[Ill.u.s.tration: MONUMENT OF FRANcOIS I^{er.}]
Many marble tombs were also destroyed, some canopied, some resting upon columns, others rec.u.mbent, the fragments of which were built up into a pedestal for a figure of Liberty in the Place d"armes opposite the church, a barbarous proceeding, surely; but forget not that the slabs and broken tombs in our old burial grounds are treated much in the same fashion, and piled up into pyramids to ornament the gardens. The transportation of what was saved from the wreck to Paris was no mean work. Think of the huge monument of Francois I., and about eighty statues! The Convention had no cash to spend upon art; with its fourteen armies defending the frontiers, it had enough expense without paying for the carriage of monuments and such like. And so Lenoir conceived the idea of stopping the military as they returned with empty waggons.
Arrived in Paris the difficulties did not end. Statues were chopped about to enable them to fill certain s.p.a.ces in the museum of the Pet.i.ts-Augustins, rec.u.mbent figures found themselves standing upright; fragments of one tomb were taken to decorate another. But taking it all in all, the museum arranged by Lenoir must have been very imposing. The magnificent tomb of Francois I. stood in a chapel of the church, now occupied by casts of the works of Michael-Angelo. Louis XII. had a place of honour in another _salle_. But no sooner was all arranged, indeed before the huge Henri II. monument had been set up, a royal decree of 16th December, 1816, ordered the museum to be closed, the building to be turned into the ecole des Beaux-Arts, and all the kings and queens to be marched back to S. Denis and the other churches whence they came. So swiftly was the order carried out, that the poor old sovereigns became still more mutilated; some were stowed away in the cellars, others were re-erected upon principles of the greatest economy. If the revolutionists tore down the monuments, the restored monarchists did not take the trouble to set them up again; and those who went to study art in the new schools were enabled to see the respect with which Mediaeval art was treated. Statues, canopies, columns, were tossed about anywhere; until Louis XVIII. decided that they should be reinstated at S. Denis.
Then strange things occurred. The effigies were matched indiscriminately, and every king was placed by the side of a queen, whether his own or another"s. Hence "singuliers incestes de pierre, et des adulteres de marbre de la pire espece. On n"imaginerait jamais ce qui se commit d"immoralites archeologiques sous les voutes obscures de Saint-Denis."[29] The monuments were all arranged, museum fashion, in the crypt until our own day, when they were once again removed, and replaced in their old positions in the church, to be left, let us hope, at last in peace.
The following is a list of the monuments returned to S. Denis:
Monuments formerly at S. Denis 52 " from S. Germain-des-Pres 6 " " Notre-Dame de Corbeil 2 " " S. Genevieve 1 " " S. Catherine-du-Val 2 " " des Cordeliers 3 " " des Jacobins 7 " " des Celestins 12 " " des Minimes 2 " " des Grands-Jesuites 1 " " l"abbaye de Royaumont 6 " " l"abbaye de Maubuisson 2 " " l"abbaye de Poissy 1 " " l"abbaye de Notre-Dame a Soissons 1 " " l"abbaye de Haute Bruyere 1 " " la collegiale de Saint-Cloud 2 " of origin unknown 13 " new or made up of fragments 53 ---- 167
[Ill.u.s.tration: TOMB OF LOUIS XII., AND COLUMN OF FRANcOIS II.]
