Saint Denis Basilica
Encyclopedia
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis is a large medieval abbey church in the commune
of Saint-Denis
, now a northern suburb of Paris. The abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis
, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy. The building is of unique importance historically and architecturally.
Founded in the 7th century by Dagobert I
on the burial place of Saint Denis
, a patron saint
of France, the church became a place of pilgrimage
and the burial place of the French Kings, nearly every king from the 10th to the 18th centuries being buried there, as well as many from the previous centuries. (It was not used for the coronations of kings, this role being designated to the Cathedral of Reims; however, queens were commonly crowned there.) "Saint-Denis" soon became the abbey church of a growing monastic complex. In the 12th century the Abbot Suger
rebuilt portions of the abbey church using innovative structural and decorative features that were drawn from a number of other sources. In doing so, he is said to have created the first truly Gothic
building. The basilica's 13th century nave is also the prototype for the Rayonnant
Gothic style, and provided an architectural model for cathedrals and abbeys of northern France, England and other countries.
Saint Denis
is a patron saint
of France and, according to legend, was the first bishop of Paris. Following his decapitation on the Hill of Montmartre, Denis supposedly carried his head to the site of the current church, thereby indicating where he wanted to be buried. A martyrium
was subsequently erected on the site. There Dagobert I
, king of the Franks
(reigned 628 to 637), founded the Abbey
of Saint Denis, a Benedictine
monastery
. Dagobert also commissioned a new shrine to house the saint's remains, which was created by his chief councillor, Eligius
, a goldsmith
by training. It was described in an early vita
of Saint Eligius:
None of this work survives.
The Basilica of St Denis is an architectural landmark as it was the first major structure of which a substantial part was designed and built in the Gothic style. Both stylistically and structurally it heralded the change from Romanesque architecture
to Gothic architecture
. Before the term "Gothic" came into common use, it was known as the "French Style" (Opus Francigenum).
As it now stands, the church is a large cruciform building of "basilica" form, that is, it has a central nave with lower aisles and clerestory
windows. It has an additional aisle on the northern side formed of a row of chapels. The west front has three portals, a rose window and one tower, on the southern side. The eastern end, which is built over a crypt, is apsidal, surrounded by an ambulatory
and a chevet of nine radiating chapels. The basilica retains stained glass of many periods (although most of the panels from Suger's time have been removed for long-term conservation and replaced with photographic transparencies), including exceptional modern glass, and a set of twelve misericords.
, who was present at its consecration in 775. Most of what is now known about the Carolingian church at St Denis resulted from a lengthy series of excavations begun under the American art historian Sumner McKnight Crosby
in 1937. The building was about 60m long, with a monumental westwork
, single transepts, a crossing tower and a lengthy eastern apse over a large crypt (parts of which survive).
According to one of the Abbey's many foundation myths
a leper, who was sleeping in the nearly-completed church the night before its planned consecration, witnessed a blaze of light from which Christ, accompanied by St Denis and a host of angels emerged to conduct the consecration ceremony himself. Before leaving, Christ healed the leper, tearing off his diseased skin to reveal a perfect complexion underneath. A mishapen patch on a marble column was said to be the leper's former skin, which stuck there when Christ discarded it. Fantastical though they may seem now, the popularity of such myths in medieval accounts go some way to explaining why any redevelopment of the original church was a sensitive matter and why Suger found it necessary to go to such lengths to justify his changes. Having been consecrated by Christ, the fabric of the building was itself regarded as sacred.
(circa 1081-1151), friend and confidant of French kings and Abbot of St Denis from 1122, began work around 1135 on the rebuilding and enlarging of the abbey to which he had been given as an oblate
at the age of 10. In his famous account of the work undertaken during his administration, Suger was careful to explain and justify his decision to rebuild the church, complaining at length about the parlous state of the old structure and its inability to cope with the crowds of pilgrims visiting the shrine of St Denis, particularly
It is important to emphasise that Suger was the patron of the rebuilding of St Denis but not the architect, as was often assumed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In fact it appears that two distinct architects, or master masons, were involved in the 12th century changes. Both remain anonymous but their work can be distinguished on stylistic grounds. The first, who was responsible for the initial work at the western end, favoured conventional Romanesque capitals and moulding profiles with rich and individualised detailing. His successor, who completed the western facade and upper stories of the narthex, before going on to build the new choir, displayed a more restrained approach to decorative effects, relying on a simple repertoire of motifs, which may have proved more suitable for the lighter Gothic style that he helped to create.
, with its single, centrally located door. He extended the old nave westwards by an additional four bays and added a massive western narthex
, incorporating a new façade and three chapels on the first floor level. This new westwork, 34m wide and 20m deep, featured three great doorways, the central one larger than those either side, reflecting the relative sizes of the nave's central vessel and lateral aisles within. This tripartite arrangement was clearly influenced by the late 11th century façades of the abbey churches of St Etienne and La Trinité in Caen
, 150 miles to the west, with which it also shared a three story elevation and flanking towers (of which only the south tower survives, its partner having been dismantled following clumsy repairs in the 1840s).
