SAINT-DENIS
INTRODUCTION

Open daily but check website for variations. Entrance to the nave of the church is free but there is a charge to enter the necropolis. There is no restaurant but there is a picnic area advertised.  Website 
Basilique de St-Denis 13 Light Blue

NORTH TRANSEPT SOUTH TRANSEPT  AMBULATORY  THE CRYPT LOST MONUMENTS

The Basilica of Saint-Denis was originally built to house the remains of St Denis, the patron saint of France, who was martyred in the mid third century, and in due course this abbey became one of the most important in the kingdom. The church we see today was built from 1213 onwards and is a splendid example of Gothic architecture of Northern France. Saint-Denis became a cathedral in 1966, although it is usually not referred to as such but rather as the Basilica of Saint-Denis, even though it has not actually been granted that title by the Vatican.

Saint Denis only became the definitive burial place of the French kings from the reign of Hugh Capet (founder of the Capetian dynasty) onwards, although several kings of the earlier two dynasties had elected to have been buried there. Other royal burial sites included the abbeys of Sainte-Geneviéve and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, both in Paris,  and Saint-Medard in Soissons. After Hugh Capet, however, the majority of the kings were buried at Saint-Denis.

Initially few queens were buried at Saint-Denis but the practice became more common after the burial of Jeanne de Bourbon, first wife of Philippe VI in 1348. Other members of the royal families were denied the right of burial in Saint-Denis, a rule rigorously enforced by Saint Louis. In due course sons and later daughters were granted the privilege of burial in the basilica. Later some of those who were not of the royal family but who  had given great service to the state were also granted permission to be buried at Saint-Denis.

The layout of the tombs has been modified over the years in order to introduce some sort of rationalization. In the mid thirteenth century building works disturbed the layout and Louis IX (St Louis) took advantage of this and sought out the tombs of the earlier kings and others who had been buried there and who merely had simple stones to mark their site of interment. He had sixteen recumbent effigies - of which fourteen remain - carved for the burial sites that were found; these effigies are all similar but with pleasing differences and all are shown as royalty even though one, Charles Martel, never bore the title of king. These monuments were arranged in strict chronological order in 1263 and the tombs of Louis's father and grandfather - Philip Augustus and Louis the Lion - and subsequently that of St Louis himself were installed between them. However  at the end of the 13th century this arrangement was altered yet again.

The layout today is not all that logical, certainly not from a chronological point of view: for example, Philip IV is in the south transept, his son Louis X in the north and his other two sons, Philip V and Charles IV are in an entirely different place in this latter transept, a place they share with the Valois kings, Philip VI and John II. I hope these pages will help clarify all of this and act as a guide.
 
From the 12th century onwards there evolved the custom among kings and nobles, and in due course among other high ranks of society, of dividing up the body after death and burying the several parts in different places.

Medieval embalming was a relatively simple and not particularly effective process: the body cavity would be opened by a long, continuous anterior incision in the thorax and abdomen so that the viscera could be removed; the body cavity would then be cleaned with vinegar and then packed with salt and spices; the body would then be wrapped in cerecloth, strips of linen (or even silk) soaked in molten wax. Finally the body would be dressed in the clothing the deceased would have worn in life.

However if a person were to die a long way from  the place where they wished to be buried, transporting a putrefying body over what might be great distance would hardly have been a pleasant experience so the viscera were removed from the corpse and buried in consecrated ground near the place of death, or the body was boiled to separate the bones from the soft tissues, which were buried near the site of death. The eviscerated body or just the bones were than transported to the chosen placed of burial.

Eventually, as is often the case, this practice which had begun for sound practical reasons, took on a spiritual or political significance and the various parts were buried in several places to satisfy the wishes of the deceased. Perhaps the deceased wished his or her heart (still considered to be much more than an ingenious biological pump) to be buried near the deceased's parents, perhaps there may have been a belief that the buried part still held some sway over the area  ruled in life, or perhaps this gave the deceased the maximum number of prayers for their journey through the afterlife.  King Charles V, for example, willed that his body be buried at Saint-Denis but his heart in Rouen Cathedral and his entrails at Maubuisson Abbey. A drawing of the lost monument at Rouen may be seen on the Normandy page and the entrails monument is now in the Louvre Museum. The various parts presumably would somehow be united on judgment day. Some found these practices repugnant: Isabeau of Bavaria, wife of Charles 'The Mad', willed that her body be buried without 'division, openings or incision'.

The process also revolted Pope Boniface VIII who in 1299 issued a bull Derestande Feritatis which outlawed the practice and required that bodies be buried intact and immediately under the pain of excommunication. Under his successors the process continued but permissions, which presumably required the payment of a fee, to divide the body were often granted.

