Le cloître de Saint-Guilhem-Le-Désert et son élévation, du XIe au XIVe siècle

Almost completely destroyed at the beginning of the XIXth century, Saint Guilhem-Le-Désert cloister poses a lot of questions concerning its appearance and construction, which was realised over three periods between the XIth and the beginning of the XIVth century. In addition to vestiges still in place, the study of the retrieved stones, which originally belonged to disappeared cloister walks, allows us to furnish an explanation. Somewhat in contrast to general opinion, we suggest considering the oldest spans as deprived first of any decorative sculpture. As regards the rich decoration characterising the second period of construction, our inventory of sculptures scattered in the Herault region and in the United States shows that the “1200” cloister could not limit itself to only the first floor. Having clearly defined the proportions of the last fences, we bring to light architectural relations which allowed the three types of cloister walk to be harmonised.