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Hôtel
des Invalides
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This was the first
military hospital in France, being founded by Louis XIV and completed
in 1675. A soldiers' church was already on the site but the King
ordered that the Dome Church be built among the existing buildings
for his exclusive use and the housing of royal tombs. This latter
expectation was never realized. In 1841 King Louis-Philippe decided
to bring back Napoleon's remains from St Helena, where he had lived
under 'house arrest' from 1815 to 1821; his body was encased
in six coffins and finally placed in the crypt in 1861. (on left)
The original
grave site and his house on St Helena are preserved by the French
Government.
Later, tombs of Vauban (on right), Marshal Foch and others have turned the
Dome
Church into a French military memorial. Napoleon's older brother,
Joseph Bonaparte, also has a monument in the church.
In his will
Napoleon requested that his body might be returned to France "to
repose on the banks of the Seine in the midst of the French people
I have loved so much". In the event of a refusal he wished
to be buried in Geranium Valley under the willow trees adjacent
to the little spring, whence his drinking water was carried daily
to Longwood. His funeral took place on May 9th 1821, conducted by
Father Vignali. He was buried with full military honours, the garrison,
3000 strong, lining the route with arms reversed. General Monthlon
asked that the following inscription be engraved on the tomb in
French: 'Napoleon Born at Ajaccio August 15, 1569. Died at St Helena
May 5 1821.' The Governor declined, insisting that Bonaparte be
added so the French decided to leave the stone bare. It is difficult
to understand the reason prompting Sir Hudson Lowe to reject this
simple inscription.
(information from Lina Knipe of the St
Helena Tourist Office)
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Saint Denis
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This church - the burial place
of the Kings and Queens of France - would be worth a visit if only
for its architecture but it houses one of the finest and most extensive
collections of monuments in existence, both of the French royalty and
others. It is situated in a northern
suburb of Paris but is easily reached on the Metro. There
is a small entrance fee to the tombs but not to the west
end of the church.
Because of
the arrangement of these monuments and the fact that
some are difficult to photograph closely, I have arranged
them as they would be seen on walking around the church.
I have not yet been able to take satisfactory photographs
of the massive and very impressive Renaissance monuments
but will attempt to do so when I next visit St Denis, when hopefully
I can spend the whole day there and retake many other
improved photographs too. The table below gives
a list of the French kings, queens and some of their
family where relevant. This I hope will bring the large
amount of monuments into a cohesive whole. If you click
on the underlined name you will be taken to photographs
of, and some information about, the relevant monument.
In early times
the Basilica at Saint Vincent-Saint-Croix (today Saint-Germain-des-Paris)
in Paris was the traditional burial place of the kings
of France but Dagobert choose the Basilica of St Denis
and was the first king to have been buried there; his
son, Clovis II, followed. However in 1959 the grave of
Queen Arégonde, who died in 580 and was the great
grand mother of Dagobert, was discovered; she was thus
the first royal person to have been buried there. A series of the Carolingiens
were also buried there. With the Capétians -
the great majority of whom were also buried there - St Denis
became known as the 'cemetery of the kings'.
Originally
the tombs were placed in no specific order but in 1263/64 King Louis IX - or St Louis - commissioned
a series of sixteen effigies of earlier kings,
queens and princes, which were arranged in strict order.Their
bones were exhumed from their original burial sites,
which had been marked by simple plaques, and laid in boxes on which the
effigies were placed. . Of these effigies, fourteen now remain; two - those of Eudes
and Hugh Capet - were destroyed during the French Revolution. These
effigies
are listed in red in the table below. The
Mérovingiens
and the Carolingiens were then placed to the south and the
Capétians
to the north of the crossing; the tombs of Louis VIII
and Philippe-Augustus were placed in the centre in
the place of honour.
They are all identically dressed in the fashion of the
13th century, hold a sceptre in one hand and generally hold their
cloaks in their free hand. Their eyes are open
and they present calm, idealized features of the perfect
king or queen. However despite this each shows much individuality.
It is said that the work was
carried out by three different artists. The King also
stipulated that St Denis be used only for the burial
of reigning kings and queens: royal children were to
be butied in the Abbey of Royaumont. His own monument
was eventually placed in the centre of this arrangement. This ruling of
Saint Louis was overturned by his grandson, Philippe
IV.
