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From the time of Henri IV, the Bourbons
were buried in the ceremonial burial vault, which by the end
of the 17th century had become overcrowded. In 1683 it was
decided that the central part of the crypt, under the
sanctuary be used as a burial vault; this became known as
the 'Bourbon Vault'. The coffins were simply placed on iron
stands with inscription for recognition. Other churches
still carried out the practice of receiving the hearts and
entrails of the deceased. None of the projects to build a
more suitable burying place - such as a dome - were ever
carried out.
Under Napoleon architects transformed the Bourbon Vault to create a burial place for the Bonaparte family. Following the Restoration of the monarchy, Louis XVIII planned to restore Saint-Denis to a royal necropolis. In 1815 he brought the remains of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, who had been buried in cemetery of the Madeleine following their execution, to Saint-Denis. He also brought the remains of Louis VI (q.v.) and Louise of Lorraine, the wife of Henry III, who had been buried in the Convent of the Capuchins. He also created an ossuary to contain the remains of those ejected from their tombs at the Revolution.
These slabs were created in 1975 to house the above remains. The unmarked slab was installed to cover the remains of Charles X (brother of Louis XVI and Louis XVII), who died in exile in 1836 in Gotiza (Slovenia) and was buried in the monastery of Kostanjevica (Slovenia). This was never carried out. |
The Bourbons - 19th CenturyCenotaphs |
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| Henry IV (1553-1610) | Louis XIV (1638-1715) | Louis XVIII (1755-1824) | Dauphin Louis (1784-1789) | Louis XVII His body was buried in an unmarked grave and could not be recovered but his heart had been removed. That the fragments still extant were his heart, was confirmed recently by DNA testing and they were buried in 2004 in a casket which can be partly seen in the lower part of the monument. |
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| Louis XIV (1638-1715) | Marie Therese
of Austria (1638-1683) Wife of Louis XIV |
Charles of Valois (1630) |
| A Gruesome Tale | ||||||||
The National Convention had ordered that all signs of feudalism, such as noble and royal tombs, be destroyed. We may deplore this attitude even if we might partially understand it, but it is difficult to wholly condemn it as, even in the West, this attitude continues when we destroy reminders of the past - often a recent past, at that - which we now find unacceptable or wish to forget. One example of many is the removal of the statues of Robert E. Lee, hardly a down and out villain, in the Southern States of America. It must be remembered that many of those condemned by the National Convention were just titles holders and nothing more, while others were downright nasty pieces of work, such as Philip the Fair. On 31st July 1793 Bertrand Barère speaking before the National Convention suggested attacking the 'unclean ashes' of the 'tyrants', under the pretext of recovering the lead from their coffins, to celebrate the first anniversary of the storming of the Tuileries. The next day it was decided that the tombs of the former kings in St Denis and elsewhere were to be destroyed. So on August 10th the monuments of the Merovingian and Carolingian kings were demolished. The remains were mostly crumbling into dust.  Then on October 12th the monument of Marshal Turenne was smashed and his coffin was removed from the small crypt below his monument. Turenne's body - he was France's greatest general before Napoleon - was not thrown into one of the pits but displayed in the church for eight months so people could pay their respects to the great man. He was later reburied in Lenoir's Elysian Gardens in his Museum of Sculpture, where his reassembled monument was now housed. This was not the end of the Marshall's post-mortem adventures: in 1800 Napoleon transferred his body and the monument to Les Invalides in Paris, where it may still be seen. Lenoir executed a drawing of the Marshal's body (Left); however this is clearly idealized as he had been killed by a cannon ball shot to his abdomen in battle! Next the gang broke into the Bourbon vault through a hole in the wall and opened the coffin of Henry IV. His body was in an excellent state of preservation and a cast of his face to make a death mask was taken. His body in its coffin was displayed in the crypt for a weekend and then in the choir. However, although Henry was the most popular of kings his body did not fare as well as that of Turenne's: it was cast into the pit with the others. However his head may have been removed as a mummified head, said to be that of the King, exists; DNA testing appears to be inconclusive so we must conclude that this identification is non-proved. It must be added that if it were removed then this was to collect a rather grizzly souvenir not out of disrespect as that shown to Cromwell and the others at the Restoration.