The major innovation in the façade at St Denis is the way the unknown architects have chosen to emphasise the divisions between the different parts, with massive vertical buttresses separating the three doorways and with horizontal string-courses and window arcades clearly marking out the vertical divisions. As well as its obvious influence on subsequent west façade designs, this clear delineation of parts is a common theme in the development of Gothic architecture and a marked departure from earlier Romanesque designs. Also innovative was the rose window
at the centre of the upper story of the west portal (destroyed during the Revolution - the current window is a 19th century replacement). Although small circular windows (oculi) within triangular tympana were common on the west facades of Italian Romanesque churches, this was probably the first example of a rose window within a square frame, which was to become a dominant feature of the Gothic facades of northern France (soon to be imitated at Chartres Cathedral and many others). The overall design of the façade has an obvious resemblance to a Roman city gatehouse (an impression strengthened by the buttresses and by the crenellations
around the top), which helps to emphasise the traditional notion of great churches as earthly embodiments of the Heavenly City
, as described in the Book of Ezekiel
.
Among the many influential features of the new façade were the tall, thin statues of Old Testament prophets and kings attached to columns (jamb figures) flanking the portals (destroyed in 1771 but recorded in Montfaucon
's drawings). These were also adopted at the cathedrals of Paris and Chartres, constrcuted a few years later, and became a feature of almost every Gothic portal thereafter. Above the doorways, the central tympanum
was carved with a Last Judgement scene; Christ enthroned, displaying his wounds with the dead emerging from their tombs below. Scenes from the martyrdom of St Denis were carved above the south (right hand) portal, while above the north portal was a mosaic (lost), even though this was, as Suger put it 'contrary to the modern custom'. Of the original sculpture, very little remains, most of what is now visible being the result of rather clumsy restoration work in 1839.. Some fragments of the original sculptures survive in the collection of the Musée de Cluny
.
The portals themselves were sealed by gilded bronze doors, ornamented with scenes from Christ's Passion and clearly recording Suger's patronage with the following inscription;
On the lintel below the great tympanum showing the Last Judgement, beneath a carved figure of the kneeling Abbot, was inscribed the more modest plea;
Suger's western extension was completed in 1140 and the three new chapels in the narthex were consecrated on 9th June of that year.
, the ambulatory
with radiating chapels, the clustered columns supporting ribs springing in different directions and the flying buttress
es which enabled the insertion of large clerestory
windows.
It was the first time that these features had all been drawn together. Erwin Panofsky
argued that Suger was inspired to create a physical representation of the Heavenly Jerusalem, however the extent to which Suger had any aims higher than aesthetic pleasure has been called into doubt by more recent art historians on the basis of Suger's own writings.
The new structure was finished and dedicated on June 11, 1144, in the presence of the King. The Abbey of St Denis thus became the prototype for further building in the royal domain of northern France. Through the rule of the Angevin dynasty
, the style was introduced to England and spread throughout France, the Low Countries
, Germany, Spain, northern Italy and Sicily
.
or gisants lying on raised bases, were badly damaged during the French revolution though all but two were subsequently restored by Viollet le Duc in 1860.
The dark romanesque nave, with its thick walls and small window openings, was rebuilt using the very latest techniques, in what is now known as Rayonnant Gothic
. This new style, which differed from Suger's earlier works as much as they had differed from their Romanesque precursors, reduced the wall area to an absolute minimum. Solid masonry was replaced with vast window openings filled with brilliant stained glass (all destroyed in the Revolution) and interrupted only by the most slender of bar tracery
- not only in the clerestory but also, perhaps for the first time, in the normally dark triforium
level. The upper facades of the two much-enlarged transepts were filled with two spectacular 12m-wide rose window
s.
As with Suger's earlier rebuilding work, the identity of the architect or master mason is unknown. Although often attributed to Pierre de Montreuil, the only evidence for his involvement is an unrelated document of 1247 which refers to him as 'a mason from Saint-Denis'.
The abbey is where the kings of France and their families were buried for centuries and is therefore often referred to as the "royal necropolis
of France". All but three of the monarchs of France from the 10th century until 1789 have their remains here. Some monarchs, like Clovis I
(465-511), were not originally buried at this site. The remains of Clovis I were exhumed from the despoiled Abbey of St Genevieve which he founded.
The abbey church contains some fine examples of cadaver tomb
s. The effigies of many of the kings and queens are on their tombs, but during the French Revolution
, these tombs were opened by workers under orders from revolutionary officials. The bodies were removed and dumped in two large pits nearby and dissolved with lime. Archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir
saved many of the monuments from the same revolutionary officials by claiming them as artworks for his Museum of French Monuments
.
The bodies of the beheaded
King Louis XVI
, his wife Marie Antoinette of Austria, and his sister Madame Élisabeth were not initially buried in Saint-Denis, but rather in the churchyard of the Madeleine, where they were covered with quicklime. The body of the Dauphin
, who died of an illness, was buried in an unmarked grave in a Parisian churchyard near the Temple
.
