110-500: The Basilica of Saint-Denis (French: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis , now formally known as the Basilique-cathédrale de Saint-Denis ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis , a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and architecturally as its choir , completed in 1144, is widely considered the first structure to employ all of
220-406: A goldsmith's hammer. The only exceptions are the illustrations to Vita Sancti Eligii that depict episodes before his investiture as bishop. He is generally represented as a bishop, a crosier in his right hand, holding a miniature church of chased gold in the open palm of his left hand. The Petrus Christus panel of 1449 illustrating this article, since the removal of its overpainted halo in 1993,
330-540: A horse reluctant to be shod. He thought it was possessed by demons, so he cut off the horse's foreleg and, while the horse stood on the remaining three legs and watched, he re-shod the hoof on the amputated leg, before miraculously re-attaching the leg to the horse. Eligius died on 1 December 660 and was buried at Noyon. Audoin of Rouen recorded the life and deeds of Eligius in his hagiography , Vita Sancti Eligii . At one point, Audoin lovingly recalls Eligius' increasingly ascetical appearance during their time serving at
440-400: A major city named Saint Denis, located in the fictional American state of Lemoyne. The fictional city was based on New Orleans , and both share a history of being former French territories. [REDACTED] Media related to Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) at Wikimedia Commons Saint Eligius Eligius ( French : Éloi ; 11 June 588 – 1 December 660), venerated as Saint Eligius ,
550-617: A marked departure from the Romanesque. The portals themselves were sealed by gilded bronze doors, ornamented with scenes from Christ's Passion. They clearly recorded 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; Receive, stern Judge, the prayers of your Suger, Let me be mercifully numbered among your sheep. Suger's western extension
660-402: A massive western narthex, incorporating a new façade and three chapels on the first floor level. In the new design, massive vertical buttresses separated the three doorways and horizontal string-courses and window arcades clearly marked out the divisions. This clear delineation of parts was to influence subsequent west façade designs as a common theme in the development of Gothic architecture and
770-471: 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. The Portal of Valois was the last of the Gothic structures planned by Suger. It was designed for the original building, but was not yet begun when Suger died in 1151. In the 13th century it was moved to the end of the new transept on
880-488: A much clearer focus as the French 'royal necropolis', or burial place. That plan was fulfilled in 1264 under Abbot Matthew of Vendôme when the bones of 16 former kings and queens were relocated to new tombs arranged around the crossing, eight Carolingian monarchs to the south and eight Capetians to the north. These tombs, featuring lifelike carved recumbent effigies or gisants lying on raised bases, were badly damaged during
990-401: A nunnery for virgins. After the finding of the body of Quentin of Amiens , Eligius erected in the saint's honour a church to which was joined a monastery under Irish rule. He also discovered the bodies of Piatus of Tournai and his martyred companions, and in 654 removed the remains of Fursey , the celebrated Irish missionary (died 650). There is a legend that Eligius resolved the problem of
1100-524: A parish church. It did not become a cathedral again until 1966, with the creation of the new diocese of Saint-Denis. The formal title is now the "Baslilique-cathédrale de Saint-Denis". In December 2016, 170 years after the north tower's dismantlement and following several false starts, the Ministry of Culture again proposed its reconstruction after concluding it was technically feasible—albeit without public funding. An association, Suivez la flèche ("Follow
1210-461: 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 Gaul , and it is the greatest wonder of all to this very day. During his second coronation at Saint-Denis, King Pepin
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#17327658711921320-429: A royal order banning the sale of pontifical offices and mandating that such offices be earned through having good character and an ethical life. On the death of Acarius , Bishop of Noyon–Tournai , on 14 March 642, Eligius was made his successor, with the unanimous approbation of clergy and people. "So the unwilling goldsmith was tonsured and constituted guardian of the towns or municipalities of Vermandois which include
1430-789: A series of column statues, representing the kings and queens of the Old Testament. These were removed in 1771 and were mostly destroyed during the French Revolution, though a number of the heads can be seen in the Musée de Cluny in Paris. The bronze doors of the central portal are modern, but are a faithful reproduction of the original doors, which depicted the Passion of Christ and the Resurrection . One other original feature
1540-482: A small chapel erected on Denis' tomb, which by then had become a popular destination for pilgrims. It was this chapel that Dagobert I had rebuilt and turned into a royal monastery. Dagobert granted many privileges to the monastery: independence from the bishop of Paris, the right to hold a market , and, most importantly, he was buried in Saint-Denis; a tradition which was followed by almost all his successors. During