Thus a person may have several monuments: where the body is buried, where the heart is buried and where the entrails are buried. Heart burials are often marked by miniature effigies or effigies holding a heart, although it must not be assumed that the latter always implies a heart burial or that a heart burial will have an effigy holding a heart. There are a number of entrails burials  (that is in France; I have not found any in England) where the effigy, rather unpleasantly, holds a representation of a leather bag in which the entrails were contained.

For example Richard the Lion Heart's entrails were buried in the castle of Châlus, where he was killed, although there is no contemporary monument there. A curious modern effigy was installed in recent times. His body was buried at Fontevraud, where his effigy may be seen in the abbey, and his heart in Rouen Cathedral, where another effigy, a very different one and not holding his heart, is on display.

Below is an incomplete list of the burial places of the kings' body or bones, entrails and hearts

King/Queen Died Body Soft Tissues Heart
Philip I
(The Amorous)
1108 Abbey of Saint-Benôit-sur-Loire (Loiret)    
Philip-Augustus 1223 Saint-Denis    
Louis VIII
 (The Lion)
1226 Saint-Denis Abbey of St André, Clermont (Puy-de-Dôme) Abbey of St André, Clermont (Puy-de-Dôme)
Louis IX
(St Louis)
1270 Saint-Denis
 (bones)
Benedictine Abbey of Montreale (Sicily) Sainte-Chapelle (?)
Isabella of Aragon
Queen consort of Philip III
1271 Saint-Denis
(bones)
Cosennza Cathedral, Calabria
 
Philip III
(The Bold)
1285 Saint-Denis
(bones)
Narbonne Cathedral (flesh)
Abbey of La Noë (Normandy) (entrails)
Convent of the Jacobins (Paris)
Philip IV
(The Fair)
1314 St-Denis   Church of Saint-Louis de Poissy (Yvelines)
Philip VI
(Valois)
1350 St-Denis Convent of the Jacobins (Paris) Charterhouse of Bourgfontaine en Valois (Aisne)
Charles V
(The Wise)
1380 St-Denis Abbey of Maubuisson (Val d'Oise) Rouen Cathedral (Normandy)
Charles VI
(The Mad)
1422 St-Denis   Convent of the Célestins (Paris)
Louis XI
(The Universal Spider)
1483 Cléry-St-Andr  (Loiret)    
Louis XII 1515 St-Denis Convent of the Célestins (Paris) Convent of the Célestins (Paris)
Francis I 1547 St-Denis Abbey of Hautes-Bruyères (Yvelines) Convent of the Célestins (Paris)
Henry IV 1610 St-Denis St-Denis Church of the College of the Jesuits at La Flèche (Sarthe)
Louis XIII 1643 St-Denis Notre Dame, Paris Church of Saint-Louis-des-Jesuits, Saint-Antoine, Paris
Louis XIV 1715 St-Denis Notre Dame, Paris Church of Saint-Louis-des-Jesuits, Saint-Antoine, Paris
Louis XV 1774 St-Denis    
         

 




  The Revolution was in general against religion, the monarchy and all associated with them, so in 1793 the National Convention ordered the exhumation of the kings, queens and notables buried at Saint-Denis and the destruction of the monuments. This behaviour - where the present wishes to destroy monuments and reminders of the past - should unfortunately not surprise us in the twenty-first century.  The bronze tombs were melted down for their metal and a large majority of the other tombs were removed and piled in the garden outside the north transept. The members of the Bourbon dynasty had been buried in lead inner coffins inside wooden outer coffins, which were then laid on iron tresses; the days of elaborate funerary monuments were over. These coffins were then placed in the sealed Bourbon vault. This vault was the first to be broken into and the coffin of Henry IV the first to be opened; his body was in a remarkable state of preservation, although the other were not, and in fact was put on display in the crypt for several days (left). Other tombs were broken into and the remains removed. These remains - nearly 200 in all - were thrown into two pits - one for the Bourbons and one for members of earlier dynasties - dug in the monks' cemetery north of the church.

  The tombs - or rather the effigies - fared somewhat better.  Alexandre Lenoir, the self taught archaeologist managed to save many of the effigies - as being of worthwhile historical interest - and stored them in a former monastery. In general only the effigies were saved, the remainder of the tombs being destroyed; I have included a few drawings of the appearance of the tombs before this destruction to show a little of what was lost. M. Lenoir later opened the Museum of the French National Monuments, and it is thanks to this man that we can see the monuments today. The effigies were later installed in the crypt from 1816-1847 and then the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc arranged for them to be returned to the body of the church. Many effigies and monuments were brought to Saint-Denis following the destruction during the Revolution of the original churches in which they were situated.

