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Dangerous Territory	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Attack on Titan /Shingeki No Kyojin Views: 4228 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own “Shingeki no Kyojin” and do not make money from this fanfic.

Chapter List
- 71
- 72
- 73
Chapter 72
Ancient Sanctuary

Eren felt a deep joy from walking arm-in-arm with Levi. He did not even care where they went, so long as he could bask in this feeling of warm happiness.
They walked a couple of blocks down the street to a café, and here Levi paused.
"Are we eating here?" Eren whispered.
Levi hissed under his breath, "No. None of the restaurants are safe anymore. I'll buy us food. Wait here. The owner is skittish around Germans." He grumbled as he walked away, "And for good reason. Nazis took away his wife for being a Jew and sent her to a camp. He hasn't heard from her in four years. She's likely dead."
Eren felt stung that Levi would point that out, yet he knew the French people blamed them for a lot of things. Too many atrocities had happened since this war began.
He stood on the sidewalk, pulled out one of the packs of Lucky Strike that he had taken off an American, and lit up a cigarette. He was glad that at least the cigarettes stayed safe throughout that whole attack.
Eren thought about what Levi just said. The owner of this café lost his wife to the Nazi's hatred of Jews. Levi was the same. How many French Jews died, all because the Nazi Party saw Jews as parasites sucking on the financial wealth of Europe?
When this war with France first began, Hannes told Eren that all Germany wanted to do was bring the Lorraine region back under their protection. Historically, it was theirs! Only some unfair, prejudiced treaty written by Jewish sympathizers tore the region away from them. Germany had built up that area, bringing architecture, infrastructure, and culture to the people, enriching them in ways the French government had failed, too focused on Paris and the southern cities.
Hannes had explained, after the Great War, the Allies had robbed them of much more than just some rivers and soil. They kidnapped German civilians.
That made Eren mad. It made him think that the Battle of France was a great triumph, re-embracing their Brüder und Schwestern, innocent Germans who were abducted by greedy French politicians. Now they were back with the Reich, order had been restored, and the glory of Germany would shine upon the Lorraine region once again!
Yet he had met people in Metz who had fierce pride in being French, some who spoke German with ease, and some who seemed comfortable with either one. This region, which had passed through national hands many times in just a hundred years, was now a unique cultural mix.
Perhaps Germany did not realize just how much the locals did not want to be placed under German protection. A whole generation had grown up thinking of themselves as "French."
This created a conflict within Eren. He still felt that this area was, historically and by honorable right of combat, a part of the German Empire. Yet if the citizens felt otherwise…
He was glad he did not have to worry about politics. He was a soldier. He followed orders. Do the mission and don't ask too many questions.
Levi came out of the café and smelled the cigarette before he saw it. Eren leaned against the wall, lost in complicated and dark thoughts. Normally, Levi would have asked him to put out the cigarette when around him, but he figured the poor soldier deserved a guilty pleasure, no matter how unhealthy it was or how much it stank.
Eren straightened up as Levi strode along the sidewalk to join him. The paper bag he carried was full of something that smelled delicious, and the aroma took Eren's mind back into the present.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Sandwiches for us, a couple bottles of Fanta, and croissants as bribes."
"Brides?" Eren asked in confusion.
"Not bride. Bribe. Pot-de-vin. Giving someone a thing they want so they won't report you."
"Bestechung," Eren whispered as he figured out the new word. "Wait … Wirst du Soldaten bestechen? You're going to … to buy loyalty? From soldiers?"
Levi smirked as he looked up at him. "You'd be amazed what Germans will overlook for a bit of food."
He took Eren's hand and led him expertly through the streets. Eren followed, enjoying the roughness of Levi's tiny hand.
Those hands had touched him so amazingly. Eren felt a blush rising into his cheeks just thinking about it, how Levi had slammed his hand against the wall, wanting to touch him, determined to pleasure him.
"I'm doing this!"
"Levi! I'm … I'm gonna…"
"Moan for me, Eren!"
"What are you daydreaming about?"
Levi's question yanked Eren out of his fantasy. He felt a little guilty for thinking about something so erotic in public. "Nothing. I was just thinking, you really know your way around Metz now."
"I had plenty of weeks to study a map while my foot healed," he said as they cut through an alley.
"I'm glad you're doing better."
"A bit. I can't run yet, but I can at least walk." Levi added in a low grumble, "Although these damn shoes do not help."