By far the most beautiful tomb is that of Louis XII. "Sur le lieu de la sepulture de Louis XII. et de la reyne Anne, le roy Francois leur gendre et successeur a la couronne, leur a fait dresser un tres-somptueux mausolee de fin marbre blanc, a deux estages, qui est une des belles pieces de l"Europe, pour ne pas dire la plus belle."[30] Dom Jacques Doublet and Germain Millet both attributed the work to Ponzio; but Felibien, reading a pa.s.sage in a Latin commentary printed by Jean Breche in 1550, discovered the true author: "Voyez le monument" (says Breche) "de marbre consacre a Louis XII., travaille avec un artifice admirable et plein d"elegance, dans notre tres-ill.u.s.tre cite de Tours, par Jean Juste, statuaire du plus grand talent." The discovery of an order for payment of 400 _ecus_ to Juste in a letter from the king to Cardinal Duprat, sets the matter at rest if the date of Ponzio"s arrival did not also do so.[31] The tomb was taken to S. Denis in 1527; whereas Ponzio did not arrive in France until about 1530. This way of attributing all that is good in art to Italy was formerly very common. Even in our own time all branches of French art were looked upon by our fathers as frivolous and trivial. Italian Renaissance was trivial enough, but French Renaissance utterly meretricious. To the insane worshippers of the "Gothic style," it alone was pure. The sumptuous grandiosities of Louis XIV. were tolerable, because they aimed at being Cla.s.sic. The portico of the Pantheon or the colonnade of the Louvre were considered fine; but the elegancies of Jean Goujon were wanting in severity. Even Watteau, though admitted to be graceful, was "meretricious"; Berlioz amongst musicians was only "noisy and claptrap;" and sculpture and architecture were criticised in like manner. And yet the designs upon the tomb of Louis XII., especially the pilasters which support the canopy, could not be surpa.s.sed in beauty by the artists of any country.
Jean Juste, Philibert Delorme, Jean Goujon, Michel Colomb, Jean Cousin, and Germain Pilon formed a group of men scarcely surpa.s.sed by Sansovino, Riccio, Desiderio da Settignano and the Rossellini. The Italians led the way, but the French proved themselves very apt pupils.
It is not my intention to describe the tomb of Louis XII., or, indeed, any of the others, minutely. Descriptions without ill.u.s.trations are mostly dry and dreary. Nor have I tried to ill.u.s.trate the details of ornament in the churches or their contents--in a book of this size it would be impossible; my aim has rather been to give the general effect of their styles; of their everyday appearance; of the life which goes on in and around them; and of the position, especially in the case of S.
Denis, of their tombs and furniture. A large photograph and a magnifying gla.s.s will show the beauty of the sculpture of the tombs far better than any drawing of mine; for such subjects photography is unique. But for artistic effect, for general impressions of buildings it mostly fails, and all artists will agree with me that, for some reason or other, photographs of buildings seem generally to have been taken from the worst point of view, and are nearly always wanting in impressiveness.
[Ill.u.s.tration: TOMB OF HENRI II. AND CATHERINE DE MEDICI.]
Jean Juste had a brother Antoine, and they seem together to have been the authors of the beautiful tomb of the children of Charles VIII. at Tours; of the fountain called de Beaune, also at Tours; of the two monuments of the _famille_ Gaudin; and the tomb of the _general des finances_, Thomas Bohier. In 1530, one Juste de Just, _tailleur en marbre_, living at Tours received 102 _livres_ 10 _sous_ from the king for a Hercules and a Leda. This Juste was probably the same as Jean. The bas-reliefs round the base of Louis XII."s tomb represent various campaigns of the king; the figures at the four corners are the Cardinal Virtues, those within the arcades are the twelve Apostles. Within are the king and queen, entirely nude, lying upon a mattress in the last agony of death; while above, upon the platform, they are praying before a cushioned faldstool, for their own departed souls. Such is the motive of this and the other two tombs of the same character, those of Henri II. and Francois I^{er.}
The former of these is the work of Germain Pilon, and was originally placed under the dome of Philibert Delorme"s magnificent chapel erected for the Valois family. It is of marble with bronze figures. The king and queen pray upon the housetop; at each end are openings through which are to be seen the figures of the defunct in the sleep of death. The terrible side of death, which is prominent in the expression on the faces of Louis XII. and his queen, is here absent; and Catherine is represented young and beautiful as she appeared at the death of her husband, whom she survived thirty years. At the four corners are bronze figures of the Cardinal Virtues; and the kneeling figures of the sovereigns upon the canopy are also in bronze. The tomb has always been justly esteemed as a magnificent work, and even Bernini admired it. "_Le cavalier Bernin_," says Sauval, "_a admire le tombeau de Valois, qui voulait ne rien trouver de pa.s.sable en France_." The Virtues ornament this tomb also, and present a note-worthy point for Total Abstainers, the figure of Temperance bears _two_ cups; can this be meant for wine as well as water? or for two sorts of water, aerated and mineral?