1650-422: Is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France . It is located 9.4 km (5.8 mi) from the centre of Paris . Saint-Denis is the second most populated suburb of Paris (after Boulogne-Billancourt ), with a population of 113,116 at the 2020 census. It is a subprefecture ( French : sous-préfecture ) of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis , being the seat of the arrondissement of Saint-Denis . It
1760-586: Is also part of the Métropole du Grand Paris . Saint-Denis is home to the royal necropolis of the Basilica of Saint-Denis and was also the location of the associated abbey . The commune is also home to France's national football and rugby stadium, the Stade de France , which was built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup . The stadium also hosted the rugby and athletics events, along with the closing ceremony , for
1870-503: Is divided into three sections, each with its own entrance, representing the Holy Trinity . A crenellated parapet runs across the west front and connects the towers (still unfinished in 1140), illustrating that the church front was the symbolic entrance to the celestial Jerusalem. This new façade, 34 metres (112 ft) wide and 20 metres (66 ft) deep, has three portals, the central one larger than those on either side, reflecting
1980-790: Is now recognised in the Lehman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the Vocational Portrait of a Goldsmith , and not as a depiction of Eligius. The legend of the shoeing of the horse is depicted in a pre- Reformation carving in the Wincanton Parish Church, Slapton Church Northamptonshire, England, a tapestry in the Hospices de Beaune (Hotel Dieu) in Beaune , France, as
2090-523: Is said to have created the first truly Gothic building. In the following century the master-builder Pierre de Montreuil rebuilt the nave and the transepts in the new Rayonnant Gothic style. The abbey church became a cathedral on the formation of the Diocese of Saint-Denis by Pope Paul VI in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis , currently (since 2009) Pascal Delannoy . Although known as
2200-440: Is the noble edifice which is pervaded by the new light." Suger's great innovation in the new choir was the replacement of the heavy dividing walls in the apse and ambulatory with slender columns, so that the interior of that part of the church was filled with light. He described "A circular string of chapels, by virtue of which the whole church would shine with the wonderful and uninterrupted light of most luminous windows, pervading
2310-584: The 2022 UEFA Champions League Final , in which fans of visiting football team Liverpool F.C. were attacked by police before the game and by groups of local youths after the game, with the chaos becoming an issue in the 2022 French legislative election . Saint-Denis has 29 public preschools/nursery schools ( écoles maternelles ). Saint-Denis has 30 public elementary schools ( écoles élémentaires ), with one of those schools (École Élémentaire Maria Casarès) being an intercommunal school. Saint-Denis has eight public junior high schools ( collèges ). Saint-Denis has
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#17327658711922420-457: The 2024 Summer Olympics . The athletics events & closing ceremony for the 2024 Summer Paralympics were also held at the stadium. Saint-Denis is a formerly industrial suburb currently changing its economic base. It is set to become the second most populated commune in Île-de-France after Paris on 1 January 2025 upon the absorption of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine to its north, following a vote of both municipal councils on 30 May 2024. Until
2530-634: The Confraternity of Saint Éloi . This follows the tradition of the May offering, usually a religious painting, made to the Cathedral between 1630 and 1707 by the goldsmiths of Paris. The tradition of the Guild Chapel was revived in 1953 by the Paris goldsmiths who provided the altar, crucifix above it and a statue of Eligius. Eligius is invariably depicted in bishop's garb, alongside his emblem,
2640-600: The Middle Ages , because of the privileges granted by Dagobert, Saint-Denis grew to become very important. Merchants from all over Europe (and indeed from the Byzantine Empire ) came to visit its market. In 1140, Abbot Suger , counselor to the King, granted further privileges to the citizens of Saint-Denis. He also started the work of enlarging the Basilica of Saint Denis that still exists today, often cited as
2750-469: The monastery of Solignac near Limoges, which he founded in 632 at a villa he had purchased, and also at the convent he founded at Paris, where three hundred virgins were under the guidance of the Abbess Aurea . He also built the basilica of St. Paul and restored the basilica at Paris that was devoted to Martial , the patron bishop-saint of Limoges. Eligius also erected several fine tombs in honour of
2860-450: The regalia , including the sword used for crowning the kings and the royal sceptre, were kept at Saint-Denis between coronations. The site originated as a Gallo-Roman cemetery in late Roman times. The archaeological remains still lie beneath the cathedral; the graves indicate a mixture of Christian and pre-Christian burial practices. Around the year 475 AD, St. Genevieve purchased some land and built Saint-Denys de la Chapelle . In 636, on
2970-458: The "Basilica of St Denis", the cathedral has not been granted the title of Minor Basilica by the Vatican . The 86-metre (282-foot) tall spire, dismantled in the 19th century, is to be rebuilt. The project, initiated more than 30 years ago, was to have begun in May 2020, and is expected to take about 11 years at a cost of about €28 million. The cathedral is on the site where Saint Denis ,