Eren saw that they were coming up to the Esplanade. He remembered their previous walk through the garden, with water fountains, flowerbeds, and a bridge overlooking a beautiful church. What a perfect location for a romantic afternoon together!
They casually walked along the brick path. The fountains were not running. The flowers had died in the cold weather. The grass was trampled by boots. There were no longer lovers strolling around, although a few soldiers used the gardens for a moment of quiet reflection, either sitting under a tree to read, or slumped over in grief as they pretended they were not crying.
Close to the end of the Esplanade, there were stairs to the left. Levi pulled Eren over in that direction. As soon as they climbed the steps, Eren saw a sight that astonished him.
A massive building rose in front of him, broad and towering. The ancient cut stones were bleached almost-but-not-quite white from the sun, ribbed with stripes of red bricks. Black moss darkened areas in the shade, but it was obvious that the building was being restored. Archaeological digs were sectioned out, uncovering the history of Metz.
"What is this place?"
"The Wehrmacht uses it as a warehouse."
"Die Wehrmacht?" Eren exclaimed. "Why would you come here? This is the worst place for you."
Levi glanced up at him. "Because some people in Metz know what this place really is: the oldest church in France, and one of the oldest in the world."
Eren's mouth dropped. He looked up at the building again, then around at the dig sites scattered around.
Was Metz really the home of a place like that? And the Germans were using it for storage?
They walked through an unkempt garden. Eren could imagine that, in times of peace, this area would be a tiny paradise. Coming up were a line of stone columns and arches. Eren recognized the design. He had seen colonnades like this in Italy.
"Römische?" Roman?
"The Romans were the first to build this place. The Benedictines turned it into a church in the 600s."
Eren exclaimed in quiet awe. "So alt!" So old! It was humbling just gazing upon something so ancient.
Levi walked through the stone arch and came to a path. Eren followed, but he kept looking around in awe.
Levi went up to a massive wooden door. There was a soldier guarding it, and Eren bristled. However, Levi went up, smiled sweetly, opened up his bag of food, and handed the man a croissant. Apparently, this soldier recognized him right away, because he smiled, tipped his hat, accepted the pastry with a "Danke," and immediately opened the door. Then he saw Eren.
"First Lieutenant, are you with Levinia?"
Levinia? "Yes, I'm making sure she arrives safely."
"Ah, well then, enjoy yourself," he said, and gave Eren a wink.
Eren frowned as he walked through the door and waited for it to close. Then he leaned over to Levi.
"What was that about?"
"Shh! This place echoes."
They walked through another stone arch and into a massive space, where Eren saw the telltale stone arches of a wall separating the nave from corridors that went to other areas of the church. All along the sides and within the interior, the military had stacked up crates of supplies, but there was no doubting what this place used to be.
A holy shrine, turned into a warehouse for war.
Levi walked in and showed a smartly-dressed civilian man the bag of croissants. The man glared at Eren and questioned Levi in French. Levi pitched his voice high, the best he could do to mimic a woman. As they talked, the French man kept looking at Eren. It seemed the problem was not with Levi, but the soldier with him.
Eren kept his mouth closed, but his fingers were twitching. If anyone dared to threaten him or Levi, he would end their life quickly.
At last, the man took an offered croissant and motioned them on.
Levi looked back and silently motioned Eren to follow. They passed crates of supplies and through an echoing corridor. Eren touched some of the stonework.
The oldest church in France! Just how sturdy were these bricks and stones? How much history had this place seen? And now, it had been reduced to storing ammunition and supplies.
Such a shame! It felt like blasphemy.
They went through a massive door to the side and into an area that had obviously been a recent archaeological site, now abandoned as the battle closed in and the weather turned too wet to dig. The area was blocked off to keep out wandering soldiers, so they would not fall into the pits dug many meters deep. Levi slid down into this dirt pit, and Eren followed after him.
"We're safe here. The army is not allowed around the dig site. That's why that researcher wasn't keen on letting you come with me. It also makes a good area to meet in secret."
"Levinia?' Eren finally had to ask, ready to burst into laughs but realizing they still needed to be quiet here.
Levi scowled and grumbled, "Like hell would I let them call me Lili. That's what Yelena was calling me at first."
Levi took a seat on an ancient cut stone, and Eren sat beside him. He laughed to think, some Roman cut this stone over a thousand years ago, and here they were, sitting on it for dinner.
Levi pulled out the wrapped sandwiches. They were meager, but with food rations and the war, Eren was surprised that any restaurant was still in business. Then Levi pulled out the two bottles of Fanta. He reached into his purse, pulled out a knife, used the edge to pop open the cap, and handed the glass bottle to Eren.