When the tomb was reconstructed it was found that many of the marbles had antique sculptures upon the back, showing that they had been taken from works of Cla.s.sic origin.
The monument of Francois I^{er.} and Claude de France is the largest of these splendid tombs. It was erected about 1552 by Philibert Delorme with the a.s.sistance of several sculptors. Pierre Bontems was the author of the bas-reliefs upon the stylobate and some of the kneeling figures upon the canopy; Germain Pilon sculptured the statues of children under the canopy, allegorically representing Fortune, and Ambroise Perret, the Four Evangelists; while the details of ornament were the work of Jacques Chantrel, Bastien Galles, Pierre Bigoigne, and Jean de Bourges. The rec.u.mbent figures have been attributed to Jean Goujon, from the exceptional beauty of the workmanship, but without any positive proof.
The tomb is of white marble, with a little black and grey introduced for some of the mouldings; the bas-reliefs represent the king"s campaigns in Italy. In the bas-reliefs of the Louis XII. monument many of the costumes are more Roman than French; but those upon the tomb of Francois I^{er.} are treated with more historical truth, and represent the fashion of the day. The faces of the rec.u.mbent statues are beautifully modelled; that of the queen bearing an expression of the sanct.i.ty with which she was accredited.
[Ill.u.s.tration: COLUMN OF HENRI III.]
S. Denis is rich in columns erected as memorials, often bearing urns upon the top containing some worthy heart. That of Francois II. was formerly at the church of the Celestins. It is the work of Germain Pilon, and was considered by Sauval and "_les habiles gens_" to be as beautiful as the "Three Graces" or "Charites" which bore the urn containing the heart of Henri II. The pedestal is triangular, of white marble; so, too, are the three little Genii who guard the corners. One weeps for the defunct; the other two seem to take the matter philosophically. The shaft of the column is dotted over with flames, said to be symbolic of the pillar of fire which marched before the Hebrews; may they not rather mean the flames of purgatory?[32] The gilt bronze urn which formerly surmounted it, and the winged child holding a crown, were both consigned to the melting pot. This column was an act of fraternal homage on the part of Charles IX.
The column of Henri III. was originally erected in the church of S.
Cloud by the secretary of Henri III., Charles Benoise. The shaft is of red marble, twisted, with ivy twirling round it--the work of Barthelemy Prieur.
The column of the Cardinal Louis de Bourbon formerly bore the effigy of the great man, if honours and emoluments can make a man great. He was naturally a peer; bishop of Laon, of Saintes, of Mans, of Lucon, and of Treguier; archbishop of Sens; abbot of S. Denis, of Corbie, of Saint-Vincent-de-Laon, of Saint-Faron-de-Meaux, of Ainay, of Saint-Amand, of Saint-Crepin-le-Grand, of Soissons, and of Saint-Serge.
And yet some people profess to be scandalised at the excesses of the unprivileged cla.s.ses!
The cardinal was, however, a great patron of art; at Sens and at Laon, monuments testify to this and all his other magnificences. His body was buried in the cathedral of Laon; the Benedictines of S. Denis only having succeeded in obtaining his heart. The column, like many other beautiful works of art, is by an unknown artist. It is of red marble with a white alabaster base and capital, which is exquisitely sculptured with little figures of children bathed in foliage.
The history of some of the rec.u.mbent statues of the kings is curious.
Having been made to lie down, they were, after the dispersal of the Musee des Monuments Francais, stuck up against the wall of the crypt; and others were rebaptised and renamed. Thus, at the museum, Charles V.
and Jeanne de Bourbon became S. Louis and Marguerite de Provence; and so named, when they were trotted back to S. Denis, they received the homage of the faithful. To make matters worse, a copy of S. Louis" statue was sent to Tunis for the church which was built in memory of the saint, and the head became the authentic type for his portraits. The same may be said of the false Marguerite; she wears a costume more than a hundred years too late.