Napoleon Bonaparte reopened the church in 1806, but allowed the royal remains to be left in their mass graves. During Napoleon's exile in Elba
, the restored Bourbons ordered a search for the corpses of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The few remains, a few bones that were presumably the king's and a clump of greyish matter containing a lady's garter, were found on January 21, 1815, brought to Saint-Denis and buried in the crypt
. In 1817 the mass graves containing all the other remains were opened, but it was impossible to distinguish any one from the collection of bones. The remains were therefore placed in an ossuary
in the crypt of the church, behind two marble plates with the names of the hundreds of members of the succeeding French dynasties that were interred in the church duly recorded.
King Louis XVIII
, upon his death in 1824, was buried in the center of the crypt, near the graves of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The coffins of royal family members that died between 1815 and 1830 were also placed in the vaults. Under the direction of architect Viollet-le-Duc
, famous for his work on Notre-Dame de Paris, church monuments that were taken to the Museum of French Monuments were returned to the church. The corpse of King Louis VII
, who had been buried at the Abbey at Saint-Pont and whose tomb had not been touched by the revolutionaries, was brought to Saint-Denis and buried in the crypt.
In 2004 the mummified heart of the Dauphin, the boy that would have been Louis XVII, was sealed into the wall of the crypt.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
, now a northern suburb of Paris. The abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Denis
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pontoise, is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in France. Erected in 1966, the diocese was split off from the Diocese of Versailles, and the Archdiocese of Paris. As of 2011, the diocese remains a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Paris.Bishop...
, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy. The building is of unique importance historically and architecturally.
Founded in the 7th century by Dagobert I
Dagobert I
Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia , king of all the Franks , and king of Neustria and Burgundy . He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power...
on the burial place of Saint Denis
Denis
Saint Denis is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred in connection with the Decian persecution of Christians, shortly after A.D. 250...
, a patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of France, the church became a place of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
and the burial place of the French Kings, nearly every king from the 10th to the 18th centuries being buried there, as well as many from the previous centuries. (It was not used for the coronations of kings, this role being designated to the Cathedral of Reims; however, queens were commonly crowned there.) "Saint-Denis" soon became the abbey church of a growing monastic complex. In the 12th century the Abbot Suger
Abbot Suger
Suger was one of the last Frankish abbot-statesmen, an historian, and the influential first patron of Gothic architecture....
rebuilt portions of the abbey church using innovative structural and decorative features that were drawn from a number of other sources. In doing so, he is said to have created the first truly Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
building. The basilica's 13th century nave is also the prototype for the Rayonnant
Rayonnant
Rayonnant is a term used to describe a period in the development of French Gothic architecture, ca. 1240–1350. Developing out of the High Gothic style, Rayonnant is characterised by a shift in focus away from the great scale and spatial rationalism of buildings like Chartres Cathedral or the...
Gothic style, and provided an architectural model for cathedrals and abbeys of northern France, England and other countries.
Background
Denis
Saint Denis is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred in connection with the Decian persecution of Christians, shortly after A.D. 250...
is a patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of France and, according to legend, was the first bishop of Paris. Following his decapitation on the Hill of Montmartre, Denis supposedly carried his head to the site of the current church, thereby indicating where he wanted to be buried. A martyrium
Martyrium (architecture)
A martyrium is a structure built at "a site which bears witness to the Christian faith, either by referring to an event in Christ's life or Passion, or by sheltering the grave of a martyr"....
was subsequently erected on the site. There Dagobert I
Dagobert I
Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia , king of all the Franks , and king of Neustria and Burgundy . He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power...
, king of the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
(reigned 628 to 637), founded the Abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
of Saint Denis, a Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. Dagobert also commissioned a new shrine to house the saint's remains, which was created by his chief councillor, Eligius
Saint Eligius
Saint Eligius is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and coin collectors. He is also the patron saint of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers , a corps of the British Army, but he is best known for being the patron saint of horses and those who work with them...
, a goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
by training. It was described in an early vita
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
of Saint Eligius:
- Above all, Eligius fabricated a mausoleum for the holy martyr Denis in the city of Paris with a wonderful marble ciboriumCiborium (architecture)In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a basilica or other church. It may also be known by the more general term of baldachin, though ciborium is often considered more correct...
over it marvelously decorated with gold and gems. He composed a crest [at the top of a tomb] and a magnificent frontal and surrounded the throne of the altar with golden axes in a circle. He placed golden apples there, round and jeweled. He made a pulpit and a gate of silver and a roof for the throne of the altar on silver axes. He made a covering in the place before the tomb and fabricated an outside altar at the feet of the holy martyr. So much industry did he lavish there, at the king's request, and poured out so much that scarcely a single ornament was left in GaulGaulGaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
and it is the greatest wonder of all to this very day.
None of this work survives.
Architecture
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
to Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. Before the term "Gothic" came into common use, it was known as the "French Style" (Opus Francigenum).
As it now stands, the church is a large cruciform building of "basilica" form, that is, it has a central nave with lower aisles and clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
windows. It has an additional aisle on the northern side formed of a row of chapels. The west front has three portals, a rose window and one tower, on the southern side. The eastern end, which is built over a crypt, is apsidal, surrounded by an ambulatory
Ambulatory
The ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar....
and a chevet of nine radiating chapels. The basilica retains stained glass of many periods (although most of the panels from Suger's time have been removed for long-term conservation and replaced with photographic transparencies), including exceptional modern glass, and a set of twelve misericords.