The French Revolution disrupted the monuments
in St Denis. In 1791monuments from Royaumont
Abbey were moved there, following a decision by the
Commission of Monuments the previous year that St Denis
would be an suitable depository of monuments from
destroyed churches. However a decree of 1792 demanded
that metal monuments be melted
down for war requirements; six tombs were lost at St
Denis, including those of Charles le Chauve and Charles
VIII. In 1793 following the execution of the King the
official attitude changed and the destruction of the
tombs was proposed. Fifty tombs were
demolished although not all completely destroyed. However
all the slabs were destroyed except that of Isabelle
of Aragon, because the Commission regarded the
rhyming French inscription on it to be of interest;
this can be seen today. It also wished for conservation
of the effigies of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
because of their historical worth. The remains
of these monuments were ejected from the church
into the garden that flanks the north transept, some
being destroyed. Later it was decreed that the remains of the interred were to
be removed
from their grave and buried in a pit; this was carried
out on 15th October 1793. It was noted that the corpses
were in states of putrefaction except that of Henri IV,
which was well preserved ,and an engraving was made of
this by Alexandre Lenoir (1762-1839). He later
salvaged
the tombs to install them in the Museum of Historical
Monuments. When Louis XVIII returned to the throne he restored
the tombs to St Denis in 1816 and added some from
buildings that had been destroyed during the Revolution.
Those monuments moved at various times from other sites
are are indicated in purple in the following. He
reburied the ejected remains (marked *) in an ossuary in the crypt (together
with many unlisted family members) and
those of the Bourbons who could be indentified in the
Bourbon Vault. The monuments were at this time
installed in the crypt. Several members of the royal
family were buried in St Denis after the Revolution
in coffins of lead and wood in the 'Chapel of the Princes'
in the crypt. Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879)
restored the church and the tombs. Those kings who
were buried elsewhere are indicated in green.
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The
Mérovingiens
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The
Capétians
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Blanche
of France
(daughter
of St Louis)
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The
Valois
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François
II
*
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Clovis
I
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Eudes
(destroyed
in the Revolution)
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Philippe
III
le Hardi
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Philippe
VI
*
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Charles
IX *(no monument)
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Childebert
I
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Hugh
Capet (destroyed
in the Revolution)
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&
Isabelle
d'Aragon
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&
Jeanne de Bourgogne *(no monument)
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&
Élisabeth d'Autriche (no monument)
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Frédégonde
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&
Adélaine of Aquitaine (no monument)
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Charles,
Count of Valois
(son of Philippe III)
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&
Blanche d'Evreux-Navarre *
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Henri
III *(heart
burial monument)
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Dagobert
I
*
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Robert II
le Pieux
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Charles
of Valois, Count of Alençon
(son of above)
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Jeanne
of France, *
daughter of the above
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&
Louise de Lorraine (reinterred in crypt by Louis XVIII)
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&
Nanthilde * (no monument)
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&
Constance d'Arles
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Marie
of Spain
(wife of above)
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Jean II le Bon
*
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The
Bourbons
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Clovis
II
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Henri I
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Louis
of France
(son
of Philippe III & Marguerite of France)
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&
Jeanne d'Auvergne (no
monument)
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Henri IV *
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&
Bathilde (no monument)
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&
Anne de Kiev (no monument)
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Marguerite
d'Artois
(wife
of above)
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Charles
V le Sage
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&
Marguerite de Valois *
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Thierry
IV (burial uncertain)
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Philippe
I (buried
at Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire)
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Charles,
Count of Etampes
(son of the above)
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&
Jeanne
de Bourbon
(original
monument destroyed at Revolution)
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&
Marie de Médici *
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The
Carolingiens
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Louis
VI le Gros
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Philippe
IV le Bel
*
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Charles
VI le Fou
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Henriette
d'Angleterre,* daughter of Henri IV
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Charles
Martel
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Philippe
de France
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Louis
X le Huntin
*
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&
Isabeau de Bavière
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Louis
XIII *
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Pépin
le Bref
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Louis
VII
(buried in Abbey of Barbeau), but reinterred in crypt by Louis XVIII)
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&
Clemence
of Hungary
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Charles
VII
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&
Anne d'Autriche *
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&
Berthe au Grand Pied
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&
Constance of Castille
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&
his daughter Jeanne
II, Queen of Navarre
*
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&
Marie
d'Anjou
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Louis
XIV *
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Carloman,
son of Pepin
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Philippe
II Augustus (destroyed in 100 Years War) *
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&
his son, Jean
I *
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Louis
XI (buried
at Cléry-Saint-André)
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&
Marie-Térèse
d'Autriche *
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Charles
le Chauve (a
memorial brass melted down at Revolution)
*
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Louis
VIII (destroyed in 100 Years War) *
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Philippe
V le Long
*
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Charles
VIII * (effigy of silver (?) by Guido Mazzoni,
melted down at Revolution.)