Eren held up the yellowish soda. "Here's to reunions."
Levi snorted a laugh, shook his head, but still clinked his bottle against him. They both took a swig, and Levi made a face. The weird cheesy-apple taste of Fanta with its beet sugar sweetness was something a person had to get accustomed to.
"I don't understand how soda is so popular."
"Soda?"
Levi read the bottle. "Limonade? That means something totally different in French."
Eren shrugged and drank some more. "I like it."
"Of course a child like you would!" Levi grumbled.
Eren laughed. He missed Levi talking to him like that.
They both chomped into their sandwiches. Perhaps hiding in a hole next to a mossy, partially crumbled ancient church, sitting on a stone, eating potted meat sandwiches and drinking Fanta, was not anything like their romantic dinner at Nicolo's restaurant, but Eren was simply happy to be able to sit next to Levi.
Although, the wig really did ruin it for him. He reached over and shifted some of the blond strands to the side.
"I wish you could take that off," said Eren.
Levi glanced up at him. "That would be a bad idea."
"I know," he muttered. Still, he missed the way Levi really looked. He turned his gaze to the massive building in front of them. "I bet Armin knows the history of this church." Eren paused, and a painful smile came to his face. "He read a lot of books about Metz when we first arrived."
Levi recalled, in Eren's letter to Louise, he mentioned that Armin had helped to save his life. "How is he doing?"
Eren pouted as he stared down at his food. "Not good. He was hit in the head when a building collapsed. He got a—what did you call it—a concussion. His was really bad. They had to remove a portion of his—um, Schädel—his skull." Although he had used English to trick Americans, it had been a while since he spoke it conversationally, and Eren realized he was a little rusty.
Levi looked up in shock. "Damn! Is he going to make it?"
"He woke up this afternoon. He needs a few more operations, so he'll be sent back to Berlin."
"I'm sorry to hear that, but perhaps it's for the best."
"That's what I figured," Eren muttered.
Levi reached into the paper bag and pulled out another croissant. "Here."
"Don't you need them to bribe people?"
"We can spare one."
After a month of rations, Eren was amazed to see fresh baked goods. He took a bite, tasted the buttery flakiness of the pastry, and hummed. There was at least some good left in this world.
Levi's hand stretched over, hesitated, but finally landed on Eren's. A smile struggled onto Eren's face. Was Levi trying to comfort him? If so, Eren really was grateful for it. He flipped his hand over and held Levi's fingers in a firm squeeze.
Here they were, surrounded by pillars and arches that had survived wars and regime changes for almost two thousand years. It would survive this conflict too, scarred but strong.
Eren hoped he could be so lucky.
"I'm surprised you're still able to tolerate Yelena. It seemed like you two didn't get along."
"Oh we don't!" Levi said with a slight curl to his lips. "Especially the past few days. She's planning something for tomorrow, but she won't tell me or anyone else a thing about it. She's supposed to be a leader, yet she keeps going off, doing things, and keeping it all a secret. I almost thought she was a double agent, what with all the sneaking around. It's obvious she's working for someone else. I just hope to God it's the Americans."
"You don't know what she's planning?"
"If I did, I wouldn't tell you … no offense."
"No, I understand."
They were enemies on the battlefield, after all.
Eren nibbled a little more of his croissant and looked up into the cloudless blue sky. "It really is a nice day," he said with a casual tone. "It's probably the last clear day for a while.
"You're right. Hardly a cloud in the sky."
"Soon it'll be snowing."
Talking about the weather: such a boring but safe subject.
Eren glanced down at their hands, and he saw with a leap of warmth that Levi was still wearing the pearl ring he got him. He rubbed over it, and Levi glanced down. He also saw the gold ring on Eren's hand, the ring he stole so he could claim it as his own ring.
Quietly, Levi asked, "Have you taken your ring off?"
Eren shook his head. "Not even to bathe. Do you still have my key?"
Levi patted his chest, and Eren saw the outline of the house key through the fabric of the dress. "I can't claim the same. I'm terrified that it'll rust if I bathe wearing it."
"That's fine. Just knowing you kept it is enough."
They sat in silence, eating their sandwiches, sipping soda, and listening to the soft blow of cold wind. Down in this pit with history all around them, the war felt very far away, a small and insignificant dot on the massive scale of time. This building survived centuries of turmoil; he could at least survive one battle.
