A must-see
article | Reading time3 min
In the church of the royal monastery of Brou stands the rood screen. It separates the nave, accessible to the faithful, from the choir, which is reserved for the religious. This fence made of stone lace is dazzling!
AN ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE
Full of typical details of the You will see several times intertwined letters. The P and the M, initials of Philibert and Marguerite, are linked by lakes of love which unite the two spouses for eternity.
The sculpted foliage that adorns the rood screen represents cabbage leaves, a decoration characteristic of the flamboyant Gothic style. We also find daisies, Burgundy lighters and other emblems of the founder.
© Marine Bontemps
A SECRET PASSAGE FOR THE PRINCESS
When it was built, this rood screen was intended to serve as a passage between the apartments of and the church. In this way, the founder could have reached her small private chapel without being seen by the monks and the faithful.
Today, you can follow the path designed for the princess and use this passage to go from the church to the apartments of Margaret of Austria.
From the top of the rood screen, you will discover a different view of the nave and the choir. This is where the term rood screen comes from: the Latin prayer Jube domine - "Command the Lord" - was said here.
© Thomas Jorion
A VESTIGE OF A PAST ERA
The rood screen of Brou is one of the few still existing in France!
Indeed, there are only a few dozen rood screens left in the country: most of them were destroyed during the liturgical reforms which required that the faithful could see the mass being celebrated.
It is certainly because the present church of Brou was never a parish that the rood screen was saved from destruction.
© Laurence Danière
