The Holy Chapel of King Louis IX

Tonight's post takes us to the Palais de la Cite of Paris, where we will look at, rather in depth, the Sainte-Chapelle, or The Holy Chapel. What makes this such a complex topic is that Sainte-Chapelle is more than just a royal chapel. It was also a powerful political symbol and a major turning point in the French monarchy's persistent attempts at creating an imperial autarchy. Even at it stands today, within the Palais de Justice, it still makes a compelling statement as to the power of the French monarchy and its role in society in medieval times. It is for these very reasons that make the building of Sainte-Chapelle an important part of both French and architectural history.

Overview of Sainte-Chapelle

During the thirteenth century, Gothic architecture that was solely created in Paris was called opere francigeno, or French work. It was a style of Middle Age architecture that became synonymous with the French kingdom and its omnipresence there. 

Sainte-Chapelle had become a shining example of the Rayonnant, or radiating, style of High-Gothic architecture in both its design and overall effect. While its exterior was rather plain in terms of its architecture, Sainte-Chapelle's beauty radiated on the inside. The solid stone blocks gave way to immense glistening walls of light, leaving its visitors awe-struck, feeling as though they had been transported to a glorious room in Heaven. Much as Saint Denis became a model for Gothic architecture, Saint-Chapelle became a model for holy chapels; a style that would persist through all of Louis' descendants. 

Despite its beauty and allure to the general public, however, the chapel was never intended for public use. Rather, it was to be a very large reliquary for the many religious artifacts collected by King Louis IX. Churches have always been, to some extent, reliquaries. Many have become the final resting places of kings, saints and martyrs. And Sainte-Chapelle was no different, with its holy relics enshrined in the upper chapel and the tombstones representing some of the chapel's past clergy in the lower chapel.

A Crowning Achievement

In 1237, King Louis IX had managed to procure one of the most holy relics in Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, a part of the passion of Christ. Louis had learned that his cousin, Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople was in dire financial straights and had pawned the crown to the Venetians. Louis, being a devout Catholic, despaired at the thought of this, and offered to purchase the crown for a very large sum of money. This satisfied all those involved. The Venetians got their money, Baldwin no longer owed the Venetians money and Louis now possessed the most holy of relics. But, the crown was not just a relic, nor was it just historic. This particular crown had been laid upon the head of Christ, causing Him to bleed. 

"And they [the soldiers]stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head." Matthew 27:28-30 (ESV)

The crown and all that it represents, reminds us of the pain of the suffering Christ, thus adding another dimension into this already spiritual experience. One cannot help but be moved by the whole thing.

The Crown Arrives

The crown was delivered by two Dominican friars, arriving in Paris from Venice, in August of 1239. Louis made a grand event of its arrival. For the last leg of its journey, the crown was carried by the King himself, walking barefoot and dressed as a penitent (I've tried to research WHY he was carrying them as such, but came up with a big fat nothing!) The scene depicted at right, Relics of the Passion, (from the Kings window) shows Louis, wearing a gold crown, followed by his brother and courtiers as they walk into Paris carrying the Crown of Thorns atop a golden chalice. 

The crown was placed in Louis' private chapel, the chapel of San Nicolas. However, Louis felt that this place was not of a suitable size or grandeur to house such an important piece of Christian history. Thus, he commissioned a new, larger and more opulent space for it. He took it upon himself to gather the permissions required for work on the chapel (much the same as today's building permits and variances). Construction took a mere 7 years, completed shortly before Louis would depart for the Middle East and the 7th crusade. (Pay attention here----more numerology!)

In 1241, Louis was able to acquire two other antiquities to add to his collection, fragments of the Holy Cross and the Holy Lance (the spear that pierced the side of Christ as He hung on the cross). These were also placed in the San Nicolas chapel while work continued on their permanent home, Sainte-Chapelle.

The New Jerusalem 

 

Sainte-Chapelle dominated the thirteenth century city of Paris. It was a reified locus, becoming integrated in the city. This helped define Paris as a cultural, spiritual and political center. But, Louis wanted Paris to become more than just a spiritual place, he wanted it to become a second capital of Christianity. The French people already saw their king as Christ’s cleric. Louis embodied the very notion of a devoted Christian king: he was gallant, powerful, and rich, but he was also pious and a dutiful bidder to the church.

Further, Louis' purchase of the relics not only reflected his personal desire to possess all of that which remained, but also to assert his place as a true heir to the throne of Jerusalem. This implied that the Capetians, also known as the House of France (which Louis was a descendant of), were the chosen people of God. This belief was not something just made up by Louis, but well solidified by Pope Gregory IX characterization of the French in 1239:

“The Son God...has established different kingdoms...so the kingdom of France is distinguished above all other peoples of the world by being singled out for honor and grace by the Lord.”(1)

The relationship between God and the French monarchy was now clearly established. Louis’s political aspirations for his kingdom to be the New Jerusalem are clear. The building of his reliquary made for a visual display of France’s divine connection with the Promise Land, and Sainte-Chapelle becoming a holy place.

The Holy Chapel

 

Historians have had some difficulty determining who exactly had designed this Medieval work of art. It is assumed that  perhaps it was Pierre de Montreuil, the architect of monastic buildings that included  Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the southern aisle of the Notre-Dame de Paris’ transept. Others who could also be considered are Robert de Luzarches and Thomas de Cormont, both of whom worked on the designed of the Chapelle de la Vierge in Amiens. There has also been some difficulty in nailing down exactly when Sainte-Chapelle was built, but researchers have been able to come up with it being sometime between 1241 and 1243. 