 
The exhumed remains were retrieved in 1817 from the burial pits although, as they had been covered in quick lime, it is difficult to imagine in what state they remained and they certainly could not have been individually identified. They were then interred together in ten joint coffins and placed in an ossuary in the crypt behind black marble wall slabs with the names of those interred incised on the slabs.

 
The names of those exhumed and the dates of their exhumation may be examined by following this link.

   Below is a list of French monarchs wherever buried (and where applicable their wives and children) from the earliest times, split into the four principal dynasties. It must be remembered that initially they were not kings in today's sense of the word nor of the country we now know as France: their holdings increased, decreased and were split between sons over the years and initially they were overlords of a number of powerful vassals, with a relatively small area under their direct rule, until the principalities were progressively incorporated into the crown. However this is not the place to discuss these complexities.

  The first row of the second and subsequent dynasties gives the number of the king in each dynasty with a mention or wife or son where this is relevant for our present purpose. The second row gives the name of the king and his dates. All of these names have links to further information on (usually) Wikipedia; where the name is in italic the monument may be seen in Saint-Denis today and where it is in bold the king was originally buried at Saint-Denis, although the monument may no longer exist. The next row gives the original burial site and a little about the monument and if it is lost; it also give very briefly something about the king and his times. The next column tells you where to find the monument in Saint-Denis and if there is a drawing of the monument if it is lost. Use this information with the series of links immediately below to find the relevant page; on reaching this page there is another index to locate the actual monument.

  This list is incomplete at the moment but will be enlarged and/or modified over time.

The Merovingian Dynasty

This is a much simplified list because of the division of the kingdom between sons, at times as many as four, and the reuniting of divisions and various conquests. I have simplified the list to emphasis the burials in Saint-Denis.
This is a much simplified list because of the division of the kingdom between sons, at times as many as four, and the reuniting of divisions and various conquests. I have simplified the list to emphasis the burials in Saint-Denis.
The first dynasty was founded by the semi-legendary Merovech (415-458), a pagan, after whom the dynasty is named; his holdings were in north-western  Europe (know as Austrasia) and based around Aachen. His grandson, Clovis I (481-511) [A ],  the first of the dynasty to be baptized, extended the dynasty's holdings to include much of modern France (with the exception of Burgundy, Brittany and Gascony) as well Swabia, now part of Germany. Clovis was buried in the Abbey of Saint Genevieve du Mont  in Paris. After Clovis's death the kingdom became partitioned between his four sons but the holdings were increased to include Burgundy, Gascony and Provence.

Childebert I (496-558) [A ] was the third son and received the portion around Paris, (know as Neustria.) He founded the Abbey of St Germaine des Pres, Paris where he, and several of successors were buried. His effigy shows him holding a model of this church. Childebert I was succeeded by his brother, the fourth son, Chlothar I, who was himself succeeded by Chilperic I. (539-584)[L]. He and his wife, Frédégonde (545-597) [A ] were also buried in the Abbey of St Germaine des Pres.

Chilperic I was succeeded by his son Chlothar II  (613-629) [L] who temporarily reunited the kingdom in 613; both he and his wife, Bertrude (582-618/9) [L], were buried in the Abbey of St Germaine des Pres.  His son Dagobert I (603-639) [ST] succeeded him and he was the first of the dynasty to be buried in St Denis; he was also the last of the powerful kings, as, from then on their role became more ceremonial and the power was taken by the mayors of the palace.  His son Clovis II (634-657)[ ] was also buried in Saint- Denis and his monument was in the series constructed by Louis IX (Saint Louis), his effigy being paired with that of Charles Martel. The son of Clovis II, Childeric II   (653-675) [L ] and his wife Bilichild [L] were again buried in the Abbey of St Germaine des Pres.

The last king of this dynasty Childeric III 'The Lazy' was deposed by the pope and the power passed to the Mayor of Paris, Charles Martel. (686-741). The latter was also buried in Saint Denis, as  all subsequent kings, and in due course their queens and their family, with a few exceptions were to be buried; his effigy is paired with that of  Clovis II.