Eren kept rubbing his thumb across Levi's knuckles, like he needed to feel him there. After a few minutes of silently eating together, Levi finished off his sandwich, leaned over, and rested his head on Eren's shoulder. Eren wrapped his arm around Levi and sank his cheek down onto the top of the blond wig. Levi began to reach toward Eren's free arm, but then he saw the bandages again.
He softly asked, "How were you burned? Did those damn cigarettes finally catch your uniform on fire?"
Eren knew he was just trying to tease him, but recalling that fight still stung, a memory literally burned into him. "I was using a Flammenwerfer, the Kraftstofftank got shot, my uniform was sprayed with Flammöl, then the Americans set a room on fire with my men inside. I tried to rescue them, but we took a direct hit from a howitzer. They were killed instantly. Then I was shot in the head, tumbled into the flames, and my sleeve that had the fuel splashed on it caught on fire. If Armin hadn't been there, I would have burned to death."
Levi stared with his mouth dropped. "Holy shit!" By the darkness in Eren's eyes, he knew not to ask anything more. Levi could only imagine how traumatic and painful that must have been.
They fell silent again, and Eren took a swig of his Fanta, as if he could wash away all the bad memories.
Levi wished he knew what to say. Eren was dealing with darkness: the horrors of battle, the loss of his men, painful injuries, and suicidal thoughts. Eren needed him there, needed someone who did not demand that he kill his emotions and act like a soldier, yet Levi had no idea how he could help him besides simply being by his side.
They stared ahead with a fog of awkwardness between them. What now? Levi did not want to simply have dinner and leave, and sitting on this stone was starting to hurt his buttocks. He squeezed Eren's hand.
"You know," he muttered, "it's a full moon tonight, and the weather is pretty much perfect, so I…" He stopped and grumbled, "I was wondering, maybe we could go for a walk tonight."
Eren's cheeks warmed up. "You want to take me on a date?"
"Our last date got interrupted."
Eren huffed as he remembered that night. Yes, that meal at Nicolo's restaurant was beautiful, utterly perfect, but the disaster afterward was terrifyingly awful.
"Well?" Levi asked, sounding impatient to cover over how asking Eren out made his heart flutter like it had not done in years.
Eren leaned over and gave Levi a kiss on the forehead. "I'd love to go on a date with you."
Levi scowled and grumbled, "That damn accent is still weird."
"I think you like it." Eren smirked and egged him on. "Maybe you think American accents are sexy."
"Don't be ridiculous, you brat!"
Eren saw the pinkness in his cheeks and laughed. Yep, he guessed it!
# # #
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How many French Jews died – 75,000 mainland French Jews were deported to Nazi death camps, where 72,500 were murdered. This doesn't count the Jews who died due to civilian and police violence, like the bombing of seven synagogues in Paris in 1941.
Fanta – a fruity soda made by the Coca-Cola Company, started in Germany during WWII and still popular today.
In 1941, the U.S. entered the war and established a trade embargo against Germany. Without shipments of the secret recipe syrup, the head of Coca-Cola Deutschland (Coca-Cola GmbH) Max Keith was faced with a dire situation: come up with a new soda that used local ingredients, or shut down the bottling factory. Some things Germany had were apples, beets, and cheese. So, they concocted a soda made from, as Max Keith put it, “the leftovers of the leftovers”: apple pulp, beet sugar, fruit peels, and whey (a cheese byproduct). He called it “Fanta” for fantasy. Maybe because you had to fantasize that this tasted good.
During the war, they sold 3 million cases of Fanta per year, although much of it was not used for drinking. Due to sugar rations, German families used Fanta to sweeten their cooking. To this day, Fantakuchen (Fanta Cake) is popular in some German families.
After the war, Fanta was overhauled with a new recipe. Gone was the cheesy apple monstrosity, replaced by an orange flavor with a ton of sugar. So while one could say “Fanta was made by Nazis” and boo-hoo on the Coca-Cola Company, the main headquarters had nothing to do with the creation of the drink, and Hitler definitely would not recognize the sickeningly-sweet orange soda of today from the plain-sickening apple-cheese soda that got Germany through the war.

Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains

The Basilica of the Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains is allegedly the oldest church in France, and one of the oldest in the world. Built between 380 and 395 AD as a Roman spa complex (back when Metz was the Roman city Divodurum) it was one of the few buildings left standing after Attila the Hun conquered the city in 451 AD. In 615, it was converted to a church, becoming the chapel of a Benedictine nunnery.