The Carolingian church
Little is known about the earliest buildings on the site. The first church mentioned in the chronicles was begun in 754 under Pepin the Short and completed under CharlemagneCharlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, who was present at its consecration in 775. Most of what is now known about the Carolingian church at St Denis resulted from a lengthy series of excavations begun under the American art historian Sumner McKnight Crosby
Sumner McKnight Crosby
Sumner McKnight Crosby spent a lifetime excavating and analyzing the early-Gothic style Abbey of Saint-Denis, in Saint-Denis, France, north of Paris...
in 1937. The building was about 60m long, with a monumental westwork
Westwork
A westwork is the monumental, west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interior includes an entrance vestibule, a chapel, and a series of galleries overlooking the nave...
, single transepts, a crossing tower and a lengthy eastern apse over a large crypt (parts of which survive).
According to one of the Abbey's many foundation myths
Myth of origins
An origin myth is a myth that purports to describe the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the cosmogonic myth, which describes the creation of the world...
a leper, who was sleeping in the nearly-completed church the night before its planned consecration, witnessed a blaze of light from which Christ, accompanied by St Denis and a host of angels emerged to conduct the consecration ceremony himself. Before leaving, Christ healed the leper, tearing off his diseased skin to reveal a perfect complexion underneath. A mishapen patch on a marble column was said to be the leper's former skin, which stuck there when Christ discarded it. Fantastical though they may seem now, the popularity of such myths in medieval accounts go some way to explaining why any redevelopment of the original church was a sensitive matter and why Suger found it necessary to go to such lengths to justify his changes. Having been consecrated by Christ, the fabric of the building was itself regarded as sacred.
The Early Gothic rebuilding
Abbot SugerAbbot Suger
Suger was one of the last Frankish abbot-statesmen, an historian, and the influential first patron of Gothic architecture....
(circa 1081-1151), friend and confidant of French kings and Abbot of St Denis from 1122, began work around 1135 on the rebuilding and enlarging of the abbey to which he had been given as an oblate
Oblate
An oblate spheroid is a rotationally symmetric ellipsoid having a polar axis shorter than the diameter of the equatorial circle whose plane bisects it. Oblate spheroids stand in contrast to prolate spheroids....
at the age of 10. In his famous account of the work undertaken during his administration, Suger was careful to explain and justify his decision to rebuild the church, complaining at length about the parlous state of the old structure and its inability to cope with the crowds of pilgrims visiting the shrine of St Denis, particularly
...on special days such as the feast of the blessed Denis [...] when the narrowness of the place forced women to run to the altar on the heads of men as on a pavement with great anguish and confusion.
It is important to emphasise that Suger was the patron of the rebuilding of St Denis but not the architect, as was often assumed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In fact it appears that two distinct architects, or master masons, were involved in the 12th century changes. Both remain anonymous but their work can be distinguished on stylistic grounds. The first, who was responsible for the initial work at the western end, favoured conventional Romanesque capitals and moulding profiles with rich and individualised detailing. His successor, who completed the western facade and upper stories of the narthex, before going on to build the new choir, displayed a more restrained approach to decorative effects, relying on a simple repertoire of motifs, which may have proved more suitable for the lighter Gothic style that he helped to create.
First phase - the westwork, c.1135-40
Suger began his rebuilding project at the western end of St Denis, demolishing the old Carolingian westworkWestwork
A westwork is the monumental, west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interior includes an entrance vestibule, a chapel, and a series of galleries overlooking the nave...
, with its single, centrally located door. He extended the old nave westwards by an additional four bays and added a massive western narthex
Narthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
, incorporating a new façade and three chapels on the first floor level. This new westwork, 34m wide and 20m deep, featured three great doorways, the central one larger than those either side, reflecting the relative sizes of the nave's central vessel and lateral aisles within. This tripartite arrangement was clearly influenced by the late 11th century façades of the abbey churches of St Etienne and La Trinité in Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, 150 miles to the west, with which it also shared a three story elevation and flanking towers (of which only the south tower survives, its partner having been dismantled following clumsy repairs in the 1840s).
The major innovation in the façade at St Denis is the way the unknown architects have chosen to emphasise the divisions between the different parts, with massive vertical buttresses separating the three doorways and with horizontal string-courses and window arcades clearly marking out the vertical divisions. As well as its obvious influence on subsequent west façade designs, this clear delineation of parts is a common theme in the development of Gothic architecture and a marked departure from earlier Romanesque designs. Also innovative was the rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
at the centre of the upper story of the west portal (destroyed during the Revolution - the current window is a 19th century replacement). Although small circular windows (oculi) within triangular tympana were common on the west facades of Italian Romanesque churches, this was probably the first example of a rose window within a square frame, which was to become a dominant feature of the Gothic facades of northern France (soon to be imitated at Chartres Cathedral and many others). The overall design of the façade has an obvious resemblance to a Roman city gatehouse (an impression strengthened by the buttresses and by the crenellations
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
around the top), which helps to emphasise the traditional notion of great churches as earthly embodiments of the Heavenly City
New Jerusalem
In the book of Ezekiel, the Prophecy of New Jerusalem is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city to be established to the south of the Temple Mount that will be inhabited by the twelve tribes of Israel in the...