During the Revolution the religious houses were suppressed: the Abbey of Saint Genevieve du Mont was mostly demolished but the Abbey of St Germaine des Pres remained as a church; the monuments of those buried there (or some of them) were brought to Saint-Denis.
The Carolingian Dynasty

Following the deposition of Childeric III  the son of Charles Martel, Pepin the Short was crowned king, the first of the Carolingian Dynasty (named after Charles Martel, who never actually took the title of king). His grandson, Charles the Great - usually called Charlemagne - extended his holdings over much of France and Germany, being crowned Western Emperor by the Pope, a sort of continuation of the Western Roman Empire. Remember the Byzantine - or Eastern Roman - Empire, the Emperors of which considered themselves as heirs of the Roman Empire - was still alive and well. Charlemagne's son, Louis the Pious, was also crowned emperor but continued the practice of dividing his holdings between his sons. This led to a three year civil war between these sons - Lothar, Louis the German and Charles the Bald - which ended in the Treaty of Verdun in 846 when the Empire was divided into three parts with the eldest, Lothar, being granted imperial status.

I will not attempt to describe all the interrelationships between the various kings but rather just list the individuals in chronological order with notes of their monuments and other relevant information.

Louis IX - St Louis - constructed a series of monuments for many of these kings, some of their wives and families as well as two from the earlier dynasty mentioned above and the first of the next (Capetian) dynasty. These kings were originally buried under simple stones but Louis arranged for tomb chests and effigies to be constructed; most of these survive but the chests were destroyed during the Revolutions when remains were ejected from the graves.
01 Pepin the Short (714-768) Initially held the position of Mayor of Paris with his brother Carloman; then crowned king at Soissons.
Paired in the St Louis series with Bertha (below)
ST
His Wife Bertha 'Of The Big Foot' (710/27 - 783)
02 Carloman I (751-771) Second son of Pepin.
Paired in the St Louis series with Ermentrude (below)
NT
03 Charlemagne (742-814) Elder son of Pepin. Crowned first Carolingian Emperor by the Pope on Christmas Day in 800. The Empire was divided among his four sons before his death.
Buried Aachen Cathedral
 
04 Louis I 'The Pious' or 'Debonair' Son of Charlemagne, who reunited the Empire in 814 following the death of his brothers. Divided the Empire between his three sons.
Buried Abbey of Saint-Arnould, Metz
 
05 Charles II 'The Bald'  (823-877) Son of Louis the Pious
Destroyed
L
His Wife Ermentrude   (823-869) Paired in the St Louis series with Carloman (above) NT
06 Louis II 'The Stammerer' (846-879) During his reign the kingdom began to fragment into a number of territories governed by nobles
Buried Saint-Corneille Abbey, Compiège.
 
07 Louis III  (863-882) Sons of Louis II; Carloman ruled alone following the death of his brother.
Paired in the St Louis series. Sons of Louis II
ST
08 Carloman II (866-884)
09 Charles III 'The Fat' (839-888) Son of Louis the German, himself the son of Louis the Pious. Became king in preference to Charles the Simple. Failed to resist the Viking Siege of Paris, 885. Deposed 887 and died the following year. Last Carolingian emperor to rule over a united Europe
Buried Abbey of Reichenau, Lake Constance, Germany.
 
10 Odo or Eudes (860-898) Eldest son of Robert the Strong. As Count of Paris, he successfully resisted the Viking siege (v.s.). In 888 the country's noblemen crowned him king, although Charles the Simple (v.i) was crowned in 893. After confusing conflict, Odo negotiated with his rival but died the following year.
Paired with Hugh Capet in the St Louis series. Destroyed
L
11 Charles III 'The Simple' (879-929) Posthumous son of Louis the Stammerer. He shared power with Odo from 896-898) Authorized the settlement of the Vikings in the Seine valley. His authority was challenged by Duke Robert, the brother of Odo, who was crowned king in 922. Charles attacked Robert in 923 and killed him but Charles was defeated and fled, only to be ambushed and imprisoned in Péronne, where he died.
Buried in the Abbey of Saint-Fursy, Péronne
 
12 Robert I (866-929) Second son of Robert the Strong; killed in battle near Soissons (v.s.)  
13 Rudolph (890-936) Son of Duke Richard of Aquitaine. Warrior king who died without issue
Abbey of Sainte-Colombe, Sens
 
14 Louis IV 'Of Outremere' (920/1-954) Son of Charles the Simple after whose defeat was taken to England by his mother, daughter of Edward the Elder. He returned to France successfully overcoming opposition was crowned king.
Abbey of Saint-Remi (now cathedral), Reims. Destroyed
 
15 Lothair (941-986) Son of Louis IV
Abbey of Saint-Remi (now cathedral), Reims. Destroyed
 
16 Louis V 'Do Nothing' (966-987) Son of Lothair. His title is somewhat unfair. Died in a hunting accident.
Abbey of Saint-Corneille, Compiège
 

Louis V died childless and was the last of the Carolingian kings. Hugh Capet, a descendent of Charlemagne, was elected King of France although there were other claimants to the throne, thus beginning the Capetian Dynasty.
 