Charlemagne was fond of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains, and two of his sons were buried there. He liked the city and this church so much, Metz was almost chosen as the capital city of the newly founded Holy Roman Empire, but this honor was instead handed to Aachen.
In 984 AD, the monastery was so full of debauchery that the Bishop of Metz expelled two-thirds of the nuns from the abbey. (I found that tidbit of history hilarious. Dirty sexy nuns!)
During the 10th and 11th centuries, Emperor Otto der Große (the most famous medieval German ruler) enriched the abbey. The single room of the ancient Roman building was split into three, with a central nave and side aisles. The church would later receive upgrades like gothic vaults built above the nave and the aisles.
In 1552, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V wanted to bring Metz and the Lorraine region back under his control. He laid siege to the city and destroyed around forty religious buildings. Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains was “decapitated” so the army had better line of sight for their cannons firing across the Moselle. From October until January, an army of 60,000 surrounded the city and its garrison of a mere 6,000 French soldiers. However, like many other would-be conquerors, they failed to capture Metz. 30,000 of Charles V’s men would die (mostly from typhus and dysentery) before the head of House of Habsburg hightailed it back home.
Only nine meters of wall still remained on the monastery. It was such a disaster, the Catholic Church abandoned it. With the French turning Metz into a garrison town, building the Arsenal and barracks nearby, the monastery was absorbed into a series of military buildings. Rather than tear it down, the French army turned the church into a warehouse for their equipment. The partially collapsed walls were flattened out, a new roof was built on top, a second story was added inside the spacious nave, and they “punched out” some windows for ventilation. It would serve as a military warehouse until the 20th century.
Imagine: the oldest church in France … used for storage!
Following the Franco-Prussian War, Germany took control of Metz. They knew Emperor Otto der Große commissioned a lot of construction work on the church, and anything to do with him fascinated the Germans. In 1897, the Society for History and Archeology began an examination of the masonry. They uncovered artifacts that had been buried since its partial destruction in 1552, like the chancel, which was almost perfectly preserved for centuries and is now in the Musée de la Cour d’Or. The basilica was classified as a “historic monument” in 1909.
After the First World War, with Metz handed back over to the French government, work on uncovering the past of the church slowed down, lacking funds for digs. By the 1930s, the building was in terrible shape, and there were talks about destroying it to build something more sturdy and modern. Luckily, historians delayed that decision since they were still digging up historical artifacts, but it wouldn’t be the last time France flirted with the idea of demolishing the church.
Then World War Two broke out, and Germany once again came into possession of Metz. The Wehrmacht took control of the military buildings in the garrison town, including the “warehouse.” In 1941, German archaeologist Wilhelm Reusch took over the excavations. Due to its ties to Emperor Otto der Große, Nazi Germany hoped that archaeological evidence of Metz being “a German city” would solidify their claims to the region. The Wehrmacht agreed to move out some of the military equipment so archaeologists could rip up the floor, dig into the depths of the church, and see what mysteries were buried.
In 1942, restoration work began, clearing out over a meter of debris shoved up against the walls since the destruction of the steeple in the 1500s. They also tore down the fake second-story floor, got rid of modern defensive walls, and began to rebuild some of the brickwork. Slowly, the building was brought back to a specter of its former glory.
Then, in 1944, Reusch discovered Roman plumbing running under the church. He realized this was not a church built in the 900s, but a Roman spa from around the 300s.
Although this was a great archaeological discovery, and Reusch—a professional lover of history—was excited that such an ancient building was so well preserved, Germany was decidedly less interested in continuing to restore something that was Roman and not German.
The site was abandoned as the Allies approached the city and the Battle of Metz broke out.
[image]
The picture above shows the building in 1941 when Reusch first arrived, with added defensive walls and additional windows above the church’s arched windows. The middle is photo after initial restoration work in 1944, with the second story windows removed as the nave was returned to its single spacious size, and modern defensive walls torn down to show the original Roman stone and brick. This is what Eren would have seen. It was quite impressive, but still “decapitated.” The image to the right is how it appears today, after the steeple and outer wall were reconstructed.
During the Battle of Metz, the Americans knew the church was a Nazi military warehouse, and thus would have been an ideal target; however, historians fought to have the church spared, so pilots were instructed to avoid bombing it. Thanks to the work of preservationists fighting to have historic landmarks saved in times of war, many ancient buildings in Metz survived the war.
Starting in 1946, the city decided to demilitarize many buildings, including the Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains. Once again, there were talks about demolishing it, as Metz was tearing down many of their ancient buildings to make room for modernization. Historians fought to defend what was deemed to be the oldest church in France and one of the best preserved Roman constructions in the world.