The elaborately enamelled bra.s.s slabs of the children of S. Louis, Jean and Blanche, came from Royaument. The design is rude, but the colouring good; the figures are in relief upon a ground incrusted in enamel; the heads and hands, the lions at the feet, and the Angels swinging censers are of polished bra.s.s; while the feet and the draperies are in coloured enamel. To see these bra.s.ses, permission must be obtained from the architect of the church, as they are upon one side of the High Altar, a part which is not generally shown to ordinary visitors. The motto upon the tomb of Jean is as follows:
HIC JACET: IOANNES: EXCELLENTISSIMI LVD _ovici regis francorum filius qui in etate infancie migra_ VIT AD XPM ANNO GRACIE: MILLESI MO: DVCENTESSIMO: QVADRAGESIMO: SEPTIMO: s.e.xTO: IDVS: MARTII
The body of Turenne did not have much peace after it was routed out of its tomb. Not being royal, it was put aside in a chapel until the Convention should decide its fate; when thinking so great a man a worthy object as a specimen of natural history, and deeming it profitable for students of various "ologies," it was put into a gla.s.s case by the side of stuffed birds, bottled snakes, criminal curiosities, and monstrosities. Then it was transferred to the Pet.i.ts-Augustins, where it found a niche to repose in; but when Consuls reigned supreme, it was marched with great pomp, with drums and guns and all the paraphernalia of a military funeral, to the church of the Invalides, where it was placed in its old house or the remains of it rebuilt--the S. Denis tomb.
The epitaphs of some of the Kings remain, or have been restored:--
ICY GIST LE ROY CHARLES LE QUINT SAGES
ET ELOQUENT FILS DU ROY IEHAN QUI REGNA SEIZE ANS CINQ MOIS ET SEPT JOURS ET TRESPa.s.sA L"AN DE GRACE MCCCLx.x.x LE XVI^E JOUR DE SEPTEMBRE.
ICI GIST LE ROY CHARLES SIXIESME TRES AME LARGE ET DEBONNAIRE FILS DU ROY CHARLES LE QUINT QUI REGNA QUARANTE ET II ANS UNG MOIS ET SIX JOURS ET TRESPa.s.sA LE XXI^{E} JOUR DOCTOBRE LAN MIL CCCC VINGT ET DEUX: PRIES DIEU QUEN PARADIX SOIT SON AME:
CY GIST LA ROYNE ISABEL DE BAUIERE ESPOUSE DU ROY CHARLES VI^{E} ET FILLE DE TRES PUISSANT PNCE ESTIENNE DUC DE BAUIERE COTE PALATIN DU RIN QUI REGNA AUEC SOND ESPOUS ET TRESPa.s.sA LAN M: CCCC ET x.x.xV LE DERNIER JOUR DE SEPTEMBRE: PRIES DIEU POUR ELLE:
CY GIST LE ROY CHARLES SEPTIESME TRES GLORIEUX VICTORIEUX ET BIEN SERUY FILS DU ROY CHARLES SIXIESMES: QUI REGNA TRENTE NEUF ANS NEUF MOIS ET I JOUR ET TRESPa.s.sA LE JOUR DE LA MAGDELAINE XXVII^{E} JOUR DE JUILLET LA M: CCCCLXI: PRIES POUR LUY:
ICY GIST LA ROYNE JEHANNE DE BOURBON ESPOUSE DU ROY CHARLES LE QUINT ET FILLE DE TRES n.o.bLE PRINCE MONS^R PIERRE DUC DE BOURBON QUI REGNA AU[=ECQ]S SONE ESPOUS XIII ANS ET DIX MOIS ET TSP[=A]SSA Pa.s.sA LA M: CCCLXXVII LE DERN JOUR DE [=FE]UER
CY GIST LA ROYNE MARIE FILLE DU ROY DE SICILE DUC DANIOU ESPOUSE DU ROY CHARLES VII^E QUI REGNA AUECQ[=S S]OND ESPX ET TRESPa.s.sA LE PENULTIESME JOUR DE NOUEMBRE LAN MIL: CCCCLXIII: PRIES DIEU POUR ELLE.
After the restoration of the tombs a tablet was set up to the memory of Jeanne-d"Arc, bearing the representation of some armour of the 16th century, and the following epitaph:--
CE QUE ESTAIT LE HARNAIS DE JEHANNE PAR ELLE BAILLE EN HOMMAGE A MONSEIGNEUR SAINCT DENIS.