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Louis
XV *
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&
Hermentrude
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Philippe
of France,
son
of LouisVIII and Blanche of Castille
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Marguerite
of Flanders *
(daughter of Philippe V)
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Louis
XII *&
Anne de Bretagne
*
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&
Marie Leczinska
*
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Louis
III
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LouisIX or Saint Louis (destroyed
in 100 Years War)
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Charles
IV le Bel
*
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François
I * &
Claude de France
*
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Louis
XVl
(reinterred in crypt byLouis XVIII)
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Carloman
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&
Marguerite de Provence *(no monument)
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&
Jeanne d'Évreux
*
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Henri II
*&
Catherine de Mèdicis
* Also
click here.
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&
Marie-Antonette d'Autriche (reinterred in crypt by Louis XVIII)
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For
simplicity other members of these dynasties
who have no connection with St Denis have
not been listed
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Louis
of France
(son
of the above)
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Blanche
of France
(daughter of Charles IV)
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Louis
XVIII
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Blanche *
& Jean of France (brother and
sister of the above)
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Charles
X
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Above and to the right, in the foreground
Clovis II (635-657) and in the background Charles
Martel (688-741);
both of these effigies were commissioned by Saint Louis.
Clovis II was of the Mérovingien dynasty
and Charles Martel of the Carolingien
Dynasty.
On the left is Isabelle
D'Aragon (1243-1271), [1st
wife of Philippe III le Hardi];
part of the canopy of her monument can be seen in the
foreground of the right hand photograph. The base of
the monument carries an insription.
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Above
, in the foreground is Philippe III le Hardi (1245-1285)
and in the background Philippe IV le Bel (1268-1314).
Philippe le Hardi was the eleventh king
of the Capétian Dynasty and Philippe
le Bel, the twelfth. Both sculptured on
white marble on black marble slabs, a style
that was to become widespread over the next century. That
of Philippe III was executed by Jean d'Arras;
he face
is idealized rather than a portrait.
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Above in the foreground
is Berthe au Grand Pied (726-783) wife of Pépin
le Bref (714-768), whose effigy is in the
background. Berthe is also shown on the right above.
Pépin was of the
Carolingien Dynasty. Both of the effigies
were commisioned by St Louis. The next
king after Pépin
was Charles II le Chauve (ob 877) but
his effigy was destroyed.
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Above to the left, in
the foreground is Carloman (866 - 884) who is
also shown on the right and
in the background Louis III (863-882). Both
were of the Carolingien
Dynasty. Both of these
effigies were commissioned by St Louis.
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picture: In foreground: Charles
V le Sage (1338-1380) &
Jeanne de Bourbon
(1338-1377) [Wife of Charles le Sage] (also shown to the
right, bottom picture). Charles was the
third Valois Dynasty king. His monument
was carved in his lifetime by André
Beauneveu; he would have held the Hand of
Justice (now fractured) in his left hand
and holds the scepter in his right. The Queen's effigy
was originally
in Church of the Celestines, Paris and covered
her entrails which were buried there: note
the sack she is holding in her left hand.
The effigy which covered her body and had
been in St Denis was destroyed during the
Revolution.
In
the middle ground: Bernard de Guesclin (1320-1380)
- also shown on left. He was constable of France, a
major figure in the Hundred Years War. Charles
V ordered that he be buried in St Denis.
The monument was executed by Thomas Privé
& Robert Loisel. Louis de Sancerre
(1342-1402) ( also shown to the right, middle
picture). He was a companion in arms to
de Guesclin and later constable of France. Charles VI ordered that he be buried
at St Denis.
The two
busts behind these effigies are: Charles VII
(1403-1463) & Marie d'Anjou (1404-1463).
These are all that remain of the original
effigies.
In
the background: Charles VI Le Fou (1368-1422)
& Isabeau de Bavière (1372-1435)
[wife of Charles VI] (also show to the right, top picture)
Charles was the fourth of the Valois kings.
