Mont-Saint-Michel: Medieval Wonder
For over a thousand years, Mont-Saint-Michel has stood over France’s Normandy coastline. Photo courtesy of Normandy Tourism.
Text & photos by Marla Norman & Michel Thibault unless otherwise credited.
One of the most heartstopping images in the French landscape, Mont-Saint-Michel has maintained a solitary watch over the Normandy coastline since 966. Photographed thousands upon thousands of times in every season, it’s hardly surprising that the abbey has become a popular tourist destination — only the Eiffel Tower and Louvre have more visitors in France. As one of Europe’s major pilgrimage destinations for centuries, the island is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Driving through Normandy’s picturesque countryside, Michel and I spot the soaring towers. Neither of us have ever been to the northern coast of France, so we’re eager to discover this ancient site together.
It’s early morning and we’re taking our time — stopping for pictures and looking for the best views. However, pulling into the abbey parking lot, we realize our leisurely pace was an enormous mistake. A good hundred tourists are already queued up for busses to the tiny island. I’d splurged and booked a private tour and now we have only 15 minutes to make it.
We make a dash for the bus, when suddenly SPLAT! I’m face down on the gravel road with a bleeding hand and aching hip. Michel and several other kind-hearted visitors help me up.
“You ok? Should we cancel?”
“No way!!! We’ve wanted to make this trip for years.” A few Tylenol and band-aids later, we’re on the bus, approaching the magnificent abbey.
Approaching Mont-Saint-Michel by bridge across the salt flats.
At the front gates of the Mont, we look for our guide who will be carrying a red notebook. The problem is there are at least four guides, all with red notebooks and none of them is ours.
Just as we’re beginning to worry, a tall man with thick white hair and a beard appears, red notebook in hand. “Look,” Michel gestures, “I think the guy who looks like Moses is our man.” And indeed he is. Michel Jeanne introduces himself, mentioning that he’s been coming to Mont-Saint-Michel since he was a small boy. He instinctively knows his way around the abbey — very handy as we quickly learn.
At the drawbridge leading into the medieval city, Michel Jeanne provides an early history: “Our story begins in 708 when, according to the legend, L’archange Michel (Michael the Archangel) appeared to Bishop Aubert of Avranches, Normandy in a sequence of dreams and ordered him to build a church on Mont Tombe – a rocky outcrop about 300-feet high and 17 acres.”
Crossing the bridge, we walk along the narrow cobblestone streets, already packed with tourists. “Take a left,” Michel Jeanne instructs me.
All I see is an incredibly small alley leading to even narrower stone steps. “I don’t think we’ll fit.”
“Of course you will. I use it 20 times a week. It’s a short cut to get around the crowds. Let’s go, shall we.”
We squeeze into the alley, climb dozens of steps. (I can feel my recently-bruised hip!) Eventually we find ourselves on top of the city with views of the salt marshes surrounding the island. Michel Jeanne explains that the bay has the highest tides in continental Europe. When the tide recedes, dangerous quicksand conditions can occur – a feature that also helped protect the abbey-fortress over the centuries.
Drawbridge leading into the old city.
Michel Jeanne, our exceptional guide. Reach him directly at michel.jeanne40@gmail.com.
Views of the salt marshes surrounding Mont-Saint-Michel.
We climb a bit more and reach L’église Saint-Pierre (Saint-Peter’s Church) the original church on the island founded in the 8th century by Bishop Aubert. A statue of Jeanne d’Arc, heroine of the Hundred Years War, guards the entrance.
Mass is being said as we enter the small church. We pay our respects and walk quietly through. A side altar features a golden statue of Saint-Michel slaying a dragon.
Jeanne d’Arc guarding the entrance to L’église Saint-Pierre.
Daily Mass at L’église Saint-Pierre.
Saint-Michel slaying a dragon.
From Saint-Pierre, we climb to the spectacular abbey church, built during the 11th century. At this point, Michel Jeanne opens his red notebook to display architectural diagrams. “In 966, Benedictine monks arrived tasked with building an abbey on top of a rock that wasn’t nearly large enough to serve as a foundation for much of anything,” he explains. “So ingeniously, they constructed three huge crypts to extend the base and then built the church on top of that. It was remarkable construction for the time. Moreover it’s absolutely BEAUTIFUL!”
There’s no exaggerating the dramatic impact of the abbey church. Sitting at the highest point of Mont-Saint-Michel, the architecture incorporates Romanesque, Gothic and Flamboyant Gothic styles. Ornately framed windows illuminate the stonework and tiled floors. Beautiful indeed!
Continuing our tour, we move on to the section known as “La Merveille” (The Marvel) — three colossal stories consisting of cloisters, dining halls and guest rooms — all massively large and impressive. Michel Jeanne again points out the various architectural features and designs. “This is why Mont-Saint-Michel became known as “La Merveille” – truly the wonder of the Western World. The scope and daring of this construction was unparalleled for its time. And that this complex work took only 25 years to complete — from 1211 to 1236 — is remarkable as well.”
Exterior views of the crypts and fortifications supporting the abbey church and the remarkable three-story “Merveille.”
The sanctuary of the abbey church. Glorious!
Dining hall within “La Merveille.” Photo courtesy of Normandy Tourism.
Cloister gardens, also within “La Merveille.”
On exterior terraces, we see the fortifications added during the Hundred Years War from 1337-1453. Incredibly, Mont-Saint-Michel was never captured by the English during this century-long battle, although much of France, including Normandy and Brittany were conquered. As a consequence, the Mont became an important symbol of French independence and resistance.
To cap off our tour, literally, we go back to where we began to view the spire added in 1897. A statue of Saint-Michel, weighing some 1760 lbs. stands on top of the 300-foot structure. “Imagine erecting that spire and statue in 1897,” Michel Jeanne tells us. “It was something miraculous! A few years ago, when the statue was replated with gold, a helicopter was used for the installation — that wasn’t an option over a hundred years ago.”
The 300-foot spire capping Mont-Saint-Michel features a statue of the archangel.
Gold-plated, 1760 lbs. statue of the archangel tops the spire of Mont-Saint-Michel. Photo courtesy of Normandy Tourism.
But then what isn’t miraculous about Mont-Saint-Michel? For over a thousand years, this astounding place has evolved because of visionaries, architects and craftsmen who labored to construct it. Their imagination and determination to create something divine from a simple stoney hilltop defies any conventional wisdom.
As the Normandy tourist brochures say: “It all began with a dream.” We’re grateful to have lived it for a few hours.
