Vigeois - Saint-Pierre

The parish church of Vigois is the last structure of the former "Abbaye Saint-Pierre", founded here by Yrieix du Limousin (aka "St. Yriex", "Aredius") within the 6th century.
So the "Abbaye Saint-Pierre" was one of the oldest convents within the Limousin.

In the 9th century the Normans (Vikings) looted and ruined the abbey. After some decades, the abbey recovered and got rebuilt. In 1070 it burnt down. Since 1082 it was dependent from Cluniac Saint-Martial Abbey in Limoges and prospered during the 12th century.

Destroyed again during the Hundred Years War, rebuilt again by the Bishop of Limoges. During the Wars of Religions Huguenot troops burnt down the nave of the church and vandalized many of the carvings. Another fire hit the church in 1705, when it fell into disrepair.

All buildings of the convent got demolished after the French Revolution, only the Saint-Pierre, now the parish church, survived the times. The renovation of the nave was completed in the 1860s. Apse and crossing, seen here, got restored early 20th century. The large apse never got severely damaged. Only some carvings are mutilated, but most of the capitals, dating back to the 12th-century, are still in situ.

Around the apse are some interesting capitals. This is one of them, though it seems so unweathered compared to the other carvings around, that it may be newer. It depicts a psichostasia, the the "Weighing of the Soul". A theme, I had just seen in Lagrauliere, just 10kms east.