Historical Context

​

Famous in the history of medieval Languedoc for hosting a "Cathar" council, Pieusse was confiscated by the king and later returned to the archbishops of Narbonne, who kept it in their patrimony. The centerpiece of the castle is a Romanesque keep, though it is difficult to determine whether it was built by the former lords or by Archbishop Pierre Amiel or his successor, Guillaume de La Broue.

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The keep had four levels, each with an interior space measuring 10.50 meters by 6.50 meters, with an external entrance on the second level. The third level, illuminated by twin windows, was adorned with decorations, of which only the ceiling remains today—a unique feature among Languedoc ceilings—along with faint traces of a mural decoration

.

Description of the structure

The framework has a simple beam structure: 21 beams spanning from wall to wall, supporting perpendicular planks. The decoration was added later in a "Gothic" style, painted onto an already existing ceiling—unlike most other ceilings, where the majority of elements were painted before installation. Another major difference is the absence of closing boards, and consequently, no narrative scenes. The sides of the beams are dark gray, adorned with red stars that have a weak visual impact. The planks are colored red, and traces suggest that a decoration of stars and coats of arms has likely disappeared over time. As a result, the current color palette of the ceiling appears much redder than it originally was; initially, it featured much greater contrast, particularly with vibrant blues.

​

Iconography

The decoration is based on the alternation of two patterns.

The first pattern (A) consists of interconnected quatrefoils, with a bright circular motif at the center, surrounded by stylized foliage. The beams alternate between a red background (A1) and a white background (A2), with pattern B inserted between them. The motifs may have been stenciled, but the paint lines are so sharp that they might have been drawn over a preparatory sketch.

The second pattern (B) features a more complex design, alternating between two motifs enclosed in cartouches. One is geometric, consisting of a square with each side inscribed within a quatrefoil, highlighted with a bright green hue. The other, depicted with great elegance, shows two birds perched on a delicate flowering branch. The birds face away from each other but still look at one another, with their vividly red opposing beaks emphasizing this confrontation.

The overall composition follows two combined principles: the linear arrangement of beams A, uninterrupted by joint covers between the ceiling planks, and the checkerboard layout of beams B. The bird motif is placed in the same position on a beam every four beams.

The diamond-shaped motif can also be found in Saint-Polycarpe, while the facing birds appear on the tomb of Pierre de la Jugie, Archbishop of Narbonne, who died in 1376. The decoration was created in multiple stages: an initial painted design, applied shortly after the floor was built, followed by a second, more refined and intricate decoration added to the beams during Pierre de la Jugie’s era.

 

by Christophe Robert, Monique Bourin