Legends in Limestone

Whereas 12th-century pilgrims flocked to the church of St-Lazare in Autun to visit the relics of its patron saint, present-day pilgrims journey there to admire its superb sculpture, said to have been created by Gislebertus. These two cults, of sculptor and of saint, form the basis for this study. The text reveals how "Gislebertus, sculptor" was discovered and susequently sanctified over the course of the last century. The author makes a case for the identification of the name with an ancestor of the local ducal family, invoked for his role in the acquisition of the precious relics. With the aid of evidence drawn from the richly carved decoration of the building, she demonstrates how medieval visitors would have read a different holy narrative in the church fabric, one that constructed before their eyes an account of their patron saint's life.