A Crusading Fresco Cycle at the Cathedral of Le Puy

Abstract

An unusual fresco cycle in the Cathedral of Le Puy consisted of scenes from the lives of Moses, Solomon, and Christ. The cycle was intended to celebrate the life of a local hero, Adhemar, bishop of Le Puy, hailed as “alter Moyses” in contemporary texts and papal legate to the First Crusade. The frescoes are interpreted as a monument to Adhemar and to the crusading ideology that made Le Puy a major pilgrimage site in the wake of the First Crusade.