3080-418: The 12th century rebuilding. 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 storeys of the narthex , before going on to build the new choir, displayed
3190-717: The 1920s, the city had acquired the nickname of la ville rouge , the red city. Until Jacques Doriot in 1934, all mayors of Saint-Denis were members of the Communist Party . During the Second World War , after the defeat of France , Saint-Denis was occupied by the Germans on 13 June 1940. There were several acts of sabotage and strikes , most notably on 14 April 1942 at the Hotchkiss factory. After an insurgency which started on 18 August 1944, Saint-Denis
3300-507: The 3rd century, Saint-Denis was a small settlement called Catolacus or Catulliacum , probably meaning "estate of Catullius", a Gallo-Roman landowner. About 250 AD, the first bishop of Paris , Saint Denis , was martyred on Montmartre hill and buried in Catolacus . Shortly after 250 AD, his grave became a shrine and a pilgrimage centre, with the building of the Abbey of Saint Denis , and
3410-545: The Areopagite , a 6th century mystic who equated the slightest reflection or glint with divine light. Suger's own words were carved in the nave: "For bright is that which is brightly coupled with the bright/and bright is the noble edifice which is pervaded by the new light." Following Suger's example, large stained glass windows filling the interior with mystical light became a prominent feature of Gothic architecture. Two different architects, or master masons, were involved in
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3520-459: The Franks, is said to have commissioned Eligius to make a throne of gold adorned with precious stones. And from that which he had taken for a single piece of work, he was able to make two. Incredibly, he could do it all from the same weight for he had accomplished the work commissioned from him without any fraud or mixture of siliquae , or any other fraudulence. Not claiming fragments bitten off by
3630-482: The Franks, loved him so much that he would often take himself out of the crowds of princes, optimates, dukes or bishops around him and seek private counsel from Eligius. Eligius took advantage of this royal favour to obtain alms for the poor and to ransom captive Romans, Gauls, Bretons, Moors and especially Saxons, who were arriving daily at the slave market in Marseilles. He founded several monasteries, and with
3740-441: 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
3850-595: The King the protection of the Saint. It was taken to the Abbey only when France was in danger. The flag was retired in 1488, when the Parisians opened the gates of Paris to invading English and Burgundian armies. Suger began his rebuilding project at the western end of St Denis, demolishing the old Carolingian facade with its single, centrally located door. He extended the old nave westwards by an additional four bays and added
3960-520: The Short made a vow to rebuild the old abbey. The first church mentioned in the chronicles was begun in 754 and completed under Charlemagne , who was present at its consecration in 775. By 832 the Abbey had been granted a remunerative whaling concession on the Cotentin Peninsula . According to one of the Abbey's many foundation myths a leper, who was sleeping in the nearly completed church
4070-584: The Spire"), chaired by Patrick Braouezec , has since been established to support the reconstruction, with the aim of raising the necessary funds by opening the reconstruction works to the general public, along the model of the Guédelon Castle . In March 2018, the culture ministry signed an accord with the association, officially launching the reconstruction project, with works expected to commence in May 2020. A year later, French scholars were still divided on
4180-659: The cemetery of the Madeleine to Saint-Denis. The last king to be entombed in Saint-Denis was Louis XVIII in 1824. In 1813 François Debret was named the chief architect of the cathedral; he proceeded, over thirty years, to repair the Revolutionary damage. He was later best known for his design of the Salle Le Peletier , the primary opera house of Paris before the Opéra Garnier in 1873. He replaced
4290-651: The chapel of the Petit-Augustins, which later became the Museum of French Monuments . Most of the medieval monastic buildings were demolished in 1792. Although the church itself was left standing, it was profaned, its treasury confiscated and its reliquaries and liturgical furniture melted down for their metallic value. Some objects, including a chalice and aquamanile donated to the abbey in Suger's time, were successfully hidden and survive to this day. The jamb figures of
4400-463: The chevet, to support the upper walls, and to make possible the enormous windows installed there. The masons used the same engineering concept that was used at the Abbey of Saint-Martin-des-Champs to support the large chapel windows . At the same time, the transept was enlarged and given large rose windows in the new rayonnant style, divided into multiple lancet windows topped by trilobe windows and other geometric forms inscribed in circles. The walls of
4510-504: The convent and also renovated the buildings of the royal abbey. During the French Revolution, not only was the city renamed "Franciade" from 1793 to 1803, but the royal necropolis was looted and destroyed. The remains were removed from the tombs and thrown together; during the French Restoration , since they could not be sorted out anymore, they were reburied in a common ossuary . The last king to be interred in Saint-Denis
