PROVENCE:

Gallo-Roman and Medieval Christiandom

May 24 - June 6, 1998

Directors
Alexander G. McKay
McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

David Leinweber
Oxford College, Oxford, GA

This tour will explore the great transition between classical Gallo-Roman civilization and Medieval Christendom. Few regions more vividly display this great social, cultural and political metamorphosis. Few regions mingle ancient, Medieval and modern elements with such grace and charm.

Home to Celts and Greek colonists, Provence was conquered by the Romans during the tumultuous decades of the late Republic. It then became on the Empire's most important regions. Today, Provence retains vivid reminders of those Roman centuries: the great amphitheaters at Arles and Nimes and a superb Roman temple, the refined Maison Care. World travelers have long marveled at the remarkable Pont du Gard, an impressive aqueduct which still renders powerful testimony to Roman engineering prowess. Outside St. Rmy de Provence, there are Roman ruins at Glanum - Les Antiques. Fine ruins are also to be found at Vaison-la-Romaine, north of Avignon. Moreover, many such sites are among the most well-preserved remnants of the Roman world. The city of Orange manifests an especially well-preserved theater, possessing what Louis XIV once called "the most beautiful wall in my kingdom."

Such important ancient monument rest alongside sites recalling the inexorable progress of early Christianity. The Provenaux believe that Christianity was brought to Gaul by a holy entourage which included Mary Magdalen, Martha and Lazarus. Exiled from Israel, they drifted to France in the famous "Boat of Bethany." Disembarking at Les Saintes Maries de le mer, in the Camargue, this retinue of "saints" evangelized Provence. Though almost certainly legendary, the famous story left behind precious myths and folklore. Invariable, such "apostolic" legends were superimposed upon much more ancient holy sites, some dating back to the Druids. The entire region is liberally sprinkled with splendid churches, happily mixing Roman, Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque elements. Their naves and chapels are veritable storehouse of regional history and popular religious culture. Here is Mary Magdalen's grotto at St. Baume and her crypt at St. Maximin's Basilique de Sainte Marie Madeleine. Here on finds Lazarus' relics at Marseilles. Here, too, is the charming Eglise de St. Marthe at Tarascon, commemorating Martha's taming of the dragonlike "tarasque." Here is the exquisite portal of St. Trophime in Arles and the storied aisles of the Saint Saveur cathedral in Aix-en-Provence.

Provence is a region where the proverbial "dark ages" between classical antiquity and Medieval civilization come to life in very powerful ways. Even today, its ancient tales and silent monuments still speak to discerning travelers.

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