The Chevet of Sainte-Foy of Conques and its models : materializing sanctity and promotional strategies in Romanesque architecture

The numerous surveys carried out on the Abbey Church of Conques have provided a better understanding of the construction site and its chronology. Drawing on the results of the archaeological and architectural studies carried out on this monument, we focus in this contribution on the chevet of the abbey church. It explores the idea that the site‘s architecture is built to fabricate the dignity of the abbey while magnifying the holy body whose cult it promoted. Through architectural design, the chevet becomes the places of commemoration, a sort of mausoleum and, ultimately, the hallmark of St Foy's local sanctity. At the same time, the chevet is conceived as a place of privileged interaction between the saint and humankind, between the invisible and the visible.