Also from the 12th century, this reliquary of Abbot Begon recalls the
lantern towers erected in the middle
of cemeteries and which symbolized, when illuminated, the passage of souls
to the hereafter. The lantern
turrets on churches in the Poitou-Charente area had this symbolic function
also, but in addition served a very practical purpose, that of offering
a beacon to benighted travelers.