       
The Capetian Dynasty
 
01 Hugh Capet  (941-996) Son of Hugh the Great, Count of Paris. Duke Charles of Lorraine, last of the Carolingian, made a claim but was taken prisoner. However in reality he was only a feudal lord with little more power than his vassals, and the kingdom fragmented further.
Paired with Odo in the St Louis series. Destroyed
L
02 Robert II 'The Pious' or 'The Wise' (972-1031) Son of Hugh Capet. He attached Burgundy and several other counties to the crown. Severely suppressed nascent heresies
Paired with Constance in the St Louis series (see below)
NT
His 2nd Wife Constance of Arles (986-1032) Paired with Roberts II in the St Louis series (see above) NT
03
Henry_I (1008-1062)
Son of Robert II. His reign was troubled by rebellion of feudal lords attempting to assert independence
Paired with Louis VI in the St Louis series (see below)
NT
04 Philip I 'The Amorous' (1052-1106) Son of Henry I. Repudiated his wife Berthe because she was too fat and carried off Bertrande de Montford, wife of the Count of Anjou, leading to a series of excommunications.  In his reign the Norman Conquest and the First Crusade took place. He strengthened  royal authority by developing a royal administration system and controlling his vassals as well as annexeing several  counties, including the French Vexin, soon to be infamous.
Buried at  Abbey of Fleury, Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire Tomb extant.
05 Louis VI 'The Fat' (1081-1137) Son of Philip I. Fought Thibaut IV of Champagne and King Henry I of England, who was also Duke of Normandy. With his skillful minister, Abbot Suger of St Denis, he enhanced the royal domain. Married his son Louis to Eleanor of Aquitaine so extending the royal domain even further.
Paired with Henry I in the St Louis series (see above)
NT
His Son Philip of France (1116-1131) The eldest son of Louis VI who, as was the practice, had been crowned as co-king during his father's life time. A troublesome character, he was thrown from his horse and died the following day aged 15.
Paired with Constance of Castile (see below)
NT
His Sister in Law Constance of Castile (1140-1160) The second wife of Louis VII (following his divorce from Eleanor of Aquitaine) by whom she had two daughters; she died giving birth to his second daughter.
Paired with Philip of France (see above)
NT
06 Louis VII 'The Young' (1120-1180) Son of Louis the Fat. Not being destined to be king, he was a pious character. Kept Abbot Suger as minister and continued his father's policies. Went on the disastrous Second Crusade and divorced Eleanor of Aquitaine, who quickly married Henry Plantagenet so increasing the extent of the Plantagenet 'Empire'
Buried in his foundation Barbeau Abbey; this abbey was suppressed at the Revolution and the buildings bought by the state in 1810 for use as an orphanage. His remains were brought to St Denis in 1817 and reinterred in the crypt. A drawing of his original monument may be found here.
(L)
07 Philip II 'Augustus' (1165-1223)  Son of Louis the Young. Accompanied Richard I and Frederick Barbarossa on the Third Crusade but returned to France early where he began to attack Richard's lands with the help of Prince John. After Richard's death he drove the Plantagenets out of France so annexing Normandy, Anjou, Maine, Touraine, Poitou and most of Aquitaine; He triumphed over a coalition of English under King John, Flemish and Germans at the Battle of Bouvines.
Destroyed
 
08 Louis VIII 'The Lion' (1187-1226) Son of Philip Augustus. Was invited by the English barons to lead their rebellion against King John and was proclaimed 'King of England' but never crowned. The leader of the Albigensian Crusade, leading to the annexation of the County of Toulouse
Destroyed
 
His Son Philip of France (1235) Mother was Blanche of Castille. From Royaumont Abbey NT
09 Louis IX 'Saint Louis' (1214-1270) Son of Louis the Lion. The leader of the 7th and 8th Crusades, dying during the latter. A king with a sense of justice and equity; a founder of several hospitals. Canonized in 1297
Destroyed
 
His Daughter Blanche of France ( - 1243)  From Royaumont Abbey A
His Son Jean of France ( - 1245)  From Royaumont Abbey A
His Son Louis of France ( - 1260)  Died at 15. From Royaumont Abbey NT
His Daughter Blanche (1231)  From the Convent of the Cordeliers NT
10 Philip III 'The Bold' (1245-1285) Son of Saint Louis. Was proclaimed king in Tunis, following the death of St Louis on the Eighth Crusade . He was of an indecisive character and his title was given for his military skills on horseback. ST
His First Wife Isabelle of Aragon (1247-1271) Accompanied her husband on the Eighth Crusade but died at Calabria after falling from her horse on her return journey to France. ST
His 3rd  son Louis of France, Count of Evreux (1319)  . From Convent of the Jacobins, Paris NT
11 Philip IV 'The Fair' (1268-1314) Son of Philip III. An able administrator, he introduced a number of reforms. However in order to meet a number of economic difficulties, he embarked on a series of risky ventures, such as the arrest of the Templers (1307), confiscation of their wealth and the burning at the stake of Jacques Molay, their Grand Master (1314) ST
       
