- Building Information
Lesges
(Aisne, France)
Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption
Surveyed: 1977, 1980-83, 2003, 2005, 2014
- Locator Map
Lesges (Aisne, France) - Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption
- Disclaimer
The dating found here is based on the work of John James, and is meant on this site to serve as a starting point. James' dating is derived from a system that uses his interpretation of the development of capitals over time as the basis for chronology, among other factors. His goal is to refine the dating to within years rather than decades. I have not fully embraced James' methodology, and will be developing this page from its current state to one which is admittedly more conservative. The relative expenditure values found in the Timeline are also based on James' work, and I believe these to be reasonably reliable. They are intended only to give a sense of the amount of work involved in each decade.

I have added the idea of the "project" as a way of separating work in buildings. In my mind, a "project" is a discrete section of work in a building that resulted from the one-time acquisition of funding. "Projects" are generally separated by at least a decade where no work was being done. It is my view that it would have been unwise to start a "project" that could not be finished and protected from the elements, and as such a "project" usually involved a wing or multiple wings of a building, from floor to roof. Rural churches, which could only secure small amounts of funding at irregular intervals, often were the result of many small projects, while the great churches, which benefitted from relatively consistent funding, may have involved only a few large projects.
- Timeline with Relative Expenditure (if available, in building units)








- Project A - Earlier - Phase 1 -
Square apse and crossing, with walls to arches into north and south arms, side buttresses for tower, windows very high up and no vaults.
- Project B - 1110s - Phase 2 - apse (a)
Apse shafts and capitals added onto inside of walls, with the vaults; decorated arch into nave, replaced
- Project B - 1110s - Phase 3 - tower I
Tower I to setback at level of top of later nave clerestory capitals.
- Project C - 1140s - Phase 4 - raise arch
Central opening into the nave rebuilt with raised arch that may have included aisles but the entries between nave and choir were delayed a while, or the aisles may have been added later.
- Project C - 1150s - Phase 5 - n chapel
North chapel walls with corbels, shaft caps to level of arch into apsidiole, but no window to north nor ribs; plinths higher than east.
- Project C - 1160s - Phase 6 - north (a)
- Project C - 1160s - Phase 7 - tower II
Tower II with shafts and capitals, and openings filled.
- Project C - 1170s - Phase 8 - south
Douth room with pointed arch and ribs on corbels from level of increased width to chapel and underside of window.
- Project D - 1190s - Phase 9 - nave walls
Nave west wall and door capitals, with short return for 3 courses in south corner, followed by outer walls of the nave constructed in a dozen small campaigns with some 5 courses in each.
- Project D - 1200s - Phase 10 - nave (a)
Nave capitals and arcade to the full height and vaulting of the aisles with drums made from very large stones.
- Project D - 1210s - Phase 11 - nave (c)
Western rose, heads of nave clerestory and high vaults.
- Project D - 1210s - Phase 12 - tower III
Tower III.
- Project E - Later - Phase 13 -
Apse windows replaced.