The Queen commissioned this double monument
during her lifetime; it was executed by Pierre
de Thoiry. The King holds in his right hand
the scepter and in his left, the hand of
justice; the Queen is dressed as a widow.
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image
to follow
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image
to follow
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The
Dukes of Orleans: Louis Duke
of Orleans (ob
1407) [son
of Charles V], Valentine
Visconti (ob
1408) [his
wife] and their sons: Charles
the Poet (ob
1465)[father of Louis XII] & Philippe
(ob
1420). Originally in the Church
of the Celestins, Paris. These
were commissioned by Louis XII
around 1502 and executed by
two Milanese artists, Michel
d'Aria and Girolamo Rovezzano
and two Florentine artists,
Doni de Battista Benti and Benedetto
da Rovezzano. The commission
was to blend the feature of
medieval effigies with the then
new ideas of the Italian Renaissance.
Charles was a prisoner of the
English for twenty-five years following
the battle of Agincourt. This
monument was placed in St Denis
after 1817.
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François
I (ob 1547) and Claude
of France (ob 1524). The
construction of this splendid
monument was overseen by Philibert
de l'Orme. François Camoy
was the first sculptor, then
François Merchand
and finally Pierre Bontemps
who completed the major part
of the work. The architecture
is that of a triumphal arch
with military scenes of the
King's life carved
in low
relief around the lower
part of the monument. Under
the central arch the King and
Queen are shown as partly shrouded
corpses in eternal sleep, lying on two separate
biers; there are two separate
arches acting as aisles. The
King and Queen are shown at
their actual heights, the figure
of the king being nearly two
metres tall. Above,
the King and Queen are shown
at prayer with three of their
children who died young. The
monument remains in its original
position.
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Heart
of François I.
This funerary urn was constructed
by Pierre Bontemps (responsible
for the major tomb) and was
originally in the Hautes Bruyères
Abbey, Yvelines. The urn and
its base is decorated with images
of the arts and learning, of
which the King was a patron.
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François
II
(ob
1560) This
is a column designed by Primaticcio at
the base of which are three putti with inverted torches.
The column originally supported
an urn containing the heart
of the king and was originally
in the Church of the Célestines,
Paris.
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THE
AMBULATORY
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Above
is Léon VI de Lusignan (ob 1393), King
of Armenia till 1375 when he was forced
into exile. Originally Church of the Celestines,
Paris. Note that he holds his gloves, a
sign of rank in the eastern tradition.
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Above in the foreground
is Charles de Valois, Comte d'Alençon (1297-1346)[brother
of Phillippe VI]
and in the background his wife Marie d'Esagne (ob
1379). He is also shown on the right and she on the
left. These effigies were originally in the Church of
the Jacobins Paris. Note the realism of
his male pattern baldness. Her crown
was of metal and the fixing holes can be
seen; note the delightful hair style.
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| An
unknown child princess from the fourteenth
century.
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Above
- left and right - an unknown princess .
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Blanche
de France (ob 1243) & Jean (ob 1268), children of St Louis and Marguerite of Provence.
The effigies are in copper on enamel plaques from Royaumont Abbey Church.
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Robert l'Enfant or d'Artois
(1300-1317).
Commissioned by his mother Mahaut d'Artois and executed
by Jean Pepin de Huy
in 1320. This monument was originally
in Church of the Cordeliers, Paris. Note arms carved
in high relief on his shield.
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In lower photograph,
in the foreground Childebert
I
(ob 558) - who is also shown above right. He
was of the Mérovingien Dynasty and
the monument was originally in his foundation of Saint-Germain-des-Prés,
Paris. His monument dates from before 1163 and
shows him holding a model of his foundation in his right hand
and his sceptre in his left. In the background
of the lower photograph and in the upper photograph is
Clovis I (ob 511) who was also
of the Mérovingien
Dynasty; his monument, which is in higher relief,
was executed around 1220-1230,
and was also originally in Saint-Genevieve, Paris.
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Frédégonde
(ob
597) [wife of Chilpric I] This is an incised slab but with the head, belt
and folds in low relief. In the hollowed out area are
placed stones of various types and copper filaments.
This monument was originally in Saint-Germaine-ds-Prés,
Paris and was made in the mid 12th century.