Several portraits of the great Abbot Suger existed in Dom Millet"s time: "On voit encores aujourd"huy en la partie superieure de l"eglise Saint-Denis que nous nommons le chevet, une vieille tap.i.s.serie ou le roy Louis VII. est represente avec les habits royaux, et la couronne en teste, qui donne son sceptre et sa main de justice au susdit abbe Sugere represente en habit pontifical, et au-dessus y a une inscription contenant ceste escriture: Lud. rex franc Suggerium abbatem et reaedificatorem hujus templi, viceregem const.i.tuit, anno 1140. Mais le tap.i.s.sier, ou ceux qui ont fourny le memoire se sont trompez; car ceste commission ne fut donnee a Sugere que l"an 1147, auquel an le roy part.i.t de France, au mois d"aoust, pour un voyage de la Terre-Sainte."
"Il y a en ceste royale abbaye plusieurs figures de l"abbe Sugere, deux desquelles sont en veue a toutes personnes. L"un est sur l"un des battans de la grande porte de l"eglise,[33] l"autre en une vitre de la Chapelle Notre-Dame, en la partie superieure que nous nommons le chevet[34]. Il est represente en tous les deux endroits, non revestu d"un rochet ou d"un camail, non avec la perruque ou le bonnet carre sur la teste, mais au plus simple habit et en la plus humble posture, qu"on puisse representer un pauvre religieux, scavoir est avec un froc plisse[35] (approchant fort de celuy dont nous usons maintenant) et la tonsure monacale, couche a plate terre; en la vitre, devant une image de la sacree Vierge, avec ces mots: Suggerius abbas; sur la porte, devant l"image de Notre-Sauveur, a.s.sis a table avec les pelerins d"Emmaus. Il n"a en l"une ny en l"autre figure aucune marque qui le puisse distinguer d"avec le moindre novice de son monastere, sinon la crosse abbatiale qu"il tient d"une main, pour marque de sa dignite, et pour monstrer que c"est luy qui est la represente."
"Or, comme il est tres-certain que c"est luy-mesme qui a fait faire ces figures, aussi est-il tres-a.s.seure qu"il n"avoit garde de les faire representer en autre habit que celuy qu"il portoit publiquement et continuellement, specialement depuis la reformation; car autrement c"eust par une hypocrisie trop grossiere se sacrifier a la risee de tout le monde." This description of the portrait is most interesting; we can see the great abbot as Dom Millet paints him upon the gla.s.s which he himself devised, if he did not absolutely design it.
[Ill.u.s.tration: TOMB OF DAGOBERT.]
The tomb of Dagobert is an enormous canopied structure, originally of the 13th century, but so much restored that it is practically modern.
Dagobert died in 638, and was embalmed and buried in the church of his foundation; but of the style of this first tomb we have no knowledge whatever. Of the existing tomb, the princ.i.p.al part is the legendary history of the king taken from the "_Gesta Dagoberti_," told in three alto-reliefs. Below these, the king sleeps upon his left side in a rather uncomfortable fashion; standing on one side is his wife Nantilde, or Nantechilde; on the other, one of his sons, Clovis II. or Sigebert.
At the apex of the arch is Our Lord giving the benediction, with SS.
