Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon
church in Tarascon, France
Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon (Occitan: Eglésia Santa Marta de Tarascon) or Collégiale Royale Sainte-Marthe is a collegiate church in Tarascon, France, dedicated to Saint Martha. According to a local tradition, the biblical figure Martha is buried there.
History
Collegiate Sainte-Marthe was dedicated in 1197 and enlarged in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was built half-Romanesque in the 12th century and half-Gothic in the 14th century.
The tympanum and lintel of the Romanesque southern portal were severely damaged during the French Revolution.
The church spire was destroyed during Allied bombings on August 16, 1944. It was later rebuilt.
Features
The crypt dates from the 3rd century. It houses the relics of Martha in a sarcophagus of the 4th century.
Church paintings include:
Painting by Charles-André van Loo:
Mort de Saint François or Saint François d'Assise recevant les stigmates (1730)
Sainte Marthe domptant la Tarasque (1730).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon” is church in Tarascon, France. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Église, Sainte-Marthe and Tarascon, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “church in Tarascon, France” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2120965. Authority coordinates are 43.806, 4.656. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1197, 1944 and 1730.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon primary sources, Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon archive and Église research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.