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Dagobert
I
(ob 639) This monument is in the form of an elaborately
carved funerary niche. The carvings depict the legend
of john the Hermit. The monument dates from 1258 but
the reclining figure of Dogobert
and the flanking figure of his wife and son are nineteenth
century reproductions.
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Henry
II (ob 1559)& Catherine of Médici (ob
1558).
This second monument, by Germain Pilon,
shows the King and Queen in their coronation
vestments. Their figures are of marble and
rest on
a base of bronze. This latter was melted
down at the Revolution and later reconstructed
by Viollet-le-Duc.
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image
to follow
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Louis
XVI & Marie-Antoinette (both
executed 1793). These kneeling images were
ordered by Louis XVIII when the remains
of the King and Queen were found in the
Cimetière des Innocents, Paris. This
sculpture was completed in 1830.
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Marie
de Bourbon
(ob 1538) daughter of Charles de Bourbon,
Duke de Vendôme from Church
of Notre-Dame de Soissons. She was the aunt
of Henry IV and her body was placed in the
tomb of her sister, the Abbess of Notre-Dame
de Soissons.
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THE
NORTH
TRANSEPT
(this was conceived at the Restoration
as a museum of funerary sculpture)
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Phillipe VI
de Valois (1294-1350)
on the left; Jean ll Le Bon
(1319-1364)
on the right. From the workshop of André
Beauneuveu in 1366. Jean was captured by
the English at the Battle of Poitiers in
1356; he was allowed to return to France,
leaving behind as hostae his son, who,
however, broke his word and escaped. Jean returned to London where he
died.
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Phillippe
V Le Long (1293-1322)
on the left, Jeanne d'Evreux (1307-1370)
[3rd
Wife of Charles IV] at the centre and Charles IV Le Bel (1295-1328)
on the right. Jeanne became a great patron
of the arts after her widowhood and commissioned
the effigy before her death
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Blanche (1328-1393),
Duchesse
d'Orléans Fille de Charles IV
From the workshop
of Jean de Liège and
Robert Loisel.
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| In the foreground,
Ermentrude (825-869) [wife of Charles II le Chauve]
who is also shown on the right; and in the background
Carloman, son of Pepin (751-771). He
was buried in Reims but he was reburied
in St Dens in the 13th century. Both
these effigies were commissioned by St Louis
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In the foreground Constance
of Castille (1136-1160) second wife of Louis VII
le Jeune, in the background Philippe (ob 1131)
[son of Louis le Gros]. He was crowned in
his father's lifetime. Note the book the
Queen holds in her right hand. Both effigies commisioned
by St Louis.
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Lower
photograph, in the foreground Jeanne
de France (1311-1349), Queen of Navarre and
only daughter of Louis X; she is also shown on the
right, and in the background
Jean I le Posthume (1316)
[son of Louis X and Clémance
de Hongrie]who died age four days,
five months after the death of his father.
He was succeeded by his uncle - Philippe
V - was had acted as regent and who was
accused of causing the young child's death. Upper photograph,
in the foreground Robert
le Pieux (970-1031) and in the background Henry
I (1008-1060); both of these two effigies were
commissioned by St Louis
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Above on
the left Louis X
le Huntin (1289-1316) also on the right and above. The
canopy - or gablette - above the head is
preserved. He first married Margaret of
Burgundy, who was later accusd of adultary
and strangled in prison; he then married
Clémance
de Hongrie,
whose effigy can be seen below.
On the right below
Constance d'Arles (984-1032), third wife
of Robert le Pieux, whose effigy was commissioned by
St Louis. Note she also holds a book
but this time in her left hand. In the background Louis VI
le Gross (1081-1137), whose effigy was also
commissioned by St Louis
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Above
and to the left Marguerite
de Flanders (1310-1382),[ daughter of Philippe
V and wife of Louis II of Flanders]. Her
husband was killed at the Battle of Crécy
in 1364; note the widow's costume. She was
a generous benefactress to St Denis.
Below Charles,
Comte d'Étampes (ob 1336),
son of Louis d'Evreux and Marguerite d'Artois;
this monuments was originally in the Church
of the Cordeliers, Paris. A remarkably fine
and detailed monument.
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Above is
Béatrice de Bourbon (ob 1381). [wife
of Jean, King of Bohemia]
Originally in the
Church of the Jacobins, Paris.
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Above | | |