Two days later opening of the coffins, ejecting the remains and recovering the lead continued, the crowd often collecting body parts as grisly souvenirs; for example Camile Desmoulins took Turenne's little finger and a soldier a lock of hair. Other souvenirs included Dagobert's skull, Henry III's teeth, Philip Augustus's hair and a leg of Catherine of Médici; or so it is reported. On the 16th more coffins were opened and some workers complained of feeling unwell because of the foul smelling black vapour that was emitted. There are reports of the condition of the bodies: Henry IV's body, as mentioned above, was in an excellent state of preservation, Marie of Médici's consisted of bones floating in muddy water, Anne of Austria was in an advanced state of putrefaction, Louis XIII could only be identified by his black moustache, while Louis XIV was recognizable but had turned black. Two pits were dug in the monks' cemetery: one for the Valois and 'First Races' (earlier dynasties) and another for the Bourbons. In all 170 bodies were removed and thrown into the two pits and then covered in quick lime (calcium oxide). The exhumations were witnessed by a crowd which included officials, former monks and others, among whom was artist-archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir who helped to save the monuments, reassembling them for his Museum of Sculpture, although he justified with Biblical quotation the exhumations. After the temporary restoration of the monarchy, Louis XVII recovered the bodies of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette from the Madeleine Cemetery, along with other victims of the guillotine. They had been buried in open coffins to accelerate decomposition. However there were eyewitnesses to the burials, including a judge and the actual grave digger, as well as the fact that the owner of the land - a royalist - had cared for the graves and planted a weeping willow over them. The excavators reached lime when they had dug twelve feet, the depth of the initial burial, and found wood, bones and a garter so that these were recognized as the remains of the Queen. There was nothing to identify the King although bones and wood were found although in a worse state of putrefaction than the Queen; nevertheless these were supposed to be the remains of the King. The bodies discussed above were reburied in ten coffins in an ossuary behind two marble plates on either side of a short narrow corridor. Having been in their graves for years, then ejected, thrown in the earth and covered with quick lime, their condition must have been extremely bad and unrecognizable. The black marble plates, each photographed in three sections because of the narrowness of the corridor, are shown below; and below these I have attempted to copy out the text carved on them. |
| Kings | Queens | Others | Kings | Dauphins, Dauphines, Princes, Princesses, Children & Grandchildren of France | |
Dagobert I Charles II 'The Bald' Philip II 'Augustus' Louis VIII Philip IV 'Le Bel' Louis X 'Le Huntin' John I Philip V 'The Long' Charles IV 'Le Bel' Philip VI 'Of Valois' Jean II 'The Good' Charles VII Louis XII 'Father of the People' Henry II Francis II Charles IV Henry III |
Nantilde, 2nd wife of Dagobert Marguerite of Provence, wife of St Louis Jeanne of Burgundy, wife of Philip VI Jeanne of France, Queen of Navarre and daughter of Louis X Jean of Evreux, wife of Charles IV Blanche of Navarre, 2nd wife of Philip VI Anne of Brittany, wife of Louis XII Claude of France, wife of Francis II Catherine of Medici, wife of Henry II Marguerite of Valois, 1st wife of Henry IV |
Hugh, Duke of France & Burgundy, Count of Paris & Orléans, father of Hugh Capet. Suger, Abbot of St Denis Adam Troon, Abbot of St Denis Pierre d'_, Abbot of St Denis Pierre de _ , Chamberlaine of St Louis Mathieu de _, Abbot of St Denis Sédille St Croix, Counsellor of Charles VI Betrand du Guesclin, Constable of France Bureau de la Rivière, Chamberlaine of Charles V & Charles VI Louis de Sancerre, Constable of France Arnaud Guillem de Barbazan, Chamberlaine of Charles VII Na Philip surnamed Dagobert, son of Louis VIII Blanche, daughter of St Louis Jean, son of St Louis Louis of France,son of St Louis Jean called Tristan of Damiette, son of St Louis Louis & Philip, two sons of St Louis |