3rd son of Philip III Charles, Count of Valois (1325) From Convent of the Jacobins, Paris NT
12 Louis X 'The Stubborn' (1289-1316) Eldest son of Philip the Fair. He first married Margaret of Burgundy who was later accused of adultery and strangled. His second wife (v.i.) was pregnant on his death. NT
  Jeanne of France (1131 - 1349) Daughter of Louis X and his first wife Margaret of Burgundy NT
His Second Wife Clémance of Hungary (1293-1328) From the Church of the Jacobins, Paris NT
13 John I 'The Posthumous'
(1316)
Son of Louis X who was born 15th November, five months after his father's death and died five days later. His uncle, Philip, who had been regent, was accused of his murder; Philip then succeeded to the throne as Philip V (v.i.) His mother was Clémence of Hungary NT
14 Philip V 'The Tall'
(1293-1322)
Second son of Philip the Fair. Was regent following the death of his brother, Louis X, and had himself crowned as king following the death of the latter's son, John I; his claimed to the throne overruled that of Louis X daughter, Joanne, despite her being the elder. Like his father an able administrator. NT
His Daughter Marguerite of Flanders (1382)   NT
15 Charles IV 'The Fair'
(1294-1328)
Third son of Philip the Fair. He maintained royal domination over the nobles and continued strengthening the administration system. Faced constant financial problems and used every means of taxation to enhance his finances. There were no further direct Valois descendents. NT
His Wife Jeanne of Evreux
(1310-1371)
Daughter of Louis, Count of Evreaux NT
His Daughter Blanche of France ( - 1393) Wife of Philip of Orléans NT
       
