Eglise Saint-Martial

Like a lookout, the spire of the church of Saint-Martial signals the town of Le Douhet. The square bell tower, certainly rebuilt in the 15th century, has a small bell tower at each of its corners. This late Romanesque building, from the middle of the 12th century, has a single nave ending in an apse. The western façade is the most beautiful part of the building's decoration. One can admire the very dense plant ornamentation of the arches of the portal and the side arcades decorated with beaded stems. The portal is decorated with a mixture of fantastic animals and scenes from the Scriptures, such as the Paschal Lamb adored by angels, the Apostles surrounding Christ in Majesty, and the Descent from the Cross. Inside the choir, several Romanesque capitals have been preserved, representing griffins and lions as well as a bird with spread wings, comparable to the one in the bell tower of the Abbaye-aux-Dames in Saintes, or the "torture of the Miser" (his purse hanging from his neck, dragged along by two devils). A 15th century mural painting represents the martyrdom of a bishop.