The photographs in the following pages are more or less arranged in the order you will
encounter the monuments on a visit to Saint-Denis. The entrance to the
necropolis is from the nave of the church into the south transept. On
your right you will see the large tombs of the Dukes of Orléans and
that of François I and Claude; on your left a
row of medieval effigies, mainly those in the Saint Louis series.
There are two heart burials in the area. Then to your right to the side
of the stairway there are a number of medieval effigies. That of Dagobert to your
left is best seen from the north stairway from the ambulatory.
Some
information about the persons commemorated has been given in the introduction
page; other information may be found with the monuments below. I have
added links to much more detailed on the internet articles on subjects
such as the sculptors, original sites of the monuments etc . The list of
'bookmark' names below is given in alphabetical, not
chronological, order, and these
will take you to the relevant monuments.
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Left & above: François I (1547) Heart burial monument. Marble by Pierre Bontemps (1556), and the lost tomb itself. Commissioned by Henri II. Provenance: Abbey of Hautes-Bruyères (Yvelines) Right & far right: François II (1560). Heart burial monument: the pillar would have supported an urn containing the King's heart. Marble by Le Primatice (1572) Provenance: Church of the Célestines, Paris |
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Above & right: Tomb of the Dukes of Orleans (1502) Commissioned by King Louis XII from two Milanese artists, Michel d'Aria and Girolamo Rowezzano and two Florentine artists, Doni de Battista and Benedetto da Rovezzano. Provenance: Church of the Célestines, Paris. Restored by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and transferred to Saint-Denis 1817-18. Twelve statues of apostles and saints are set into the niches of the tomb chest. Above: In the foreground is the effigy of Philip, Count of Vertus (1420). He was son of Louis of Orléans and Valentine Visconti. Above this effigy is that of Valentine Visconti (1408). She was wife of Louis, Duke of Orleans. These two effigies can also be seen in the right lower photograph. Next to Valentine's effigy is that of her husband, Louis, Duke of Orleans (1407) but almost only the feet can be seen in the above photograph. He was son of Charles V and Jeanne de Bourbon, brother of Charles VI and father of Charles of Orleans. In the background below on the lower level is the effigy of Charles, Duke of Orléans (1465), 'The Poet', father of Louis XII and son of Louis of Orleans; he was a prisoner of the English for twenty-five years following the Battle of Agincourt Above right: On the lower level is Charles of Orléans and above on the upper level we can just see Louis of Orleans. Note the various animals standing on the legs rather than below the feet. |
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Louis, Duke of Orléans, was the
second son of
Charles V and hence the younger brother of Charles VI, the king who
became insane. He disputed the regency and the guardianship of
the royal children with John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy; the
latter was the son of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy,
son of King John II (the father of Charles V) so that John the
Fearless was cousin of Charles VI, whereas Louis was his brother.Louis was universally unpopular, being regarded as a womanizer and personally extravagant with the royal income. He was also suspected to be the lover of the Queen, Isabeau of Bavaria, although this may well have been a rumour disseminated by his enemies. The royal children were successively kidnapped by both parties until John was made guardian of the Dauphin (the future Charles VII) and regent, the Queen presiding over the regency council. Louis made every effort to sabotage John's rule. In November 1407 the Dukes made vows of reconciliation before the court of France. However three days Louis was stabbed to death in Paris while mounting his horse by fifteen masked men led by a servant of John. John was supported by the people of Paris and the University and so could publically admit to the killing. He was never charged or punished by the law. This act sparked off a bloody civil war between Burgundy and the French royal family for seventy years. It was only ended by the death of John's grandson, Charles the Rash, in battle in 1477. Valentine Visconti was daughter of Gian Galenzzo Visconti, Duke of Milan and Isabelle, daughter of King John II. She inherited the Visconti domains, hence her grandson, Louis XII, embarked on his Italian wars, claiming the Duchy of Milan. She had to gain a papal dispensation to marry Louis because of the close blood relationship. Because of the enmity of Queen Isabeau, who it was rumoured was having an affair with her husband, and her being very close to the King whose mental health was declining, she was exiled from the court. She died within a year of Louis's murder. Charles, Duke of Orléans became duke at thirteen following the murder of his father. In his youth he was influenced by Bernard VI, Count of Armagnac, a son of John II, hence the Orléans faction was known as the Armagnacs. He fought at Agincourt and after the battle was discovered unwounded under a pile of corpses. He was then