Whispers from the Basilica, Peter Spielman

Book "Les Murmures de la Basilique", a mystical tour of the Basilica of Vézelay by Peter Spielman.

The Basilica of Vézelay, the pinnacle of Romanesque architecture, is not only a dazzling feast for the eyes, with its grace, the accuracy of its proportions, the song of the stone with its finely differentiated tones: no, this church speaks to us, notes Peter Spielman, who has been visiting it for almost fifty years. A patient exercise in which he has deciphered what the abundant wealth of historiated sculpture, the calculation of light and the skilfully thought-out arrangement of the proposals in this vessel are telling us. A stone speech. A great spiritual and human appeal addressed to those who, passing through the portal, are welcomed by the open arms of Christ at the heart of the central tympanum.

PETER SPIELMAN, a secondary school teacher in Germany, is the translator of a dozen titles on spirituality and art. He is the author of several books and collections of poetry and gives lectures on medieval iconography. Familiar with the Madeleine, he has given tours of the church for many years as a volunteer guide. In 1990, he spent six months studying the basilica in order to gain a better understanding of its initiatory message. It is at the heart of this essay.