Apocalypse at Angers

Much to my distress, I only have ten days left before my beloved and useful under-30 discount card for the train expires, and I won't be able to get another one since it was a one-off promotion. (Of course now they've gone and extended the normal discount card up to the age of 28, grumble grumble.) With that in mind, I've thought about taking some grand escapade, but I don't really have the money, so instead I took advantage of Monday's sunny weather to take a day-trip to Angers. As it happened, no-one checked my ticket either way, so I could have gone for free, but oh well.

The main draw of Angers was its château, and the main draw of its château is the Apocalypse Tapestry. Created between 1377 and 1382, the Apocalypse Tapestry is notable not only for its age (the oldest surviving French medieval tapestry, apparently - which seems an odd wording... Are there earlier, non-medieval tapestries? Fun fact: the Bayeux "Tapestry" is actually an embroidery), but also its size. It's fricking massive - 71 scenes still exist, out of an original 90, each measuring 78 feet by 20 feet. That's a lot of tapestry.

The tapestry was produced during the 100 Years War, and a notable feature is that it draws on the uncertainty and troubles of the time both to reflect the mood of the people (war, famine, and pestilence were probably not too unfamiliar) and to spread propaganda on behalf of the regime (it was commissioned by Louis I, Duke of Anjou, a member of the ruling Valois dynasty). Our guide pointed out several panels where various beasts and other baddies were subtly identified with the English enemy. (I kept my mouth shut.)

For obvious reasons, the lights in the gallery are low and flash photography is not allowed, so my photos in no way do justice to the true colours of the tapestry (despite this, I'm going to put up far too many of them). I don't know that the colours matter too much though - I found them interesting more for what they were depicting and how, rather than the details of the colours used. That said, they were wonderful to look at. After our guided tour, I had about 15 minutes all by myself in the quiet of the empty gallery to look at them. I could have stayed longer, but they shut the gallery about 15 minutes before the rest of the castle closed. I had just enough time to scamper up onto the battlements and take a few pictures of the view before running for the exit. 

It's a very old-school château, built between the 9th-early 13th centuries

The entrance to the château

Gatehouse into an inner courtyard of the castle

View from the ramparts of the courtyard gardens and chapel buildings

They have a small vineyard up on the terraces as well. Sans vines at the mo. The guide said they tried making wine from the grapes, but it wasn't very nice

View of the Maine river and a suburb of Angers (the city centre is on the other side of the château)

View of the old town and cathedral

The Apocalypse Tapestry stretching out into the darkness. This is only one side of the L-shaped gallery

Angels attacking one of the beasts

People try to attack the beast, but it won't die

At the end of the story, Jesus (?) finally does manage to defeat the various beasts

This was an interesting one - the first beast, who I think is the Beast of the Land, but maybe the Beast of the Air, hands his sceptre over to the Beast of the Sea. The guide pointed out that the sceptre is topped by a fleur-de-lys. There is a theory that the Beast of the Sea is the English, coming across the Channel and taking control of France.

People worshipping the second and third beasts

More beast worship

The guide said the central figure on the horse has been identified with the Black Prince, father of Richard II, who fought in various battles in France, including at Crécy. In Henry V, Shakespeare refers to him 'forag[ing] in blood of French nobility'

Death, one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The apostle John eating a book. According to the guide, this signified something like John ingesting the meaning of the vision. The book was sweet and easy to eat, but bitter in the stomach.

The elect, dreaming of being saved. Apparently the elect like to share a bed, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-style

The horseman of Famine. It seems strange to represent famine with lots of trees and plants, but the guide said this was to show it wasn't a natural famine, which could be blamed on God, but a man-made famine triggered by war and human actions. The French peasantry would be used to destruction wrought by soldiers passing through and taking or destroying their crops.

To give you an idea of how the panels look hanging together

The Whore of Babylon combing her hair and admiring herself in the mirror

I think this is right at the beginning, but it could be the vision of the celestial Jerusalem at the end. Either way, I think it's an angel and St. John

An angel blowing a trumpet and opening one of the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse. This leads to a shipwreck

The Whore of Babylon on the beast's back

After the château, I had just enough time to duck into the cobblestone streets of the old town and find the cathedral. Conveniently enough, it started to rain just as I went in, and had stopped and gone back to blue skies again when I came out (quite a short time thereafter - I was a bit worried about possibly getting lost on the way back to the station for the last train of the evening, and the cathedral wasn't all that impressive, although I probably could have looked some of the stained-glass windows in a bit more detail).

Rose window in the cathedral

Window with Stars of David in the cathedral

Fountain outside the train station