buildings remain, especially baptisteries, which fell out of fashion and were spared rebuilding. In Aix-en-Provence, Riez and Fréjus, three octagonal baptistries, each covered with a cupola on pillars, are testimony to the influence of oriental architecture (the baptistry of Riez, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, recalls that of St. George, Ezra', Syria). Very different from these Provençal baptistries, except for the quatrefoil one of Venasque, that of St. Jean at Poitiers (6th century) has the form of a rectangle flanked by three apses. The original building has probably undergone a number of alterations but preserves in its decoration (marble capitals) a Merovingian character. Among the very many crypts, numerous due to the importance of the cult of saints at the time, only those of St. Seurin, Bordeaux, St. Laurent, Grenoble, the crypt of the Abbey of Saint Médard in Soissons,and the abbey of Jouarre (7th century) survive. Other arts By the 7th century, the abilities of Merovingian craftsmen must have been well regarded, as they were brought to England to re-introduce glass making skills, and Merovingian stonemasons were used to build English churches. Merovingian masons also employed the opus gallicum extensively and are responsible for bringing it to England and bequeathing it to the Normans, who brought it to Italy. Very few Merovingian illuminated manuscripts survive, of which the most richly decorated is the 8th century Gelasian Sacramentary in the Vatican Library, which has geometric and animal decoration, less complex than that of the Insular art of the British Isles, but like it derived from metalwork motifs, with some influence from Late Antiquity and the Near-East. The principal centres were the Abbey of Luxeuil, an Irish foundation, and later its daughter house at Corbie Abbey. A large Merovingian art collection in Berlin was taken by Soviet troops to Russia, where it remains to this day. Gallery See also Migration Period art List of Merovingian monasteries Merovingian script Notes References European Commission: Raphaël Programme. The Normans, a European people: The Norman heritage, 10th – 12th century. Architectural Heritage: Italy — the Molise §8 Fortifications and castles: Fortifications — The opus gallicum in the fortifications. 2004. Gilbert, Edward. "Brixworth and the English Basilica." The Art Bulletin, Vol. 47, No. 1. (Mar., 1965), pp 1–20. Bede. Lives of the Holy Abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow. External links Age of spirituality : late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century from The Metropolitan Museum