, as described in the Book of Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
.
Among the many influential features of the new façade were the tall, thin statues of Old Testament prophets and kings attached to columns (jamb figures) flanking the portals (destroyed in 1771 but recorded in Montfaucon
Montfaucon
-Places:*In Switzerland**Montfaucon, Switzerland, in the canton of Jura*In France** Montfaucon, Aisne, in the Aisne département** Montfaucon, Doubs, in the du Doubs département** Montfaucon, Gard, in the Gard département...
's drawings). These were also adopted at the cathedrals of Paris and Chartres, constrcuted a few years later, and became a feature of almost every Gothic portal thereafter. Above the doorways, the central tympanum
Tympanum
Tympanum may refer to:* Tympanum , an architectural element located within the arch or pediment* Tympanum , a hearing organ/gland in frogs and toads, a flat red oval on both sides of a frog's head* Tympanum, in biology, the eardrum...
was carved with a Last Judgement scene; Christ enthroned, displaying his wounds with the dead emerging from their tombs below. Scenes from the martyrdom of St Denis were carved above the south (right hand) portal, while above the north portal was a mosaic (lost), even though this was, as Suger put it 'contrary to the modern custom'. Of the original sculpture, very little remains, most of what is now visible being the result of rather clumsy restoration work in 1839.. Some fragments of the original sculptures survive in the collection of the Musée de Cluny
Musée de Cluny
The Musée de Cluny , officially known as Musée National du Moyen Âge , is a museum in Paris, France...
.
The portals themselves were sealed by gilded bronze doors, ornamented with scenes from Christ's Passion and clearly recording Suger's patronage with the following inscription;
For the glory of the church which nurtured and raised him, Suger strove for the glory of the church, Sharing with you what is yours, oh martyr Denis. He prays that by your prayers he should become a sharer in Paradise. The year when it was consecrated was the one thousand, one hundred and fortieth year of the Word.
On the lintel below the great tympanum showing the Last Judgement, beneath a carved figure of the kneeling Abbot, was inscribed the more modest plea;
Receive, stern Judge, the prayers of your Suger, Let me be mercifully numbered among your sheep.
Suger's western extension was completed in 1140 and the three new chapels in the narthex were consecrated on 9th June of that year.
Second phase - the new choir, 1140-44
On completion of the west front, Abbot Suger moved on to the reconstruction of the eastern end, leaving the Carolingian nave in use. He wanted a choir (chancel) that would be suffused with light. To achieve his aims, Suger's masons drew on the several new elements which evolved or had been introduced to Romanesque architecture: the pointed arch, the ribbed vaultVault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
, the ambulatory
Ambulatory
The ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar....
with radiating chapels, the clustered columns supporting ribs springing in different directions and the flying buttress
Flying buttress
A flying buttress is a specific form of buttressing most strongly associated with Gothic church architecture. The purpose of any buttress is to resist the lateral forces pushing a wall outwards by redirecting them to the ground...
es which enabled the insertion of large clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
windows.
It was the first time that these features had all been drawn together. Erwin Panofsky
Erwin Panofsky
Erwin Panofsky was a German art historian, whose academic career was pursued mostly in the U.S. after the rise of the Nazi regime. Panofsky's work remains highly influential in the modern academic study of iconography...
argued that Suger was inspired to create a physical representation of the Heavenly Jerusalem, however the extent to which Suger had any aims higher than aesthetic pleasure has been called into doubt by more recent art historians on the basis of Suger's own writings.
The new structure was finished and dedicated on June 11, 1144, in the presence of the King. The Abbey of St Denis thus became the prototype for further building in the royal domain of northern France. Through the rule of the Angevin dynasty
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...
, the style was introduced to England and spread throughout France, the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, Germany, Spain, northern Italy and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
The Rayonnant rebuilding of the nave
In 1231, Abbot Odo Clement began work on the rebuilding of the Carolingian nave, which remained sandwiched incongruously between Suger's far more up-to-date Gothic works to the east and west. From the start it appears that Abbot Odo, with the approval of the Regent Blanche of Castille and her son, the young King Louis IX, planned for the new nave and its large crossing to have a much clearer focus as the French 'royal necropolis'. That plan was fulfilled in 1264 when the bones of 16 former kings and queens were relocated to new tombs arranged around the crossing - 8 Carolingian monarchs to the south and 8 Capetians the north. These tombs, featuring life-like carved recumbent effigiesEffigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
or gisants lying on raised bases, were badly damaged during the French revolution though all but two were subsequently restored by Viollet le Duc in 1860.
The dark romanesque nave, with its thick walls and small window openings, was rebuilt using the very latest techniques, in what is now known as Rayonnant Gothic
French Gothic architecture
French Gothic architecture is a style of architecture prevalent in France from 1140 until about 1500.-Sequence of Gothic styles: France:The designations of styles in French Gothic architecture are as follows:* Early Gothic* High Gothic...
