- Building Information
Provins
(Seine-et-Marne, France)
Saint-Quirace
Surveyed: 1972-74, 1980-83, 2009, 2015
- Locator Map
Provins (Seine-et-Marne, France) - Saint-Quirace
- 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 - 1140s - Phase 1 - choir (b)
Choir wall bases all together, though levels change; the E-e chapel has massive shafts and bases and the whole choir was designed for groin vault, perhaps as part of the south door from the 1140s
- Project A - 1140s - Phase 2 - north choir door
The north transept door has teeth in the impost, probably built with lower aisle walls before the crusade
- Project A - 1150s - Phase 3 - choir (a)
Apse to E4 aisle impost profiles are C while to the west they are Co in piers and in walls, shows there were two separate teams of masons and carvers in the upper walls; the apse vaults from E4 have a groove on one side of the roll and none on the other, similar to Noyon, Nouvion and Soissons south.
- Project A - 1150s - Phase 4 - choir (t)
Choir triforium walkway steps down at -w to top of arcade arches with a joint in string one-third into bay; a large campaign so all triforium capitals by the one team, and the apse remained ahead of the next three bays; a break is indicated by the number of shaft-rings that change from 4 in apse to 3, with one in middle of string course.
- Project A - 1160s - Phase 5 - choir (c)
Choir clerestory
- Project B - 1180s - Phase 6 - e chapels
Two lateral eastern chapels added
- Project B - 1190s - Phase 7 - choir (c+)
Choir upper walls and vaults 2-4, with flyer that meet the wall at level of clerestory capital
- Project B - 1200s - Phase 8 - w crossing
W1 plinths and a separate campaign for torus course; the next may have included capitals to a joint in course 4 of arch with small separate campaigns for wall bases and each drum; intention for drums in W3 bases changed to building of terminal wall, and with only the start of the dado and in Wn1 intended a wider bay with bases for a wider dado arcade while in the south all three dado arches are equal.
- Project B - 1210s - Phase 9 - choir (d)
Choir dado inserted, with bases at top of plinth in north, under plinth in south, while in the nave the dado capitals and plate windows like Essomes.
- Project B - 1220s - Phase 10 - nave 1-3 (a)
Nave arcade 1-3 completed after decision to finish the church in W3. Join to west of lowest arcade arches in WN1 and 2.
- Project B - 1230s - Phase 11 - north (d)
North transept dado
- Project B - 1230s - Phase 12 - north (t,c)
Nave W1 triforium, and transepts north, south on both sides with triplet plate arches.
- Project B - 1230s - Phase 13 - choir s portal
Choit south portal
- Project C - Later - Phase 14 -
Transept walls with tracery and vaults, and later the west wall from apex of W2 arcade arch and W2triforium, with vaults and bec caps.
- Primary Sources for Dating
1161 - PROVI-Q
Refers to old church as crowded with canons
It has come to pass through carelessness that the church of Saint-Quiriace at Provins, which was founded for the quiet possession of solitary canons, a violent intrusion of regular canons in that place, which the others have cried out against, but as for handing down judgment…there a farm will be constructed for the work of the church of Saint-Quiriace…

Maillé, G.A.de R-C. de, Provins, les monuments religieux, Paris, 1939, pg. 90 note 3.
1238 - PROVI-Q
Building work
In the year 1238 it was built.

Maillé, Provins, i, pp. 107-110.