The Churches of Paris, from Clovis to Charles X. Beale Sophia
of the Louvre, and testify to the exquisite artistic taste as well as to the religious enthusiasm of the good abbot. "As it is our duty to present unto God oblations of gems and of gold, I, Suger, offer this vase unto the Lord," is the inscription upon an antique sardonyx amphora which he converted into a vessel for the altar. The dedication of this church took place twice, in 1140 and 1144, but it was only to remain intact some 70 years. In 1219, the day after the feast of the nativity of the Virgin, its flèche was struck by lightning, and a few years after, the church itself was partially destroyed. Abbot Eudes Clément replaced the wooden flèche by a stone one, and raised the interior of the apse; and his third successor, Matthieu de Vendôme, finished the transept and the nave. The chapels of the nave upon the north side were built in the 14th century, and a few unimportant additions were made in the succeeding century. Of the magnificent circular chapel of the Valois erected for Henri II. and Catherine de'Medici, nothing remains but a beautiful colonnade, now forming a sham ruin in the Parc Monceau. The chapel was situated upon the north of the apse, near the steps, and was destroyed during the regency of Philippe d'Orléans, in 1719.
It is generally supposed that the destruction of churches and the despoiling of monasteries in France were the work of the enemies of religion in the form of the "people." But the kings did not hesitate to rob the church when they could drain no more money out of their long-suffering subjects. To Francis I.12 and Louis XIV. the eighth commandment was no more binding than the seventh; laws, divine or otherwise, were made for the vulgar herd, not for their most Christian Majesties; and so, when the "Grand Monarque" saw fit to please Mme. de Maintenon by founding St. Cyr, he suppressed the abbacy of S. Denis, and relieved the monastery of the abbot's revenues for an endowment. This was the beginning of the downfall, and in 1791, the Benedictines were dispersed after an occupation of twelve centuries. In the memoirs of the organist attached to the abbey at the time, there is a touching account of the last mass celebrated by the prior upon the day of departure. But the church remained intact, and was even made the dépôt of the relics of the Sainte-Chapelle,13 after the suppression of the chaplains belonging to the latter. The Moniteur of 3rd September, 1791, gives an account of the sittings of the commission of savants, established at the Bibliothèque des Quatre-Nations, for the consideration of the preservation of works of art. This commission was appointed by the National Assembly after the passing of the law for the appropriation of the property of the clergy by la chose publique. M. De Larochefoucauld was the president of this "Commission des Monuments," assisted by many artists and connoisseurs. They first of all chose certain places as receptacles for the works of art, and then decided what to keep and what to destroy. The former quarters of the Petits-Augustins became the museum of tombs and sepulchral sculptures; and to the Capucins, the Grands-Jésuites, and the Cordeliers were sent the books and manuscripts. A descriptive catalogue was drawn up by Alexandre Lenoir,14 who was appointed curator in 1790. Unfortunately, much was destroyed, as, for instance, at the abbey of Royaumont, where two Benedictines, Poirier and Puthod, were sent by the commission to superintend matters. The mausoleum of the princes of S. Louis' family was "démoli avec adresse," says the Moniteur; the coffins were opened "avec circonspection," the ashes taken up with care, and then, ticketed and sealed, sent to S. Denis. Les sieurs Puthod and Poirier carried off the remains of seven princes and six monuments, which arrived just in time to be packed off to the museum of the Petits-Augustins.
Many of the seventy-three abbots, from Dodon, the first (living in 637), to the last, Jean-François-Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz, were distinguished for their piety, for their learning, their greed, or their vices. Amongst them we find the names of Fulrad, Hilduin, Suger, Mathieu de Vendôme, the Emperor Charles the Bald, the Kings Eudes, Robert and Hugues Capet,15 the Cardinals de Bourbon, de Lorraine, de Guise, and Mazarin. The conventual buildings were all destroyed in the reign of Louis XV., and during the Revolution the church suffered in the same way as Notre-Dame and S. Eustache, by being secularized in the most revolting manner. But if the Revolutionists destroyed and carried away monuments, the Imperial architects did worse, for they began a restoration in their own hideous taste and "style"; and it was not until a few years ago that the old church was restored to its pristine beauty.