The Valois Branch
 
16 Philip VI (1293-1350) Son of Charles of Valois, the third son of Philip III. His reign began with the Hundred Years War, Edward III of England claiming he had a better claim to the French throne than Philippe following the demise of the direct Valois branch and Philippe's attempt to confiscate Edward's possessions in France. At the same time France was gripped by the Black Death. NT
His 1st Wife Jeanne of Burgundy (1378) Destroyed L
His 2nd Wife Blanche of Navarre   NT
His Daughter Jeanne of France Only child of Philip VI and Blanche of Navarre. She was bethrothed to John of Aragon but died aged 20 in Béziers on her way to meet him NT
17 John II 'The Good' (1319-1364) Eldest son of Philip VI. Made several errors in his administration such as provoking the enmity of Charles the Bad, King of Navarre. Taken prisoner by the English at the battle of Poitiers but the estates of Paris refused to pay the huge ransom requested by the English. His release was therefore negotiated by the Treaty of Brittany when he returned to France leaving his son Louis of Anjou as hostage. But the latter broke parole so John returned to England where he died. NT
His Wife Jeanne of Auverne Destroyed  
18 Charles V 'The Wise' (1333 - 1380) Eldest son of John. Acted as regent following his father's capture at Poitiers (1356); he obtained the latter's release through the Treaty of Brittany (1360), with the help of du Guesclin tamed Charles the Bad and eliminated the Grand Companies, bands of soldier-brigands who were terrorizing France. By his death the England had lost a good deal of their French conquests
Note that the effigy of Jeanne is that which covered her entrails at the Church of the Célestines, Paris, the original being destroyed. Her heart was buried at the Church of the Cordeliers
ST
His Wife Jeanne of Bourbon
(1338-1377)
19 Charles VI 'The Mad'
(1368-1422)
Charles VI became insane a few years after reaching his majority in 1338 and was unable to govern so that a power struggle developed between his uncle, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and his brother, Louis, Duke of Orleans. In 1407 the new Duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless, had Orléans, who had become regent, assassinated, and became regent. Consequently a civil war developed between the two factions, the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. This allowed Henry V of England to mount a successful invasion of France. John the Fearless was assassinated on the orders of the Dauphin when attempting reconciliation with the Armagnacs. As a result the new Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, signed the Treaty of Troyes (1420) with Henry V, witnessed by Isabeau. Her son, the Dauphin  (the future Charles VII), was disinherited and her daughter, Catherine, was to marry Henry V; Charles was to remain king during his lifetime and Henry (or the child of Henry and Catherine) to inherit the French throne. But the younger Henry died first and the six months old Henry VI inherited the two thrones..
Charles and Catherine were already parents of a queen of England: their daughter Isabelle had married Richard II at the age of seven.
ST
His Wife Isabeau of Bavaria (1370-1435)
20 Charles VII 'The Victorious'
(1403-1461)
Son of Charles VI who was only recognized as king by the Armagnacs, Henry VI being crowned king of France as well as England. With the help of Joan of Arc he was crowned king at Reims and began a methodical re-conquest freeing France from the English. Suppressed a feudal rebellion. Often dominated by his favorites, such as his mistress Agnès Sorrel.
Busts only, the effigies being destroyed
ST
His Wife Marie of Anjou
(1404-1463)
21 Louis XI 'The Universal Spider'
(1423-1483)
Son of Charles VII. Lost the trust of his father by joining the feudal rebellion and his hostility to  Agnès Sorrel. Took advantage of the death in battle of Charles the Rash, Duke of Burgundy by annexing Burgundy and Picardy to the crown. Known for this excessive severity and cruelty. His first wife was Margaret, daughter of James I King of Scotland. However he reestablish law and order in the kingdom.
Buried at Cléry-Saint-André. Tomb and effigy are replacements of original.
22 Charles VIII 'The Affable'
(1470-1498)
Son of Louis XI. Married Anne of Brittany so uniting the province and the crown, allbeit temporarily. His Italian campaigns were conducted to claim his right to the throne of Naples. Initially welcomed for freeing Rome, Florence and Naples from harsh tyrannies, the inhabitants began to resent the occupation of foreign invaders. Following the Battle of Fornoue, Charles was forced to return to France and lost the remaining of his Italian conquests the following year. He was planning a further expedition when died after hitting his head on a low door lintel at Amboise. He left no surviving children.
Destroyed
L
23 Louis XII 'Father of the People'
(1462-1515)
Because Charles VIII had left no surviving children the crown passed to his cousin. He was harshly raised by Louis XI whose disabled and possibly sterile daughter, Jeanne, he was forced to marry, Louis wishing to eliminate this branch (the Orléans) of the Valois. He obtained an annulment from the Borgia pope and then married his predecessor's widow, Anne of Brittany, so keeping Brittany in the royal domain. He took part in the Italian campaigns of Charles XIII and he himself began the second Italian campaign becoming master of most of Italy by 1500, only to be driven out of Naples from 1506 onwards by Ferdinand of Aragon. His title was given by the States General because he built up a sound economy. Following the death of Anne he married Mary Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII. NT
His Wife Anne of Brittany
(1477-1514)
24 François I
(1494-1547)
Louis XII died without a male heir and was succeeded by his cousin François I, who married his daughter, Claude. He wished to continue his predecessors Italian adventures but suffered a massive defeat by an alliance of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain at the Battle of Pavia. In response he formed an alliance with the Sultan Suiliman the Magnificent and obliged the Emperor to accept the Treaty of Cambrai. An important patron of the arts.
Claude was the daughter of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany, the elder of only two children who survived into adulthood but, because of the Salic law, was not permitted to succeed to the throne but became queen by marrying François I.
ST
His Wife Claude of France
(1499-1524)
25 Henry II
(1519-1559)
Second son of François and Claude. Savage rivalries arouse at his court between his wife and his mistress Diane de Poitiers and Montmorency and  Francis, Duke of Guise. During his reign the Wars of Religion began. Henry was accidentally killed in a tournament. A/NT
His Wife Catherine of Medici
(1519-1589)
26 François II
(1544-1560)
Eldest son of Henry II. Gave all power to the Duke of Guise and Cardinal of Lorraine Married Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Died at 16. No issue
Heart burial only
ST
27 Charles IX
(1550-1574)
Second son of Henry II. The Wars of Religion continued during his reign; Catherine of Medici and Michel de l'Hôpital attempted but failed to procure a religious reconciliation. This led to the dreadful Saint-Bartholomew's Day massacre, during which Catherine had Admiral Coligny, the Protestant leader, assassinated.
Epitaph Destroyed
L
28 Henry III
(1551-1589)
Third son of Henry II. During his reign the Wars of Religion continued, being aggravated by dynastic issues: Henry of Navarre, a Protestant was the heir to the French throne, if Henry III were to die without issue. Threatened by the Catholic League and Henry, Duke of Guise and his brother Louis, Cardinal Guise assassinated. He recognized Henry of Navarre as his heir. He himself was assassinated by a Dominican friar, Jacques Clément
Heart burial only
NT
       
