. The town of Trèves-Cunault (Maine-et-Loire) owes its origin to the monks of Noirmoutier, who, taking refuge from the Normans, settled in Cunault (846–57). The priory, established around the turn of the millennium, flourished in the 12th century thanks to the political and economic importance of the north bank of the Loire and an influx of pilgrims venerating the reputed marriage band of the Virgin. The oldest part of the church of Notre-Dame de Cunault is the mid-11th-century bell tower. Supported by four pillars, joined by arches, it has an octagonal cupola. The square upper portion is ornamented with a series of blind arches interspersed with Romanesque pilasters and colonnettes and is crowned by a 15th-century spire. The chevet (ca. 1140) is the oldest part of the church proper. Here, an ambulatory with three radiating chapels encircles a blind apse.
The building’s long nave is flanked by aisles whose first three bays carry eight-branch, 13th-century Angevin vaults. Sculpted capitals with interlaced vegetal designs and images of monsters and chimeras cap columns throughout the church. A formerly painted and gilded wooden shrine (13th c.) holds the relics of St. Maxenceul. In the tympanum on the façade sits a Virgin flanked by two angels (possibly late 13th c.).