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4620-502: The door, which represent kings, probably those of the Old Testament, while the tympanum over the door illustrates the martyrdom of Saint-Denis and his companions Eleuthere and Rusticus. This portal was among the last works commissioned by Suger; he died in 1151, before it was completed. The original sculpture that was destroyed in the Revolution was replaced with sculpture from the early 19th century, made by Felix Brun. The tympanum of
4730-547: The east and the west front. Like the other Gothic churches in the Ile-de-France, its walls had three levels; large arcades of massive pillars on the ground floor; a narrow triforium or passageway midway up the wall; originally windowless; and a row of high windows the clerestory , above. Slender columns rose from the pillars up the walls to support the four-part rib vaults. As a result of the Rayonnant reconstruction in
4840-520: The east end of the cathedral, was one of the first parts of the structure rebuilt into the Gothic style. The work was commissioned by Abbot Suger in 1140 and completed in 1144. It was considerably modified under the young King Louis IX and his mother, Blanche of Castille, the Regent of the Kingdom, beginning in 1231. The apse was built much higher, along with the nave. Large flying buttresses were added to
4950-456: The east end. During important religious celebrations, the interior of the church was lit with 1250 lamps. Beneath the apse, in imitation of St. Peter's in Rome, a crypt was constructed, with a Confession, or martyr's chapel, in the center. Inside this was a platform on which the sarcophagus of Denis was displayed, with those of his companions Rusticus and Eleutherus on either side. Around the platform
5060-402: The elements of Gothic architecture . The basilica became a place of pilgrimage and a necropolis containing the tombs of the kings of France , including nearly every king from the 10th century to Louis XVIII in the 19th century. Henry IV of France came to Saint-Denis formally to renounce his Protestant faith and become a Catholic . The queens of France were crowned at Saint-Denis, and
5170-426: The end of the north transept in the 13th century. According to Suger, the original entrance on the north did not have sculpture, but mosaic, which Suger replaced by sculpture in 1540. It is considered an important step in the history of Gothic sculpture, because of the skill of the carving, and the lack of rigidity of the figures. There are six figures in the embrasures and thirty figures in the voussures, or arches above
5280-728: The extension of the metro to Saint-Denis-Université. The stadium is used by the national football and rugby teams for friendly matches. The Coupe de France , Coupe de la Ligue and Top 14 final matches are held there, as well as the Meeting Areva international athletics event. Since 2000, Saint-Denis has worked with seven neighbouring communes ( Aubervilliers , Villetaneuse , Pierrefitte-sur-Seine , Épinay-sur-Seine , L'Île-Saint-Denis (since 2003), Stains (since 2003), and La Courneuve (since 2005)) in Plaine Commune . In 2003, together with Paris, Saint-Denis hosted
5390-405: The extent that ambassadors first sought him out for his counsel and to pay their respects to him before going to the king. He made some enemies. Eligius was able to induce Judicael to make a pact with Dagobert at a meeting at the king's villa of Creil (636–37); this success increased his influence: Indeed King Dagobert, swift, handsome and famous with no rival among any of the earlier kings of
5500-539: The fabric of the building was itself regarded as sacred. 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 structure altogether was about eighty meters long, with an imposing facade , a nave divided into three sections by two rows of marble columns, a transept, and apse and at
5610-431: The façade representing Old Testament royalty, mistakenly identified as images of royal French kings and queens, were removed from the portals and the tympana sculpture defaced. In 1794, the government decided to remove the lead tiles from the roof, to melt them down to make bullets. This left the interior of the church badly exposed to the weather. The church was reconsecrated by Napoléon in 1806, and he designated it as
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#17327658711925720-509: The file or using the devouring flame of the furnace for an excuse, but filling all faithfully with gems, he happily earned his happy reward. Among other goldsmithing work soon entrusted to Eligius were the bas-reliefs for the tomb of Germain , Bishop of Paris . Clotaire took Eligius into the royal household and appointed him master of the mint at Marseilles . After the death of Clotaire in 629, his son Dagobert I appointed Eligius his chief counsellor. Eligius' reputation spread rapidly, to
5830-505: The first bishop of Paris , is believed to have been buried. According to the "Life of Saint Genevieve", written in about 520, he was sent by Pope Clement I to evangelise the Parisii . He was arrested and condemned by the Roman authorities. Along with two of his followers, the priest Rusticus and deacon Eleutherius, he was decapitated on the hill of Montmartre in about 250 AD. According to
5940-660: The first example of high early Gothic Architecture . The new church was consecrated in 1144. Saint-Denis was depopulated in the Hundred Years' War ; of its 10,000 citizens, only 3,000 remained after the war. During the French Wars of Religion , the Battle of Saint-Denis was fought between Catholics and Protestants on 10 November 1567. The Protestants were defeated, but the Catholic commander Anne de Montmorency
6050-469: The following senior high schools/sixth-form colleges: Lycée Bartholdi , Lycée Paul Éluard , Lycée Suger , and Lycée d’application de l’E.N.N.A. Saint-Denis has one private elementary, middle, and high school ( Ensemble Scolaire Jean-Baptiste de la Salle-Notre Dame de la Compassion ) and one private middle and high school ( Collège et lycée Saint-Vincent-de-Paul ). Saint-Denis is twinned with: The 2018 video game Red Dead Redemption 2 features