Finally, in the 1970s, it was decided that the church would be renovated, the steeple that had been missing for 400 years would get reconstructed, and the building was transformed into a concert and exhibition hall.
With a lot of luck (and being defended by lovers of history) the Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains survived into the 21st century.
[image]
So, why am I so obsessed with this one building? It’s not just because it’s really old, although that makes it fascinating in its own right.
I’m a musician, I studied music in college, and since I’m a nerd, I also studied music history. The Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains is regarded to be “the birthplace of Christian, if not all European, music.” Or at the very least, it’s the birthplace of sheet music.
Emperor Charlemagne (c. 742-814) loved church music, to the point of making music mandatory learning for both the privately-taught sons of nobles and commoners in public schools. While traveling through his empire, he realized that many regions came up with their own unique styles. Charlemagne believed that conformity led to strength. He wanted to sit down in Aachen, Bavaria, Paris, or Milan, and listen to the same songs he knew by heart, not a remix.
However, there was no sheet music back then. Music was taught word-of-mouth, all melodies had to be memorized, and it often got embellished as different regions added their own flair. Some churches came up with entire new liturgies. Charlemagne sought to eliminate such regional stylistic differences.
To make sure everyone was singing the same way, in 774 Charlemagne went to Rome and asked the Pope to let him borrow a couple of papal singers. One was sent to Soissons, while the other, a singer named Theodore, was sent to Metz.
Charlemagne enjoyed listening to the choir at Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains. He nearly made the city his capital and chief residence. So to him, Metz was one city that definitely needed to sing the songs correctly. Not only did Charlemagne task the papal singer Theodore with teaching the monks of Metz the way Rome sang Gregorian chants, he was also ordered to come up with a way to teach every church in the empire how to sing the chants in the same way.
Basically, Charlemagne ordered him to develop sheet music.
Theodore worked with the church choir, trying to come up with notation that could be marked above the lyrics of a hymn, was easy to learn, and would lay out the contour of the melody for a novice singer to learn.
This early style of music notation is called neumes. It’s why we know today precisely how Gregorian chants sounded 1300 years ago. Funny enough, the invention of sheet music was not lauded as brilliant at the time. It simply solved a need.
As someone who relies on sheet music as my band plays a three-set gig with 75 songs total (and no way can I memorize all 75 perfectly) I tip my hat to Theodore the papal singer and the Metz choir who helped him out.
Today, the Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains is primarily used as a concert hall, a fitting tribute to its medieval musical history.

10th century Gregorian chant manuscript of Tuotilo's Trope
“Hodie cantandus est” written in neumes notation.
Tuotilo (d. 915) was a Benedictine monk, musician,
and poet at the Abbey of St. Gall, Switzerland.
This early version is called chironomic or “in campo aperto,”
written without staff lines, which would be invented later.
Special thanks to “L’archéologie à Metz - Institutions, pratiques et résultats des travaux de Keune à l’archéologie préventive (1896-2008)” and these websites.
- https://thecompletepilgrim.com/basilica-saint-pierre-aux-nonnains/
- https://www.spottinghistory.com/view/5314/basilica-of-saint-pierre-aux-nonnains
- https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Église_Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains
- https://www.persee.fr/doc/bsnaf_0081-1181_1950_num_1945_1_4043
- https://www.persee.fr/doc/bsnaf_0081-1181_1977_num_1975_1_8392
- http://marcmetzmoselle.eklablog.com/saint-pierre-aux-nonnains-l-un-des-tresors-de-metz-a86874727
- https://www.biblia.work/dictionaries/charlemagne-and-church-music/
- Take a virtual tour of the basilica: https://vimeo.com/29719903
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Not even joking, this may be the most thorough write-up on Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains in the English language, considering I had to rely on French books from the 1940s and 1970s to get all the details that I wanted for this scene, especially what state of restoration the building was in around 1944. I still am not satisfied that I could find nothing about the apse. What happened to it, does it still exist, what does it look like, etc.? (I originally wanted them to sit in there, but while it appears on blueprints, I do not see it in pictures from either the interior or exterior.)
Fun fact: My anthropology professor/mentor in college urged me to change majors and focus on lithics, the archaeological study of stones, due to my fascination (and personal collection) of Native American stone weaponry. So when I saw the stone chancel, my little heart went pitter-patter! That is so insanely well-preserved, given the age and all the conflicts in that region.
I need to visit France one day.
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Dangerous Territory