![amoleskine:
The narthex of the Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay
“Like a rare species of shrub in a tub, near the carriages, in front of the porch where I was waiting, stood a young page who amazed the eye as much by the remarkable harmonies of his coloured hair as by his plant-like skin. Inside the hotel, in the vestibule, which could be entered by people not staying at the hotel, and which corresponded to the narthex or church of the catechumens in Romanesque church buildings, the outside page’s fellows, though just as inactive as he was, were at least in motion. Very likely they helped with the cleaning in the mornings. But in the afternoons, they stood about like members of the chorus who, even when serving no music purpose, remain on stage to fill out crowd scenes.” - Marcel Proust, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower (Penguin, p. 285)
[Notes: The narthex of a Romanesque church was the entrance area, leading onto the nave, and where, in the middle ages (the Romanesque period spreading roughly from the 6th to 10th centuries A.D.), those excluded from participating in the service would stand, in particular penitents (people being publicly punished via exclusion) and catechumen (people preparing for baptism).]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbdcauZa3n1rep7xbo1_400.jpg)
The narthex of the Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay
“Like a rare species of shrub in a tub, near the carriages, in front of the porch where I was waiting, stood a young page who amazed the eye as much by the remarkable harmonies of his coloured hair as by his plant-like skin. Inside the hotel, in the vestibule, which could be entered by people not staying at the hotel, and which corresponded to the narthex or church of the catechumens in Romanesque church buildings, the outside page’s fellows, though just as inactive as he was, were at least in motion. Very likely they helped with the cleaning in the mornings. But in the afternoons, they stood about like members of the chorus who, even when serving no music purpose, remain on stage to fill out crowd scenes.” - Marcel Proust, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower (Penguin, p. 285)
[Notes: The narthex of a Romanesque church was the entrance area, leading onto the nave, and where, in the middle ages (the Romanesque period spreading roughly from the 6th to 10th centuries A.D.), those excluded from participating in the service would stand, in particular penitents (people being publicly punished via exclusion) and catechumen (people preparing for baptism).]