imprisoned in England for twenty-four years, although he was not strictly confined. Henry V had left instructions that, because he was in line to the French throne, he was not to be released or ransomed. In due course in 1440 and by the effort of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, who was now reconciled with the French king, Charles VII, he was finally released. However Philip stipulated that this release was on condition that he did not seek to avenge the murder of his father, Louis, by Philip's father, John the Fearless. His first wife was Isabelle, the widow of Richard II of England and his third wife Marie of Cleves, by whom he became the father of Louis XII Philip, Count of Vertus became head of the family following his brother's capture at Agincourt. He supported the future Charles VI against the English and Burgundians. He died at twenty-four unmarried and without legitimate issue. |
| It is a great pity that these four beautiful and interesting effigies can scarcely be seen from the ground. The cathedral at Nantes (where entrance is free, incidentally) provides a simple viewing platform so that visitors can see the magnificent monument of the Duke of Brittany from a high point, although the effigies be seen reasonably well from ground level anyway. Saint-Denis should do the same. |
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François
I (1547) and his first
wife Claude of France (1523). White and black marbles
overseen by
Philibert de L'Orme; the first sculptor was François Camoy
and
then
Pierre
Bontemps and
François Marchant(1558)
The monument was based on that of Louis XII in the opposite
transept. |
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| Top:
Louis III (882);
Bottom: Carloman (884)
See Below |
Top: Pépin le Bref (768); Bottom: Berthe 'Au Grand Pied' Wife of Pépin See Below Both commissioned by St Louis. It is said that Pépin was buried unside down to show his 'humility, |
| Stone effigies of c. 1263-64 in the St Louis series | |
| Top View of Some Effigies | |||
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| Carloman | Philip III | Berthe | Isabelle of Aragon |
| Berthe - Some Notes |
| Berthe 'Au Grand Pied' or, in English 'Of
The Big Foot', is the nickname given to the Frankish queen also
called Bertrada of Laon, or Bertrada the Younger'. It only dates
back to he 13th century when it was used by the minstrel, Adenes
Le Roi (c1240-1300). She may have been born with a club foot
although this is not actually referred to in the minstrel's
work. It may refer to the fact that there are myths and legends
that club footed people being a link between the living and
spirit world. In other words nobody knows! It has to be said that it is not a very polite nickname for a lady! |
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Charles V 'The Wise' & Jeanne de Bourbon |
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| Charles V 'Le Wise' (1380) and his wife Jeanne de Bourbon (1377). Upper row left: Drawing of the monument before its partial destruction during the Revolution; this shows the King and Queen, the surrounding structure and the tomb chest. The original effigy of Jeanne was lost, as was most of the structure except for fragments preserved in the Louvre (Upper row right). That shown today is the effigy that covered her entrails in the Church of the Célestines, Paris; note the representation of the leather back she holds. The effigy of the King was sculpted by André Beauneuvu and was commission in 1364 by Charles during his lifetimein order that an accurate portrait could be made. | |||
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   Above: Effigies of Charles VI ( 1368 - 1422 ) and Isabeau of Bavaria (1370 - 1422 ). Right: Drawing of the joint tomb before its destruction with the effigies we see today. The monument was commissioned by Isabeau during her lifetime in 1424 and completed by Pierre de Thoiry in 1429. |
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Charles VII 'The Victorious' & Marie d'Anjou |
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| Charles VII 'The Victorious' (1403 - 1461) & Marie of Anjou (1404 - 1463) Only the busts survive of their effigies and these are now mounted on pillars. A drawing of the original monument is shown above. |
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Constables of France |
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| Above Top and Left:
Bernard Duguesclin
(1380) Charles V ordered the his constable be buried in
Saint-Denis. The work was carried out by
Thomas Privé and
Robert
Loisel in 1397 Above Bottom and Right: Louis de Sancerre (1402) Charles VI ordered his constable be buried in Saint-Denis as his father had done. |
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Dagobert I (639) was the first king to be buried in Saint-Denis. The monument dates from the 13th century and takes the form a funerary niche. The many figures depict the legend of John the Hermit, who dreamed that the soul of the King was stolen away by demons but finally snatched away from their clutches by the intercession of Saints Denis, Maurice and Martin. The statues of Mathilde, his wife, Clovis II, his son, standing at each pier as well as that of Dagobert himself are nineteenth century reproductions. A drawing of the monument with the original figures is shown above. |
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