The Legend of Saint Denis

Not much is known of the early life of Saint Denis. His legend states that he was converted to Christianity by the Apostle Paul. We also know that he was the first Bishop of Paris and that he is a martyr. 

In 250 A.D., Pope Clement sent Denis on a missionary trip to France to carry the message of Christianity. Christianity was not a popular religion then, as most people were pagans. The Emperor of Rome, Domitian, became so enraged at the advances of Christianity in France that he sent his chief officer, Fescennius, to Paris to put an end to this new religion. His was tasked with rounding up all who declared themselves Christians and put them to death.

Wouldn't you know it, but Denis and 2 of his friends, Rusticus and Eleutherius, were the first ones to be caught. Fescennius has Denis and friends shackled and sent to prison. He tries to kill Denis in many different ways, but none worked. At his wits end, he has Denis thrown in with a group of wild beasts, but when Denis made the sign of the cross in front of the animals, they suddenly settled down and didn’t attack him.

Once again, Denis is back celebrating Mass with his fellow prisoners. He sang, celebrated and communed with the others. And then the Lord appeared to him with great light, and delivered to him bread, saying “take this, my dear friend, for thy reward is most great with me.” It would seem that Denis is quite blessed!

After a while, Fescennius has Denis and his 2 deacons lead away in chains to Montmatre (Hill of Martyrs) where all 3 are beheaded. BUT... Even that fails to kill him immediately! Denis picks up his head, holds it his hands, and walks away from there, preaching a sermon on repentance! Amazingly, he even stopped to rinse his head off along the way! He walked back to his cathedral, which was a considerable distance, and upon his arrival there, Denis finally rests. It is called the Miracle of the Cephalophore (which means the carrying of ones head). Over his final resting place, his church was built. (However, in other stories it is said that the body and Denis and his 2 friends were thrown in the river upon their death and later fished out and buried.)

St Denis is the patron saint of Paris, an apostle of France as well as the patron saint of headaches (I can see why!) The next time you have a killer headache, think of the headache Denis must've had! And, if you are so inclined, say a prayer to him asking him to rid you of your headache.

His legend lives on in the tympanums at the cathedral that bears his name. They are located above the north and south portals of the west façade and tell the story of his imprisonment and martyrdom.

In the North Portal archivolt of the west facade of Saint Denis cathedral, we can see the story of Denis and his deacons as they're being led to Montmartre just before they are beheaded. Notice the three prisoners, Denis, Rusticus, and Elutherius with chains around their necks being led by Roman soldiers, holding rounded shields and swords. And, Fescennius, is seated to the right of the prison, with his arms outstretched, as he issues an order for their execution.

Above that scene, we see the beheading of St. Denis. God the Father is above all, with an angel below and the martyrs crown in the center.
To the left of that is Denis, and to the right are his deacons. Just above the tympanum, we see the figures of both Denis and the executioners. In the the tympanum, at the top, in the left side is Laertia, then the executioners. In the center of the tympanum, we see Christ giving Communion to Denis and his deacons. To his left is the Roman provost, Fescennius.