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Le Mont Saint-Michel, which lies on the border of Brittany and Normandy, as viewed from the south at night. Legend has it that in the eighth century, the archangel Michael appeared before a local bishop, who constructed an oratoria (a place dedicated to prayer) on the island. In 966 construction of the Benedictine monastery was begun, while in 1020 Richard II began to build the Abbey Church. During the Reign of Terror (1793/4) portions of the structure were used as a prison. |
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Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the religious community is that it was built atop an island, which – when the tide comes in, and before the construction of the road – was surrounded on all sides by water. The island is nearly three-quarters of a mile in diameter and more than two hundred feet above sea level at its highest point. |
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The cloister; which is to say, the area to which the religious are normally confined. Some two-hundred twenty-seven columns adorn this area. |
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The refectory, or dining hall, where monastic communities gathered collectively for their daily meals. (Compare this structure with the refectory at St. Cosme.) |
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The Norman nave of the cathedral, with a view of the choir. Note the clerestory windows, which illuminate the entirety of the interior and which focus the visitor's attention upward toward the stained-glass windows and, of course, heaven. |
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A view of the spires on the exterior of the cathedral. |
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One of a pair of crypts beneath the main structure of the monastery and cathedral. |