The Basilica of Our Lady of l'Épine, also known as Notre-Dame de l'Épine, is a Roman Catholic basilica in the small village of L'Épine, Marne, near Châlons-en-Champagne and Verdun. It is a major masterpiece in the Flamboyant Gothic style.
Façade of the Basilica
Nave
Pipe organ
Venerated Virgin (about 1300)
Flamboyant is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance. Elaborate stone tracery covered both the exterior and the interior. Windows were decorated with a characteristic s-shaped curve. Masonry wall space was reduced further as windows grew even larger. Major examples included the northern spire of Chartres Cathedral, Trinity Abbey, Vendôme, and Burgos Cathedral and Segovia Cathedral in Spain.
Facade of the Trinity Abbey, Vendôme (about 1250)
Notre-Dame de l'Épine, west front (1405–1527)
Flamboyant rib vaulting of Segovia Cathedral, nave (1525–1577)
Flamboyant openwork tracery, fireplace and chimney, Salle des pas perdus, Palace of Poitiers (c. 1390)