century catholic philosopher).

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