Charles V 'The Wise' Charles VI 'The Mad' Charles VII 'The Victorious' Henry IV 'The Great' Louis XIII 'The Just' Louis XV 'The Beloved' |
N. of France, Duke of Orleans, 2nd son of Henry IV Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpendier, 1st wife of Gaston Jean Baptiste d'Orléand, son of Henry IV Jesn Gaston d'Orléans, Duke of Valois, son of Henry IV Marie Anne d'Orléans, daughter of Gaston Jean Baptiste, Duke of son of Henry IV Gaston Jean Baptiste of France, Duke of Orléans, son of Henry IV Anne Elisabeth of France, Elder daughter of Louis XIV Marieanne of France, 2nd daughter of Louis XIV N. of Orléans, Daughter of Philip of France, Duke of Burgundy, Monsieur, brother of Louis XIV Philip Charles of Orléans, Duke of Valois, son of Philip of France, Duke of Orléans, brother of Louis XIV Henriette Marie of France, daughter of Henry IV, wife of Charles I of England Henriette Anne Stuart, 1st wife of Phillip of France, Duke of Orléans, brother of Louis XIV Philip of France, Duke of Anjou, 2nd son of Louis XIV Marguerite of Lorraine, Duchess of Orléans, 2nd wife of Gaston Jean Baptiste, Duke of Orleans, son of Henry IV Louis Francis of France, Duke of Anjou, 3rd son of Louis XIV Marie Thérèse of France, 3rd daughter of Louis XIV Alexander Louis of Orléans, Duke of Valois, son of Philip of France, Duke of Orleans, Monsieur, brother of Louis XIV Marie Anne Christine Victoire of Bavaria, wife of Louis Dauphin, son of Louis XIV Anee Marie Louise of Orléans, Duchess of Monpensier, Mademoiselle, daughter of Gaston Jean Baptiste, Duke of Orléans, son of Henry IV Philip of France, Duke of Orléans, Monsieur, brother of Louis XIV N. Duke of Burgundy, 1st son of Louis, Duke of Burgundy, grandson of Louis XIV Louis Dauphin, son of Louis XIV N. of Berry, 1st daughter of Charles, Duke of Berry, Grandson of Louis XIV Louis Duke of Burgundy, Dauphin, grandson of Louis XIV |
Marie Adélaïdé of Savoy, Wife of Louis Duke of Burgundy, Dauphin, grandson of Louis XIV Louis Duke of Burgundy, Dauphin 2nd son of Louis Duke of Burgundy, Dauphin, grandson of Louis XIV Charles of Berry, Duke of Alençon, son of Charles Duke of Berry, grandson of Louis XIV Charles of France, Duke of Berry, grandson of Louis XIV Marie Louise Elisabeth of Berry, postumous daughter of Charles Duke of Berry, grandson of Louis XIV Marie Louise Elisabeth of Orléans, wife of Charles, Duke of Berry, grandson of Louis XIV. Elisabeth Charlotte of Bavaria, 2nd wife of Philip pf France Duke of Orléans, Monsieur, brother of Louis XIV. Philip Duke of Orléans (Regent), son of Philip of France Duke of Orléans, Monsieyr, brother of Louis XIV N. of France Duke of Alencon, 2nd son of Louis XV. Louise Marie of France, 3rd daughter of Louis XV Marie Thérèse, Infanta, 1st wife of Louis Dauphin, son of Louis XV Marie Thérèse of France, daughter of the first marriage of Louis Dauphin, son of Louis XV Anne Henriette fo France, 2nd daughter of Louis XV Xavier Marie Joseph of France, Duke of Aquitaine, 2nd son of Louis Dauphin, son of Louis XV Marie Zephirine of France, 1st daughter of the second marriage of Louis Dauphin, son of Louis XV Louis Elisabeth of France, Duchess of Parme, 1st daughter of Louis XV Louis Joseph Xavier of France Duke of Burgundy, 1st son of Louis Dauphin, son of Louis XV Louis Dauphin, son of Louis XV (Heart buried at St Denis; body at Sens) Marie Joseph de Saxe, second Wife of Louis Dauphin, Son of Louis XV(Heart buried at St Denis; body at Sens) Sophie Philippine Elisabeth Justine of France, 6th daughter of Louis XVI N. Madamemoiselle of Angoulême, 2nd daughter of M. the Count of Artois, brother of Louis XVI N.of Artois (Madamemoiselle) 1st daughter of Mr the Count of Artois, Brother of Louis XVI Sophie Helen Beatrix of France, 2nd daughter of Louis XVI Louis Joseph Xavier Francis Dauphin, son of Louis XVI |
| Dauphins, Princes & Princesses, Children & Grandchildren of France | Queens | ||||