6160-465: The form of a domed colonnaded " rotunda ", adjoining the north transept of the basilica and containing the tomb of the Valois . and the display of the skeleton of a baleine whale in the nave in 1771. Greater harm was done with the removal of the early Gothic column-statues which Suger had used to decorate the west front. (They were replaced with replicas in the 19th century). In 1700, reconstruction began of
6270-508: The future site for his own tomb and those of his intended dynasty. He also ordered the construction of three chapels to honour the last French kings, created a chapel under the authority of his uncle, Cardinal Fesch, which was decorated with richly-carved choir stalls and marquetry from the Château de Gaillon . (See "Choir Stalls" section below). After Napoleon's downfall, the ashes of the previous king, Louis XVI , were ceremoniously moved from
6380-469: The great grace of tears." Several writings of Eligius have survived: a sermon in which he combats the pagan practices of his time, a homily on the Last Judgment and a letter written in 645 in which he begs for the prayers of Bishop Desiderius of Cahors . There are fourteen other pseudepigraphical homilies that are no longer attributed to him. An important study about his work as a goldsmith
6490-764: The highest rate of violent crime in France with 1,899 violent robberies and 1,031 assaults (an average of six robberies and three assaults per day) To fight insecurity and delinquency, the Minister of Public Safety Jean-Marc Ayrault increased national police force in the Basilica district and the Landy Nord, classifying them as a Priority Security Zone 'ZSP' since 2012. In 2014, a total of 14,437 crimes were reported for 110,000 inhabitants. Saint-Denis made international headlines for violent disorder before and after
6600-529: The identity of the architect or master mason remains 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'. During the following centuries, the cathedral was pillaged twice; once during the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) and again during the Wars of Religion (1562–1598). Damage
6710-412: The interior beauty." One of these chapels was dedicated to Saint Osmanna , and held her relics. Suger's masons drew on elements which evolved or had been introduced to Romanesque architecture: the rib vault with pointed arches, and exterior buttresses which made it possible to have larger windows and to eliminate interior walls. It was the first time that these features had all been drawn together; and
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#17327658711926820-418: The king's consent, sent his servants through towns and villages to take down the bodies of criminals who had been executed and give them decent burial. Eligius was a source of edification at the royal court, where he and his friend Audoin of Rouen lived according to the strict Irish monastic rule that had been introduced into Gaul by Columbanus . Eligius introduced this rule, either entirely or in part, into
6930-423: The legend, he is said to have carried his head four leagues to the Roman settlement of Catulliacus, the site of the current church, and indicated that it was where he wanted to be buried. A martyrium or shrine-mausoleum was erected on the site of his grave in about 313 AD, and was enlarged into a basilica with the addition of tombs and monuments under Saint Genevieve . These including a royal tomb, that of Aregonde,
7040-483: The life of Eligius, who is still very popular with goldsmiths, farriers and car mechanics. Eligius is the patron saint of horses and cattle and is also the patron saint of goldsmiths, blacksmiths, metalworkers in general, numismatists/coin collectors and the British Army corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). A mass is celebrated around 9 December at Notre Dame de Paris for members of
7150-562: The metropolis, Tournai , which was once a royal city, and Noyon and Ghent and Kortrijk of Flanders ." The inhabitants of his new diocese were pagans for the most part. He undertook the conversion of the Flemings, Frisians, Suevi, and the other Germanic tribes along the North Sea coast. He made frequent missionary excursions and also founded a great many monasteries and churches. In his own episcopal city of Noyon he built and endowed
7260-475: The monastic buildings adjacent to the church. This was not completed until the mid-18th century. Into these buildings Napoleon installed a school for the daughters of members of the French Legion of Honour , which still is in operation. Due to its connections to the French monarchy and proximity to Paris, the abbey of Saint-Denis was a prime target of revolutionary vandalism. On Friday, 14 September 1792,
7370-513: The monks celebrated their last services in the abbey church; the monastery was dissolved the next day. The church was used to store grain and flour. In 1793, the National Convention , the revolutionary government, ordered the violation of the sepulchres and the destruction of the royal tombs, but agreed to create a commission to select those monuments which were of historical interest for preservation. In 1798, these were transferred to
7480-413: The nave on both sides were entirely filled with windows, each composed of four lancets topped by a rose, filling the entire space above the triforium. The upper walls, like the chevet, were supported by flying buttresses whose bases were placed between the chapels alongside the nave. The Porte de Valois, or north portal, was originally built in the 12th century, near the end of Suger's life, then rebuilt at
