Autun The Cathedral of Saint-Lazare

Autun built its cathedral in the first half of the twelfth century to receive the relics of Saint Lazarus. Around 1130 the sculptor Gislebertus carved the Last Judgment over its west door, with the dead rising from their tombs and souls being weighed, and he signed it beneath the feet of Christ: Gislebertus hoc fecit.

Inside, the capitals by the same workshop show scenes from the Bible: the Flight into Egypt, the hanging of Judas, the three Magi asleep under one blanket while an angel wakes them. Several of the originals can be seen at eye level in the chapter room.

Further reading: Mary Magdalene in Provence: The Tradition and the Shrines; Romanesque France: Cluny and the Churches of the Pilgrim Roads.

• The tympanum of the Last JudgmentSigned by Gislebertus around 1130.
• The chapter roomOriginal capitals at eye level, among them the Dream of the Magi.
• The Musée RolinThe Temptation of Eve, from the lost north portal.

• Via RomanicaThe Romanesque Way, seven daysDay I, Paris to Autun · Day II, Autun and Tournus

High-speed train from Paris to Le Creusot, about an hour and twenty minutes, then about forty minutes by road.

• Paray-le-MonialThe Shrine of the Sacred Heart, about 36 miles as the crow flies
• CîteauxThe Abbey of Cîteaux, about 39 miles as the crow flies
• TournusThe Abbey of Saint-Philibert, about 39 miles as the crow flies
• ClunyThe Abbey of Cluny, about 40 miles as the crow flies