. This new style, which differed from Suger's earlier works as much as they had differed from their Romanesque precursors, reduced the wall area to an absolute minimum. Solid masonry was replaced with vast window openings filled with brilliant stained glass (all destroyed in the Revolution) and interrupted only by the most slender of bar tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
- not only in the clerestory but also, perhaps for the first time, in the normally dark triforium
Triforium
A triforium is a shallow arched gallery within the thickness of inner wall, which stands above the nave of a church or cathedral. It may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located as a separate level below the clerestory. It may itself have an outer wall of glass rather than...
level. The upper facades of the two much-enlarged transepts were filled with two spectacular 12m-wide rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
s.
As with Suger's earlier rebuilding work, the identity of the architect or master mason is unknown. Although often attributed to Pierre de Montreuil, the only evidence for his involvement is an unrelated document of 1247 which refers to him as 'a mason from Saint-Denis'.
The Valois Mortuary Chapel
A plan of circa 1700 by Félibien shows a large mortuary chapel in the form of a domed colonnaded "rotunda", adjoining the north transept of the basilica and containing the tomb of the Valois.Burial site
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
of France". All but three of the monarchs of France from the 10th century until 1789 have their remains here. Some monarchs, like Clovis I
Clovis I
Clovis Leuthwig was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the leadership from a group of royal chieftains, to rule by kings, ensuring that the kingship was held by his heirs. He was also the first Catholic King to rule over Gaul . He was the son...
(465-511), were not originally buried at this site. The remains of Clovis I were exhumed from the despoiled Abbey of St Genevieve which he founded.
The abbey church contains some fine examples of cadaver tomb
Cadaver tomb
A cadaver tomb or transi is a church monument or tomb featuring an effigy in the macabre form of a decomposing corpse. The topos was particularly characteristic of the later Middle Ages....
s. The effigies of many of the kings and queens are on their tombs, but during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, these tombs were opened by workers under orders from revolutionary officials. The bodies were removed and dumped in two large pits nearby and dissolved with lime. Archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir
Alexandre Lenoir
Marie Alexandre Lenoir was a French archaeologist. Self-taught and devoted to saving France's historic monuments, sculptures and tombs from the ravages of the French Revolution, notably those of Saint-Denis and Sainte-Geneviève.- Life :The ravages of the Revolution caused the birth of the Musée...
saved many of the monuments from the same revolutionary officials by claiming them as artworks for his Museum of French Monuments
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
.
The bodies of the beheaded
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
, his wife Marie Antoinette of Austria, and his sister Madame Élisabeth were not initially buried in Saint-Denis, but rather in the churchyard of the Madeleine, where they were covered with quicklime. The body of the Dauphin
Louis XVII of France
Louis XVII , from birth to 1789 known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy; then from 1789 to 1791 as Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France; and from 1791 to 1793 as Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France, was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette...
, who died of an illness, was buried in an unmarked grave in a Parisian churchyard near the Temple
Temple (Paris)
The Temple was a medieval fortress in Paris, located in what is now the IIIe arrondissement. It was built by the Knights Templar from the 12th century, as their European headquarters. In the 13th century it replaced earlier works of the Vieille Temple in Le Marais...
.
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
, the restored Bourbons ordered a search for the corpses of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The few remains, a few bones that were presumably the king's and a clump of greyish matter containing a lady's garter, were found on January 21, 1815, brought to Saint-Denis and buried in the crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
. In 1817 the mass graves containing all the other remains were opened, but it was impossible to distinguish any one from the collection of bones. The remains were therefore placed in an ossuary
Ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary...
in the crypt of the church, behind two marble plates with the names of the hundreds of members of the succeeding French dynasties that were interred in the church duly recorded.
King Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
, upon his death in 1824, was buried in the center of the crypt, near the graves of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The coffins of royal family members that died between 1815 and 1830 were also placed in the vaults. Under the direction of architect Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc was a French architect and theorist, famous for his interpretive "restorations" of medieval buildings. Born in Paris, he was a major Gothic Revival architect.-Early years:...
, famous for his work on Notre-Dame de Paris, church monuments that were taken to the Museum of French Monuments were returned to the church. The corpse of King Louis VII
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
, who had been buried at the Abbey at Saint-Pont and whose tomb had not been touched by the revolutionaries, was brought to Saint-Denis and buried in the crypt.
In 2004 the mummified heart of the Dauphin, the boy that would have been Louis XVII, was sealed into the wall of the crypt.
Burials
Kings
All but three of the Kings of France are buried in the basilica, as well as a few other monarchs. The remains of the earlier monarchs were removed from the destroyed Abbey of St Genevieve. Some of the prominent of these are:- Clovis IClovis IClovis Leuthwig was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the leadership from a group of royal chieftains, to rule by kings, ensuring that the kingship was held by his heirs. He was also the first Catholic King to rule over Gaul . He was the son...
(465 - 511) - Childebert IChildebert IChildebert I was the Frankish king of Paris, a Merovingian dynast, one of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511...