7590-453: The new structure, which resulted in the spire and tower collapsing under their own weight in 1845. Debret resigned and was replaced by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc , who had the support of Prosper Mérimée , the French author who led campaign for the restoration of ruined Gothic architecture in France. Viollet-le-Duc continued working on the Abbey until his death in 1879, and replaced many of the creations conceived by Debret. Viollet-le-Duc focused on
7700-468: The new style evolved radically from the previous Romanesque architecture by the lightness of the structure and the unusually large size of the stained glass windows. The new architecture was full of symbolism. The twelve columns in the choir represented the twelve Apostles, and the light represented the Holy Spirit. Like many French clerics in the 12th century AD, he was a follower of Pseudo-Dionysius
7810-459: 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 mis-shapen patch on a marble column was said to be the leper's former skin, which stuck there when Christ discarded it. Having been consecrated by Christ,
7920-511: The north side of the church. The sculpture of the portal includes six standing figures in the embracements and thirty figures in the voussures, or arches, over the doorway, which probably represent the Kings of the Old Testament. The scene in the Tympanum over the doorway depicts the martyrdom of Saint Denis. In their realism and finesse, they were a landmark in Gothic sculpture. The new structure
8030-780: The north-western part of La Chapelle-Saint-Denis. During the 19th century, Saint-Denis became increasingly industrialised. Transport was much improved: in 1824 the Canal Saint-Denis was constructed, linking the Canal de l'Ourcq in the northeast of Paris to the River Seine at the level of L'Île-Saint-Denis , and in 1843 the first railway reached Saint-Denis. By the end of the century, there were 80 factories in Saint-Denis. The presence of so many industries also gave rise to an important socialist movement . In 1892, Saint-Denis elected its first socialist administration, and by
8140-460: The opening game. Inhabitants of Saint-Denis are called Dionysiens in French. An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. An immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still considered an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants. As of 2008 18.1% of
8250-462: The orders of Dagobert I , the relics of Saint Denis , a patron saint of France, were reinterred in the basilica. The relics of St-Denis, which had been transferred to the parish church of the town in 1795, were brought back again to the abbey in 1819. In the 12th century, the Abbot Suger rebuilt portions of the abbey church using innovative structural and decorative features. In doing so, he
8360-622: The outside walls, thanks to buttresses on the exterior, are filled with windows. The new system allowed light to pass into the interior of the choir. The disambulatory connects with the five radiating chapels at the east end of the cathedral, which have their own large windows. To give them greater unity, the five chapels share the same system of vaulted roofs. To make the walls between the chapels even less visible, they are masked with networks of slender columns and tracery. Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis Saint-Denis ( / ˌ s æ̃ d ə ˈ n iː / , French: [sɛ̃d(ə)ni] )
8470-486: The poor. A legend emerged of him once healing a demon-possessed horse by amputating and miraculously re-attaching the horse's foreleg. Eligius is best known for being the patron saint of horses and those who work with them. He is also the patron saint of goldsmiths, metalworkers, coin collectors, veterinarians, and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), a corps of the British Army . Eligius
8580-671: The population of Saint-Denis was Maghrebian. Melissa K. Brynes, author of French Like Us? Municipal Policies and North African Migrants in the Parisian Banlieues, 1945–1975 , wrote that in the middle of the 20th century, "few of [the Paris-area communes with North African populations] were as engaged with their migrant communities as the Dionysiens." Saint-Denis is served by Metro , RER , tram , and Transilien connections. The Saint-Denis rail station, built in 1846,
8690-550: The rebuilding of the Carolingian nave, which remained sandwiched incongruously between Suger's Gothic works to the east and west. Both the nave and the upper parts of Suger's choir were replaced in the Rayonnant Gothic style. From the start it appears that Abbot Odo, with the approval of the Regent Blanche of Castile and her son, the young King Louis IX , planned for the new nave and its large crossing to have
8800-424: The relative width of the central nave and lateral aisles. This tripartite arrangement was clearly influenced by the late 11th century Norman-Romanesque façades of the abbey churches of St Etienne . It also shared with them a three-storey elevation and flanking towers . Only the south tower survives; the north tower was dismantled following a tornado which struck in 1846. The west front was originally decorated with
8910-463: The relics of Martin of Tours , the national saint of the Franks, and Denis , who was chosen patron saint by the king. On the death of Dagobert in 639, the queen consort Nanthild took the reins of government, the king Clovis II being a child. During this regency, Eligius was ordained into the priesthood in 640. He then launched a successful campaign against simony in the Church which resulted in