Perhaps few churches have seen more changes than the silent walls of S. Denis have witnessed. The burial place of most of the kings of France, it was also upon its High Altar that Louis le Gros deposited the oriflamme, the famous standard of France,16 while some seven centuries later, its tombs were only preserved from utter ruin by the wit of Alexandre Lenoir. Even the church itself was threatened with destruction, and was only saved by an architect seriously suggesting that it should be turned into a market, the side chapels forming shops. By turns a Temple of Reason, a dépôt of artillery, a theatre of acrobats, a flour warehouse, and a granary, its desecration was not consummated until the glass was removed, and the leaden covering of its roof converted into bullets. Napoleon saved what remained, and began restoring it as a resting-place for the defunct members of his dynasty. The Concordat guaranteed it a chapter, and religious services were restored.17 But the 19th century proved as disastrous as wars and revolutions. Lightning once more brought down the flèche in 1837, and again in 1846; and scrapings and cleanings carried away all the old surfaces of the walls. Still, through the talent and learning of Viollet-le-Duc, it is one of the finest of 13th century churches, and now that the tombs have all been replaced in their former positions, one of the most interesting.
The façade has three doorways, which are rich in the somewhat rude sculpture of the time of Suger. The subject of the central tympanum and voussure is The Last Judgment. Christ is pronouncing the last sentence, surrounded by the dead who are rising from their graves. His Blessed Mother is interceding for sinners, and Abraham is receiving the elect into his bosom. The Apostles, and the four-and-twenty elders, holding musical instruments, and vases for the reception of the prayers of the just as a sweet-smelling incense, are there, looking on at the damned tossed into hell. Upon the stylobate of the portal we read the parable of the Wise and foolish Virgins.
The southern doorway is decorated with the Martyrdom of S. Denis, and the appearance of our Blessed Lord to the holy martyrs while in prison. Unfortunately, much of these bas-reliefs is modern.
Some statues on one of the transept doorways are curious examples of how a fraud may be perpetuated. They represent, without doubt, some members of the royal house of David, but at some period they were said to be kings of the Capétien line, and as such, casts were taken and sent to Versailles, where they figured as portrait statues of Hugues Capet, Robert, Henri, Philippe, Louis VI., and Louis VII. The capitals of the columns and the foliage ornament of these portals are vastly superior in style to the figures.
On each side of the western rose-window are some bands of black and white marble, after the manner of the churches of Pisa and Genoa, souvenirs, probably, of Suger's travels in Italy. Indeed, he tells us in the account of his administration that he took much trouble in preserving a mosaic which he had brought home and placed in the tympanum of one of the doors. This was unfortunately replaced, in 1774, by a bas-relief of the meanest possible workmanship.
The interior consists of a nave and two aisles, with a chevet of seven chapels at the east end, considerably raised above the level of the nave. Access to these chapels is gained by a flight of steps on each side of the High Altar, and under them is the royal crypt. The whole of the east end of the church, the double aisles, with their single-shaft pillars, the chapels, the vaulting, and the glass, form a mass of colour, and a most beautiful coup d'œil;18 indeed, there is but one eyesore in the whole building, the aforesaid series of windows representing Louis Philippe's heroic deeds. Blue swallow-tailed coats and white trousers scarcely form a costume which is either effective or appropriate as designs for church windows.
The wood carving of the stalls is of the 15th century, and was brought from the abbey of S. Lucien-lez-Beauvais; the inlaid marquetry work at the backs of the seats is from the Château de Gaillon, built by Cardinal d'Amboise. Many of the misérérés
See the Inventory of the Treasury of Laon, from which we cull the following: In 1523, when François I. wanted money to carry on his war against Charles V. and Henry VIII., we read in
See pages 18, 19.
It seems that one object in electing the king as abbot was to have some lay element in the chapter, and thus disarm the enemies of the Church. Charles le Chauve was abbot for about sixteen years; he chose his provost, treasurer, and dean, and gave into their keeping all the working of the monastery, with the exception of the military contingent, which was given over to the
The
The Chapter formerly consisted of a
How fine the effect must have been when the great cross of S. Eloy stood upon the