Martin and Denis on each side. These two saints, with S. Maurice, had the kindness to hear the prayers of Dagobert, when he was held in bondage by devils, during a voyage in a boat, on the waters of the great gulf fixed between Abraham and Hades. The story was told by a hermit to Ansoald, on his way back from Sicily, and by the 9th century had been worked up into a fact, as it is mentioned in a letter from Louis le Debonnaire to Hilduin, abbot of S. Denis. May it not have been originally a dovetailing together of the story of Charon and _le bon roy Dagobert_, a _melange_ of Cla.s.sic myth and Christian legend which was very common in the early centuries of the Christian era? The sculptures, although, as regards the drapery, sufficiently graceful, are very curious and quaint, especially the boat and its contents. The three saints coming to the rescue, Dagobert pressing the hand of the foremost, the discomforted demons, and the soul of the king standing upon a napkin held by S. Denis and S. Martin, are all vigorous to a degree, if somewhat rude; but the Angels round the _voussure_ carrying censers, are charming. In the account of the legend given by Guillaume de Nangis, quoted by Alexandra Lenoir, we seem to have another reading of the opening part of the story of Job. "Mais monseigneur saint Denis, qui n"oblia mie son bon amy le roy Dagobert, requist a Nostre Seigneur Jesus-Crist qui luy donast congie d"aler secourre la dicte ame; laquelle chose comme Nostre Seigneur luy eust ottroie, sainct Denis s"en ala et mena avecques luy Sainct Morise et aultres amys que le roy Dagobert avoit moult honores en sa vie, et avecques eulx orent des anges qui les conduirent jusques en la mer, et quant ils vindrent la ou les deables tenoient et ammenoient a grant feste l"ame du roy Dagobert, si le misrent entre eulx et se combattirent encontre les deables". It was all done because of _Monseigneur S. Denis"_ love of "_le bon roy_," who had founded the abbey in honour of the martyr; and if you doubt these facts, and "ne me croyez, alez a Sainct-Denis en France, en l"eglise, et regardez devant l"autel ou l"en chante tous les jours la grant messe, la ou le roy Dagobert gist. La verrez vous audessus de luy ce que vous ay dit, pourtrait et de n.o.ble euvre richement enluminee." From this, there can be no doubt that the whole ma.s.s of sculpture was originally coloured; indeed, a close inspection shows a little still visible in the folds of the drapery. Lenoir, whose depreciation of Mediaeval sculpture as compared to that of the Renaissance was considerable, speaks of the draped figures as _pour le style comme pour le got, comparable aux belles inventions de Raphael_.
Upon the platform of the apse is the mosaic effigy of Fredegonde, not earlier than the 12th century. It is composed of a stone slab of the form of the early stone coffins. The design is marked out by thin bands of metal between which are incrustations of very small pieces of porphyry, serpentine, and white marble. This, like several of the early tombs, was originally in the abbey of S. Germain-des-Pres.
The central part of the crypt was formerly the depository for the relics--a sort of sanctuary dedicated to S. Demetre. Another part of the crypt became the burial place of the Bourbon family. All the princes were buried in vaults underneath their tombs. "Tous le roys, reynes et autres ensepulturez a Saint-Denys reposent dans les caveaux qui sont sous leurs tombeaux, sans qu"il y en ait aucun ailleurs, ce que je dis pour desabuser plusieurs personnes (mesmes des gens de qualite) qui s"imaginent qu"il y ait une grande cave dans laquelle sont tous les roys, en chair et en os, et demandent qu"on la leur monstre, dont je me suis souventefois estonne, veu mesme que plusieurs qui vivent encores ont peu voir mettre les cinq derniers roys decedez non en ceste cave imaginaire, mais dans le tombeau des Vallois, scavoir, Henry II. et ces trois fils, et Henry IV., dans le caveau commun des rois, ou il est encore. On en peut dire autant de Francois I^{er.} et de Louis XII., et de tous les autres; car quant a la grotte qui est sous le chevet, il n"y a, ny eut jamais, corps ny sepulture d"aucune personne.[36] The day of the funeral the body was placed in the vault, "sur des barres de fer, devant une statue en marbre de Nostre-Dame." There it remained for a year, after which it was deposited in the tomb of the sovereign"s ancestors. This curious arrangement became a custom by pure accident.