(496 - 558) - Arégonde (c.515 - c.573)
- Fredegonde (Wife of Chilperic I of Neustria) (? - 597)
- Dagobert IDagobert IDagobert I was the king of Austrasia , king of all the Franks , and king of Neustria and Burgundy . He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power...
(603 - 639) - Clovis IIClovis IIClovis II succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639 as King of Neustria and Burgundy. His brother Sigebert III had been King of Austrasia since 634. He was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her death in her early thirties in 642...
(635 - 657) - Charles MartelCharles MartelCharles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...
(686 - 741) - Pippin the YoungerPippin the YoungerPepin , called the Short or the Younger , rarely the Great , was the first King of the Franks of the Carolingian dynasty...
(714 - 768) and his wife Bertrada of LaonBertrada of LaonBertrada of Laon, also called Bertha Broadfoot , was a Frankish queen.- Biography :...
(726-783) - Carloman I King of the Franks (c.751 - 771)
- Charles the BaldCharles the BaldCharles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
(823 - 877) (his monument was melted down) and his wife, Ermentrude of OrléansErmentrude of OrléansErmentrude of Orléans was Queen of the Franks by her marriage to Charles the Bald, Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia. She was the daughter of Odo, Count of Orleans and his wife Engeltrude....
(823 - 869) - Carloman (866 - 884)
- Robert II the Pious (972–1031) and Constance of ArlesConstance of ArlesConstance of Arles , also known as Constance of Provence, was the third wife and queen of King Robert II of France. She was the daughter of William I, count of Provence and Adelais of Anjou, daughter of Fulk II of Anjou...
(c. 986 - 1032) - Henry IHenry I of FranceHenry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians...
(1008–1060) - Louis VILouis VI of FranceLouis VI , called the Fat , was King of France from 1108 until his death . Chronicles called him "roi de Saint-Denis".-Reign:...
(1081–1137) - Louis VIILouis VII of FranceLouis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
(1120–1180) and Constance of CastileConstance of CastileConstance of Castile may refer to:* Constance of Castile, wife of Louis VII of France* Constance of Penafiel , wife of Alfonso XI of Castile and Peter I of Portugal* Infanta Constance of Castile, claimant to the throne of Castile...
(1141–1160) - Philip II Augustus (1180–1223)
- Charles I of Naples (1226–1285), king of the Two Sicilies (1266–85). An effigy covers his heart burial.
- Philip III the Bold (1245–1285)
- Philip IV the Fair (1268–1315) and Isabella of AragonIsabella of AragonIsabella of Aragon , infanta of Aragon, was, by marriage, Queen consort of France in the Middle Ages from 1270 to 1271.-Life:...
(1247 – 1271) - Leo V of ArmeniaLeo V of ArmeniaLeo IV was the last Hethumid king of Cilicia, ruling from 1320 until his death. He was the son of Oshin of Armenia and Isabel of Korikos, and came to the throne on the death of his father. His name is sometimes spelled as Leo or Leon.He spent his minority under the regency of Oshin of Korikos...
(1342–1393) - Louis XII of FranceLouis XII of FranceLouis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
(1462–1515) - Francis IFrancis I of FranceFrancis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
(1494–1547) - Henry IIHenry II of FranceHenry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
(1519–1559) and Catherine de' MediciCatherine de' MediciCatherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
(1519 – 1589) - Francis IIFrancis II of FranceFrancis II was aged 15 when he succeeded to the throne of France after the accidental death of his father, King Henry II, in 1559. He reigned for 18 months before he died in December 1560...
(1544 – 1560) - Charles IXCharles IX of FranceCharles IX was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. His reign was dominated by the Wars of Religion. He is best known as king at the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Childhood:...
(1550–1574) (no monument) - Henry IIIHenry III of FranceHenry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
(1551–1589), also King of Poland (heart burial monument) - Henry IVHenry IV of FranceHenry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
(1553–1610) - Louis XIIILouis XIII of FranceLouis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
(1601 – 1643) - Louis XIVLouis XIV of FranceLouis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
(1638 – 1715) - Louis XVLouis XV of FranceLouis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
(1710 – 1774), - Louis XVILouis XVI of FranceLouis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
(1754 – 1793) and Marie AntoinetteMarie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
(1755 – 1793) - Louis XVIILouis XVII of FranceLouis XVII , from birth to 1789 known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy; then from 1789 to 1791 as Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France; and from 1791 to 1793 as Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France, was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette...
(1785–1795) (Only his heart. His body was dumped into a mass grave) - Louis XVIIILouis XVIII of FranceLouis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
(1755–1824)
Other royalty and nobility
- Nicolas Henri, Duke of Orléans (1607–1611), son of Henry IV,
- Gaston, Duke of OrléansGaston, Duke of OrléansGaston of France, , also known as Gaston d'Orléans, was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his wife Marie de Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a Fils de France. He later acquired the title Duke of Orléans, by which he was generally known during his adulthood...
(1608–1660), son of Henry IV,- Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of MontpensierMarie de Bourbon, Duchess of MontpensierMarie de Bourbon , Duchess of Montpensier, and Duchess of Orléans by marriage, was a French noblewoman and one of the last members of the House of Bourbon-Montpensier...
