Puy-en-Velay / Le Puy-en-Velay

Corblet (1881-1882) reports that the original function of the Chapelle St-Clair, also known as the "Temple de Diane", was the subject of much speculation. It is an octagonal structure structure whose exterior is ornamented with the arches and geometrical patterns common in the area; inside it has a hemispherical apse with three windows, while each of the façades is pierced by a single narrow window; the eight-pannel vault has a circular opening in its centre. This building, adds Corblet, has been identified in the past as a church to Diana the huntress, and as an oratoire or funeral chapel of the Knights Templar, but these hypotheses have proved untenable since the discovery of the "traces du canal qui conduisait l'eau à la piscine". (Corblet, 1881-1882, v. 2, p. 65-66). Bond (1908: 20) refers to the baptistery "in the cathedral of Le Puy" and cites Enlart (1902: v. I, 196) as source. Beigbeder (1962: 50, etc.) describes and illustrates the 11th century building, raised on the previous early-Christian baptistery.