Henri IV. not having signified any desire as to his place of burial, was left in this vault, "_le caveau des ceremonies_," while his widow and _les Etats_ discussed the question of erecting a monument; and thus, by force of habit, the succeeding Bourbons being placed by the side of Henri, the "caveau" became the mausoleum of the family. But the Bourbons were a prolific race, and before very long the overcrowding became too great to admit of any more inhabitants; so upon the burial of Marie-Therese, the wife of Louis XIV., it was decided to tunnel a long pa.s.sage to connect it with the central part of the crypt. It was a difficult and dangerous proceeding: "On perca," says Felibien, "par-dessous le chevet, a l"endroit ou estoit une ancienne chapelle de Saint-Demetre, un pet.i.t corridor de la largeur de trois pieds sur sept de haut. Les ouvriers votoient a mesure qu"ils avancoient; et dans le poursuite de leur ouvrage, ils decouvrirent quelques tombeaux dont on ne reconnut que celui de l"abbe Antoine de La Haye, par une inscription qu"on y trouva. Enfin, apres avoir pousse environ sept toises et demie, les ouvriers arriverent a l"ancien caveau; de sorte qu"il a ete aise d"y joindre, par ce corridor de communication, un caveau specieux qui occupe aujourd"huy, dessous le chevet, l"ancienne crypte ou estoient autrefois les corps des saints martyrs. La place est de neuf toises de long sur environ deux toises et demi dans sa plus grande largeur." The new vault was consecrated the 31st August, 1683. This accounts for the apparent want of an entrance to the centre of the crypt; as all visitors to the church are aware, you look through little apertures to the place where a few post-revolution burials have taken place. I commend all these particulars, which exemplify the horrors of burial above ground, with the rifling of tombs and coffins perpetrated by the officers of the Convention, to the opposers of cremation. Had all these poor royalties been converted into ashes, no such doings could have taken place. The entrance to the Bourbon vaults still exists, close to the altar of S.
Maurice, to the right of the High Altar looking eastwards; but visitors enter by some steps farther east, by the side of the ascent to the apse.
It is a miserably gloomy hole, with a few coffins upon trestles, shedding their violet coverings. Can any sort of burial equal in horror this of open vaults?
The statues of the early kings were erected by S. Louis. Ordered by him as commemorative effigies of his ancestors, it does not seem to have been within the wit of the 13th century sculptors to vary the physiognomy of the early sovereigns. Thus there is a strong likeness between Charles Martel[37] and Pepin, and Louis and Carloman. There is a curious divergence in the opinions pa.s.sed upon Louis III. The chronicle of S. Denis calls him a "_homs plains de toutes ordures et toutes vanitez_;" whereas the annals of Metz say, "_Tous les peuples des Gaules pleurerent sa mort avec une extreme douleur. Il fut en effet homme de rare merite, et defendit courageus.e.m.e.nt et virilement contre les incursions des payens le royaume qui lui etait soumis._" So we see that it is not only the 19th century which vaunts and cries down a man, according as he belongs to the political sheep or the goats.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Carloman, at his eighteen years, has the appearance of a man of forty, and many years older than his brother. The statue of Charlemagne"s brother Carloman has had a queer history. It was marched to the Pet.i.ts-Augustins with the rest, and there christened Charles le Chauve, but when sent back to S. Denis it was rebaptised Henri I.
Hugues Capet was buried at S. Denis close to his father, the great Hugues; his last words addressed to his son Robert prove him to have been possessed of piety, a proper notion of justice, and a large amount of common sense. "Bon fils, je t"adjure, au nom de la sainte et indivisible Trinite, de ne pas livrer ton ame aux conseils des flatteurs et de ne pas ecouter les vux de leur ambition, en leur faisant un don empoisonne de ces abbayes que je te confie pour toujours. Je desire egalement qu"il ne t"arrive point, conduit par la legerete d"esprit ou emu par la colere, de distraire ou enlever quelque chose de leurs biens.
Je te recommande surtout de veiller a ce que, pour aucune raison, tu ne deplaises jamais a leur chef commun, le grand saint Benoit, qui est un acces certain aupres du souverain juge, un port de tranquillite et un asile de srete apres la sortie de la chair."[38] His particular friends to whom he commends his son are the Blessed Virgin, S. Benedict, S.
Martin, S. Aignan, and SS. Cornelius and Cyprian, and above all S.
Genevieve. Queen Adelade, like most Middle-Age ladies, did much embroidering as she sat up in her tower, and naturally S. Denis was her first thought. She gave the great statue of S. Martin (I do not know in what part of the church this was placed) a wondrous cope, embroidered between the shoulders with a "_Pontife eternel_" and adoring Cherubim and Seraphim. In the front was the "Lamb of G.o.d" and the Four Beasts of the Apocalypse.[39]