(1605–1627), wife of Gaston, - Marguerite of LorraineMarguerite of LorraineMarguerite of Lorraine was a duchess of Orléans and Alençon. She was born in Nancy, Lorraine to Francis II, Duke of Lorraine, and Countess Christina of Salm. On 31 January 1632, she married Gaston, Duke of Orléans, son of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici...
(1615–1672), Duchess of Orléans and second wife of Gaston, - Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans (1627–1693), la Grande Mademoiselle,
- Marguerite Louise d'OrléansMarguerite Louise d'OrléansMarguerite Louise d'Orléans was Grand Duchess of Tuscany, as the wife of Grand Duke Cosimo III de' Medici. Deprived of her lover, Charles V of Lorraine, and yearning for France, Marguerite Louise despised her husband and his family, whom she often quarrelled with and falsely suspected of...
(1645–1721), Grand Duchess of Tuscany, - Jean Gaston d'Orléans, (1650–1652), Duke of Valois,
- Marie Anne d'OrléansMarie Anne d'OrléansMarie Anne d'Orléans, petite-fille de France was a French Princess and youngest daughter of Gaston d'Orléans. She held the rank of Grand daughter of France...
, (1652–1656), Mademoiselle de Chartres
- Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier
- Henrietta Maria of FranceHenrietta Maria of FranceHenrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...
(1609–1669), queen consort of Charles I of Scotland and EnglandCharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, - Philippe I, Duke of OrléansPhilippe I, Duke of OrléansPhilippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
, (1640–1701), brother of Louis XIV,- Princess Henriette Anne of England (1644–1670), first wife of Philippe,
- Elizabeth Charlotte of the PalatinateElizabeth Charlotte of the PalatinateElizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine was a German princess and the wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Her vast correspondence provides a detailed account of the personalities and activities at the court of her brother-in-law, Louis XIV...
(1652–1722), second wife of Philippe,
- Maria Theresa of SpainMaria Theresa of SpainMaria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
(1638–1683), consort of Louis XIV,- Louis of France (1661–1711), le Grand Dauphin,
- Duchess Maria Anna of Bavaria (!660-1690), Dauphin of France, wife of Louis,
- Princess Anne Élisabeth of France (1662), daughter of Louis XIV,
- Princess Marie Anne of France (1664), daughter of Louis XIV,
- Marie Thérèse of France (1667–1672), daughter of Louis XIV,
- Philippe Charles of France (1668–1671), Duke of Anjou, son of Louis XIV
- Louis François of France (1672), Duke of Anjou, son of Louis XIV,
- Philippe II, Duke of OrléansPhilippe II, Duke of OrléansPhilippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
(1674–1723), Regent of France, - Louis of France (1682–1712), Duke of Burgundy,
- Maria Adelaide of Savoy (1685–1712), Duchess of Burgundy,
- Louis of France (1704–1705), Duke of Brittany,
- Louis of France (1707–1712), Duke of Brittany,
- Charles of France (1686–1714), Duke of Berry,
- Marie Louise Élisabeth d'OrléansMarie Louise Elisabeth d'OrléansMarie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, Duchess of Berry , was a member of the House of Orléans who married Charles, Duke of Berry.-Biography:...
(1693–1714), Duchess of Berry, - Na (not baptized) d'Alençon (1711)
- Charles d'Alençon(1713) Duke of Alençon,
- Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Alençon (1714)
- Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans
- Marie Leszczyńska (1703–1768), consort of Louis XV,
- Marie Louise Élisabeth of FrancePrincess Louise Élisabeth of FranceLouise Élisabeth de France was the eldest daughter of King Louis XV of France and his Queen consort, Maria Leszczyńska, and the elder twin sister of Anne Henriette de France. As the daughter of the king, she was a Daughter of France...
(1727–1759), Duchess of Parma, - Princess Anne Henriette of France (1727–1752), daughter of Louis XV and twin of the above,
- Princess Marie Louis of FrancePrincess Louise of FranceMarie Louise de France, fille de France was a French Princess by birth. She was one of 10 children.-Biography:...
(1728–1733), daughter of Louis XV, - Louis of France (1729–1765), Dauphin of France,
- Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (1726–1746), first wife of above,
- Maria Josepha of Saxony (1731–1767), second wife of Louis,
- Philippe of France (1730–1733), Duke of Anjou,
- Princess Marie Adélaïde of France (1732–1800), daughter of Louis XV,
- Princess Victoire of France (1733–1799), daughter of Louis XV,
- Princess Sophie of France (1734–1782), daughter of Louis XV,
- Princess Louise Marie of France (1737–1787), daughter of Louis XV,
- Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France (1781–1789), first son of Louis XVI and Marie AntoinetteMarie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
- Princess Sophie Hélène Béatrice of France (1786–1787), second daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
- Marie Louise Élisabeth of France
External links
- Detailed list of members of the French Royal families buried in Saint Denis Basilica
- The Treasures of Saint Denis - scholarly article from 1915 on the important and mostly destroyed treasures
- L'Internaute Magazine: Diaporama
- Satellite image from Google Maps
- Saint-Denis, a town in the Middle Ages
- Photos of tombs and the Basilica