Philip de Gobert, son of Louis VIII Philip, Count of Boulogne, son of Philip II Blanche, daughter of St Louis Jean, son of St Louis Louis of France, son of St Louis Jean Tristan de Damietta, son of St Louis Alphonse, Count of Poitiers, Son of Louis VIII Louis & Philip, sons of Pierre D'Alençon, son of St Louis Jeanne of France, Daughter of Charles V Jeanne of France, daughter of Philip VI Isabelle of France, daughter of Charles V Marguerite, Countess of Flanders, daughter of Philip V Charles of France, Dauphin, son of Charles VI Charlotte of France, daughter of Francis I Louise of Savoi, mother of Francis I Francis, Dauphin, son of Francis I Charles of France, Duke of Orléans, son of Francis I Louis of France, Duke of Orléans, son of Henry II Victoire of France, daughter of Henry II Jeanne of France, daughter of Henry II Marie Elisabeth of France, daughter of Charles IX Francis of France, Duke of Orléans, son of Henry II Louise Marie of France, daughter of Louis XV |
Jeanne de Bourbon, wife of Charles V Isabeau of Bavaria, wife of Charles VI Marie of Anjou, wife of Charles VII Marie de Médici, 2nd wife of Henry IV Ann of Austria, Infanta of Spain, wife of Louis XIII Marie Thérèsa of Austria, Infanta of Spain, wife of Louis XIV Marie Leczinske of Poland, wife of Louis XV |
| Notes on the Above |
The title Monsieur, now more or less equivalent in France to Mister in England, in the Ancien Régime, was adopted by the next brother in line of succession to the throne. The title de France (written here as of France) refers to members of the royal family. Dauphin was the title given to the heir to the French throne from 1350-1791 and 1824-1850. The word means dolphin and the title refers to the appearance of that animal on the dauphin's coat of arms. Dauphine is the title of the wife of the Dauphin. Woman could not inherit nor pass on the throne in France. Infanta was the title of the daughter of a ruling monarch in Spain or Portugal, especially the eldest daughter who was not heir. Na or N. referrs to the infant having not yet been baptised. |
| A English King Joins the French |
King James II of England lost his throne in 1688 and fled to France from where all attempts at a restoration failed. He died in Paris in 1701, still in hope that, even after death, he might be restored in a fashion: his embalmed body was not buried but merely placed in the Chapel of St Edmund in Convent of the English Benedictines in Paris in the hope that should the Stuarts be restored to the throne he might receive a post-mortem restoration by burial in Westminster Abbey. His body was placed in a wooden coffin, itself inside a lead coffin and this inside another wooden coffin, covered with a black velvet pall. During the embalming process his internal organs had of course been removed and these were not buried at one site but distributed around Paris. His brain was placed in a casket on top of a pillar in the Paris Scots' College; his heart joining his wife, Mary of Modena, in the Convent of Visitandine Nuns at Chaillot; and his viscera divided between the Church of St Germain-en-Laye and the English Church of St Omer. During the Revolution, his coffins were broken open in order to remove the lead and his body, which was well preserved, exposed for a day; it was then removed and presumably thrown into a common pit. The other parts of his body received similar treatment. However the inscribed lead box holding part of his viscera, with two similar ones, was discovered during excavations at the Church of St Germain in order to construct new foundation for rebuilding the church in 1824. The other two contained the viscera of his wife and those of their daughter, Louisa. These boxes were subsequently placed in a coffin and buried below the altar of the reconstructed church later in 1824 with a black marble slab marking the site. Queen Victoria visited the church in 1855 and subsequently arranged for the construction of a monument in a side chapel. At public expense, no doubt. The son of James II: James 'The Old Pretender'; and his two sons, Charles, 'The Young Pretender' of 'Bonnie Prince Charlie; and Henry, were all buried at Rome. The male Stuart line then ended. |