9020-455: The royal court: He was tall with a rosy face. He had a pretty head of hair with curly locks. His hands were honest and his fingers long. He had the face of an angel and a prudent look. At first, he was used to wear gold and gems on his clothes, having belts composed of gold and gems and elegantly jeweled purses, linens covered with red metal and golden sacs hemmed with gold and all of the most precious fabrics including all of silk. But all of this
9130-564: The second European Social Forum . On 13–14 November 2015, Saint-Denis was the main location of a series of mass shootings and hostage-takings just outside the Stade de France. On 18 November, a major follow-up raid occurred. Several suspects were killed, including alleged mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud . In 2016, Saint-Denis was one of the host cities of the UEFA European Football Championships, including
9240-600: The settlement was renamed Saint-Denis. In 1793, during the French Revolution , under the dictatorship of Robespierre, Saint-Denis was renamed Franciade in a gesture of rejection of religion. In 1803, however, under the Consulate of Napoléon Bonaparte , the city reverted to its former name of Saint-Denis. During its history, Saint-Denis has been closely associated with the French royal house. Starting from Dagobert I (c. 603–639), almost every French king
9350-425: The shrine of St Denis. In the 12th century, thanks largely to Suger, the Basilica became a principal sanctuary of French Royalty, rivalling Reims Cathedral , where the kings were crowned. The Abbey also kept the regalia of the coronation, including the robes, crowns and sceptre. Beginning in 1124, and until the mid-15th century, the kings departed for war carrying the oriflamme , or battle flag, of St. Denis, to give
9460-418: The shrine: :Above all, Eligius fabricated a mausoleum for the holy martyr Denis in the city of Paris with a wonderful marble ciborium 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
9570-461: The south portal illustrates the last days of the Denis and his companions before their martyrdom. The piedroits are filled with medallions representing the labours of the days of month. The nave, the portion to the west of the church reserved for ordinary worshippers, and the choir, the portion to the east reserved for the clergy, were rebuilt into the Gothic style in the 13th century, after the apse at
9680-472: The subsequent regency of Nanthild , the queen consort, Eligius was ordained a priest and campaigned against simony in the Church. Appointed Bishop of Noyon–Tournai in 642, he founded many monasteries and churches while working to convert the pagan population of Flanders to Christianity. Despite his background as a goldsmith, Eligius became increasingly ascetic during his time at the royal court and used his influence to ransom captive slaves and care for
9790-412: The tombs, rearranging and transforming portions of the interior into a vast museum of French sculpture. In the 1860s Emperor Napoleon III asked Viollet-le-Duc to construct an imperial section in the crypt for him and his dynasty, but he was deposed and went into exile before it was begun. In 1895, when the chapter created by Napoleon was dissolved, the church lost its cathedral rank and reverted to being
9900-422: The triforium was given windows, and the upper walls were entirely filled with glass, which reached upward into the arches of the vaults, flooding the church with light. The chevet had been constructed by Suger in record time, in just four years, between 1140 and 1144, and was one of the first great realisations of Gothic architecture. The double disambulatory is divided not by walls but by two rows of columns, while
10010-492: The upper stained glass windows in the nave with depictions of the historic kings of France, and added new windows to the transept depicting the renovation, and the July 1837 visit to the Cathedral of King Louis Philippe. On 9 June, the spire of the tower was struck by lightning and destroyed. Debret rapidly put into place a new spire, but he did not fully understand the principles of Gothic architecture. He made errors in his plans for
10120-512: The wife of King Clothar I . Dagobert I , King of the Franks (reigned 628 to 637), transformed the church into the Abbey of Saint Denis, a Benedictine monastery in 632. It soon grew to a community of more than five hundred monks, plus their servants. Dagobert also commissioned a new shrine to house the saint's remains, which was created by his chief councillor, Eligius , a goldsmith by training. An early vita of Saint Eligius describes
10230-424: The €25 million proposal to reconstruct the spire. In 2023, hundreds of anonymous graves dating from the 5th to the 14th century were discovered in the Basilica. In the same year, the Basilica's stained glass windows which have been the central focus of a project spanning 25 years, entered the final stage of restoration with a total cost exceeding 2 million euros. The west front of the church, dedicated on 9 June 1140,
10340-404: Was Louis XVIII (1755 – 1824). After France became a republic and an empire , Saint-Denis lost its association with royalty. On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes. On that occasion, the commune of La Chapelle-Saint-Denis was disbanded and divided between the city of Paris, Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen , and Aubervilliers . Saint-Denis received
10450-548: Was a Frankish goldsmith, courtier, and bishop who was chief counsellor to Dagobert I and later Bishop of Noyon–Tournai . His deeds were recorded in Vita Sancti Eligii , written by his friend Audoin of Rouen . Born into a Gallo-Roman family, Eligius found success as a goldsmith at the Merovingian royal court of Clotaire II and served as chief counsellor to Dagobert I until Dagobert's death in 639. Under
