Monastery of Sainte-Marie de Lescar
Monastère Sainte-Marie de Lescar / Lescar Cathedral / Canonry of Lescar / Lascurrensis
(Lescar, Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
Lescar, the ancient Benebarnum, was the centre of a diocese documented from the 5th century. In the middle of the 9th century, it was destroyed by a Norman invasion and later rebuilt under the name of Lescar. According to the tradition recorded by P. Marca, at the end of the 10th century, on the abandoned site of the old cathedral, Lopofort, a refugee, arrived, led a Benedictine community and founded the monastery of Sainte-Marie de Lescar with the support of the Duke of Gascony, William Sancho (c. 925-996).
In 1101, Viscount Gaston IV of Béarn promoted the restoration of the diocese of Lescar with the construction of a new cathedral linked to the monastery. Gaston also promoted the creation of an Augustinian canonry to replace the Benedictine community of Sainte-Marie. In 1115, Pope Paschal II gave the go-ahead for the introduction of regular canons. The main part of the cathedral was built from 1120 and its construction lasted until the 14th century, although some modifications were made in the 16th century. The canonical community was secularised in 1537. Shortly afterwards, in 1563, the place was deeply affected by the Wars of Religion, burnt down, stripped of its furnishings and transformed into a Protestant church until 1610, when Catholic worship was restored and its restoration began.
With the Revolution, the cathedral was transformed into a Temple of Reason and again lost its liturgical furnishings, while the diocese was united with that of Bayonne. It was reopened as a parish church in 1838. In the mid-19th century, the building was in danger of falling into ruin and restoration work began, which lasted until the 20th century. Despite the damage it suffered, the church still preserves its medieval structure and a remarkable series of Romanesque capitals, especially in the choir.
Mosaic pavement (12th century)
Also worth mentioning is the mosaic pavement discovered in 1837, with hunting scenes, which bears an inscription with the name of the bishop who promoted it: Guy (Dominus Guido episcopus Lascurensis hoc fieri fecit pavimentum), who held office between 1115 and 1141.
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- DURLIAT, Marcel (1969). Pyrénées romanes. La-Pierre-qui-Vire: Zodiaque
- LANORE, Maurice (1904). La cathédrale de Lescar (Basses-Pyrénées). Bulletin Monumental, vol. 68
- LANORE, Maurice (1905). Notice historique et archéologique sur l'église Notre-Dame de Lescar. Pau: Garet
- LAPLACE, L. P. (1863). Monographie de Notre-Dame de Lescar. Pau: Vignancour
- LEFÈVRE, Yves (1980). La mosaïque de la cathédrale de Lescar et la littérature médiévale. Bulletin de la Société Nationale des Antiquaires de France
- MARCA, Pierre de (1640). Histoire de Bearn. París: J. Camusat
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1715). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 1. París: Coignard
Lescar is located next to Pau, northwest of the city centre