The Bourbon Dynasty
  The Bourbon Dynasty had elaborate funerals but no longer had elaborate monuments, in fact they had no monuments at all. Their bodies were placed in lead coffins which were placed inside outer wooden coffins with simple inscriptions and placed on iron stands. From Henry IV they had been placed in the 'ceremonial burial vault' which became overcrowded. In 1683 (time of Louis XIV) the central part of the crypt, under the sanctuary, therefore became the 'Bourbon Vault'.
  There would be further projects for burial such as the Bourbon Dome and the transformation of the vault into a chapel came to nothing.
  As is described elsewhere during the Revolution this vault was broken into and the bodies removed and buried together in a mass grave in the cemetery. Following the Restoration Louis XVIII recovered these remains, that is of Heny IV, Louis XIII, Louis XIV and Louis XV, from the mass grave and buried them - with others he recovered -  in the ossuary in the crypt.

01
Henry IV These four kings were all buried in the Bourbon vault with no monuments. During the Revolution their coffins were broken into and their remains buried in one of the common pits in the cemetery. Following the Restoration their remains were recovered and they were buried in the ossuary in the crypt. Monument in C
02 Louis XIII The Just  
03 Louis XIV The Great  
04 Louis XV The Beloved  
05 Louis XVI (1774-1793) Originally buried in The Cemetery of the Madeleine, Paris
Remains translated by Louis XVIII
Monument in A
Tombs in C
His Wife Marie-Antoinette ( - 1793)
06 Louis XVIII Brother of Louis XVI Tomb in C
07 Charles X Brother of Louis XVI and Louis XVIII. Deposed and exiled. Buried in the monastery of Kostanjevica (Slovenia). In the crypt there is an unmarked slab intended to cover his remains.
08 Louis Philippe Abdicated and went into exile in England where he died. Buried at Dreux, Eure-et-Loire, France in The Royal Chapel  

Where's Louis XVII?

  Louis XVII was the younger son of Louis XVI who became heir to the throne following his elder brother's death shortly before the Revolution. Following his father's execution he became King of France in the eyes of the Royalists. However France was now a republic and Louis was in prison where he died age ten.

  His uncle assumed the title of Louis XVII so acknowledging the claim.


Other Monuments
  Béatrice de Bourbon ( - 1383) Queen of Bohemia. From Convent of the Jacobins, Paris NT
  Bertrand Duguesclin ( 1320 - 1380) Constable of France ST
  Blanche of Brittany (1271 - 1327) Daughter of John II, Duke of Brittany. Uncertain attribution A
  Charles d'Evreux, Count of Etampes (1326) From the Convent of the Cordeliers NT
      NT
  Charles II of Valois, Count of Alençon (1297 - 1346) 'The Magnanimous' Second son of Charles of Valois (q.v.), and brother to Philip VI
From Convent of the Jacobins, Paris
A
His 2nd Wife,  Marie of Spain (1319 -1375)
  Charles of Anjou (1283) King of Naples and Sicily  Hear burial. From Convent of the Jacobins, Paris  Body buried in Naples Cathedral. He was persuaded by the Pope to seize the kingdoms of Sicily and Sicily from the Hohenstaufens; He invaded Italy killing Manfred and battle and executing the young Conradin, the heir, so gaining the thrones. However a riot broke out in Sicily called the Sicilian Vespers and he lost the throne while still maintaining Naples. NT
       
  Léon V de Lusignan, King of Armenia (1342 - 1393) From Convent of the Célestins, Paris A
  Louis Cardinal de Bourbon (1493 - 1559) This is a marble column which originally held a kneeling copper effigy of the Cardinal NT
  Louis de Sancerre (1341/2 - 1440) Constable of France ST
  Marguerite of Artois (1311) From Convent of the Jacobins, Paris NT
  Louis & Philip (1271) Infant sons of Count of Alençon, fifth son of Saint Louis. These are copies, the originals being in the Museum of the Middle Ages, Paris. From Royaumont Abbey NT
  Marie  of Brienne (1225 - 1275/80) ? Last Latin empress of Constantinople. From Abbey of Maubuisson NT
  Marie of Bourbon-Vendome  (1515 - 1538) From Church of Notre-Dame, Soissons A
  Orléans, Dukes of For details see the page ST
       
  Robert II of Artois ( - 1317) 'The Young' Commissioned by his mother Mahaut Countess of Artois, whose tale makes interesting reading itself, from the scuptor Jean Pépin de Huy
From Convent of the Cordeliers, Paris
A
  Unknown Princess No details available A
  Another unknown princess No details available A
       
       
       
       



NORTH TRANSEPT SOUTH TRANSEPT  AMBULATORY  THE CRYPT LOST MONUMENTS