10560-474: Was a corridor where pilgrims could circulate, and bays with windows. Traces of painted decoration of this original crypt can be seen in some of the bays. The crypt was not large enough for the growing number of pilgrims who came, so in about 832 the abbot Hilduin built a second crypt, to the west of the first, and a small new chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary was constructed next to the apse. The new crypt
10670-438: Was added by Suger's builders; a rose window over the central portal. 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 chevet , at
10780-419: Was an accomplished fund-raiser, acquiring treasures for the cathedral and collecting an enormous sum for its rebuilding. In about 1135 he began reconstructing and enlarging the abbey. In his famous account of the work undertaken during his administration, Suger explained his decision to rebuild the church, due to the decrepit state of the old structure and its inability to cope with the crowds of pilgrims visiting
10890-400: Was born into a Gallo-Roman family at the villa of Chaptelat , Aquitaine (modern-day France), six miles north of Limoges . His father, recognising unusual talent in his son, sent him to the goldsmith Abbo, master of the mint at Limoges. Later Eligius went to Neustria , the palace of the Franks , where he worked under Babo, the royal treasurer, on whose recommendation Clotaire II , king of
11000-415: Was buried in the Basilica. However, Saint-Denis is older than that. In the 2nd century, there was a Gallo-Roman village named Catolacus on the location that Saint-Denis occupies today. Saint Denis , the first bishop of Paris and patron saint of France, was martyred in about 250 AD and buried in the cemetery of Catolacus. Denis' tomb quickly became a place of worship. Around 475 AD, Sainte Geneviève had
11110-447: Was but fleeting ostentation from the beginning and beneath he wore a hairshirt next to his flesh and, as he proceeded to perfection, he gave the ornaments for the needs of the poor. Then you would see him, whom you had once seen gleaming with the weight of the gold and gems that covered him, go covered in the vilest clothing with a rope for a belt. Besides Eligius' self-mortification, Audoin recalls his propensity for weeping, "For he had
11220-415: Was completed in 1140 and the three new chapels in the narthex were consecrated on 9 June of that year, but the Romanesque nave between was yet unchanged. He wrote about the new narthex at the west end and proposed chapels at the east: "Once the new rear part is joined to the part in front, the church shines with its middle part brightened. For bright is that which is brightly coupled with the bright, and bright
11330-704: Was contributed by the German scholar Hayo Vierck to the Joachim Werner Festschrift in 1974. The feast day of Eligius is celebrated on 1 December. Eligius is particularly honored in Flanders , in the province of Antwerp , and at Tournai , Kortrijk , Ghent , Bruges , and Douai . During the Middle Ages his relics were the object of special veneration and were repeatedly divided and transferred to other resting places, in 881, 1066, 1137, 1255, and 1306. A good deal of legend has gathered around
11440-521: Was extensively rebuilt under Suger in the 12th century. Abbot Suger (c. 1081 – 1151), the patron of the rebuilding of the Abbey church, had begun his career in the church at the age of ten, and rose to become the Abbot in 1122. He was a school companion and then confidant and minister of Louis VI and then of his son Louis VII , and was a regent of Louis VII when the King was absent on the Crusades. He
11550-577: Was finished and dedicated on 11 June 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 . Suger died in 1151 with the Gothic reconstruction incomplete. In 1231, Abbot Odo Clement began work on
11660-557: Was formerly the only one in Saint-Denis, but today serves as an interchange station for the Transilien Paris – Nord (Line H) suburban rail line and RER line D . The French rail company SNCF is also based in the town. Paris Métro Line 12 : Paris Métro Line 13 : Tramways in Île-de-France : Regional Rail: Saint-Denis has a comparatively higher crime rate than most surroundings communes , with higher rates of robbery, drugs offences and murder. In 2010 Saint-Denis had
11770-517: Was killed. In 1590, the city surrendered to Henry IV , who converted to Catholicism in 1593 in the abbey of Saint-Denis. King Louis XIV (1638–1715) started several industries in Saint-Denis: weaving and spinning mills and dyehouses. His successor, Louis XV (1710–1774), whose daughter was a nun in the Carmelite convent , took a lively interest in the city: he added a chapel to
11880-546: Was largely limited to broken tombs and precious objects stolen from the altars and treasury. Many modifications were made under Marie de' Medici and later royal families. These included the construction of chapel adjoining the north transept to serve as a tomb for the monarchs of the Valois Dynasty (later demolished). A plan of c. 1700 by Félibien shows the Valois Chapel , a large mortuary chapel in
11990-452: Was liberated by the 2nd Armored Division (France) on 27 August 1944. After the war, the economic crisis of the 1970s and 1980s hit the city, which was strongly dependent on its heavy industry. During the 1990s, however, the city started to grow again. The 1998 FIFA World Cup provided an enormous impulse; the main stadium for the tournament, the Stade de France , was built in Saint-Denis, along with many infrastructural improvements, such as
12100-482: 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 windows . As with Suger's earlier rebuilding work,
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