The chapel building itself is a double structure and it is linked to royal apartments by way of a roofed gallery. It had been one of the highest buildings in Paris, after Notre-Dame de Paris, standing at approximately 108 feet tall. The overall size of the chapel was kept to a rather modest space, but its slim design made it seem taller and bigger than it actually was. Since it was not a pilgrimage site, ambulatory aisles and radiating chapels were omitted from the design plan. Its roof is made of slate, topped with a large spire made from cedar.

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The upper level chapel, or chapelle haute, was meant for private use by Louis and the royal family, as well as to house the Kings' Passion collection. It was consecrated by the Pope's envoy, Eudes of Châteauroux, in April 1268, and dedicated to the Holy Cross. It is made up of four bays and a seven section choir. Its surface masonry reduced to the absolute minimum; instead, soaring stained glass windows act as its walls. Its ceiling appears to be supported by the stained-glass, making this magical space feel like being on the inside of a jewel. In a leaflet from the Centre des Monuments Nationeaux (Center for National Monuments) describes the upper chapel as such:

 "The ceiling seems to float above the stained-glass windows. The massive buttresses have all but disappeared, masked by clusters composed of nine delicate columns, so placed that the mass of each pillar is barely perceptible."

At its center there had been a magnificent gold and silver shrine, the place of the relics of The Passion. They were enclosed in a large, ornately decorated reliquary, called a Grand Châsse (which no longer exists, as it was melted down  for use in making weapons for the French Revolution...gasp, gulp 😮), and placed at the back of the apse. (Note: these relics no longer reside at Ste. Chapelle. In 1806, they were moved to Notre-Dame de Paris, and are now in storage as restoration work begins following the April 2019 fire.)

{Image: "Choir with Grande Chasse in Background". From "Sainte Chapelle Gospels" illuminated manuscript. The artist was Master of the Registrum Gregorii, an anonymous tenth-century scribe and illuminator, c 977-993}

The lower level chapel, or chapelle basse, was dedicated to the Virgin Mary by Pierre Berruyer, the Archbishop of Bourges. It served as both a parish center and chapel for Louis' household staff. It also acted as a structural base for the immense chapel above, its solid walls and low vaults anchoring the entire structure. 

This space was more modest compared to the upper chapel, but elegant in its own right. Its vaulted ceiling of only 21 feet, is decorated to resemble a starry sky. The main space is divided into a nave and side aisles, all vaulted at the same height. Arched columns are decorated with nature-themed carvings and medallions adorned with fleur-de-lis, representing the monarchy.

 

 

Rose Colored Glasses 

 

The upper chapel is home to one of the oldest and greatest treasures of stained glass art in Europe, many of which date back to the 13th century. Its windows were created by the same master craftsman who did the windows at Chartres. There are 15 towering windows, 50 feet tall and 15 feet wide, depicting 1,113 scenes, easily making it the crown jewel of the chapel. (Today there are approximately 720 original panes of glass remaining in the windows.)

The individual windows are made up of over 100 sections of stained glass. Each piece of glass is assembled scene by scene and held together with strips of channeled lead. They are then subdivided with intricate bar tracery. Every grouping has four lancets topped by three rose windows, except in the choir, which only has two lancets.

It boggles the mind that such a soaring space made mostly of glass doesn’t just collapse. BUT, that’s where the pointed vaults come in! Remember, they are a hallmark of the Gothic architectural style. The convergence of the pointed arches at the ceiling create the most beautiful shapes and shadows, which are highlighted by a dark blue and gold-starred pattern that resembles the night sky, similar to that in the lower chapel.

Interestingly, only five colors are used in the stained glass windows – blue (from cobalt), red and green (from copper), purple (from manganese) and yellow (from antimony). The colors seem to just blend together, forming a rainbow mosaic of color. The windows relate stories from the books of the Bible from Genesis to the Book of Revelation.  Its iconography is as follows:

1. Genesis – the creation story, followed by the story of Adam and Eve.
2. Exodus – the flight of the Israelites from Egypt, including the parting of the Red Sea.
3. Numbers – the march out of Egypt and the coronation of the Kings of Israel.
4. Deuteronomy/Joshua – the struggle against idolotry, the naming of Joshua as the successor of Moses and the settlement of the Jews in the promised land.
5. Judges – the story of Samson and Delilah.
6. Isaiah – the first and longest of the prophetic books of the Bible in which the vision of the tree of Jesse prophesied the genealogy of Jesus Christ, Jesse’s son, King David and the Virgin Mary.
7. St John the Evangelist and the Childhood of Christ – St John, one of the closest observers of the life of Christ, which explains the presence of the window depicting Christ’s childhood.
8. Christ’s Passion – One of the most important windows of Sainte Chapelle, just behind the raised altar. This window shows the Last Supper through to the Pentecost, with the crowning of thorns in the center.
9. John the Baptist/Daniel – John the Baptist was one of the last preachers to predict the coming of Christ, the Lamb of God, and His sacrifice. The scenes featuring Daniel again focus on the struggle against idol worship.
10. Ezekiel – Like Isaiah and Daniel, the book of Ezekiel also takes on the theme of idol worship, and is followed by the destruction of Jerusalem
11. Jeremiah and Tobias – the visions of Jeremiah depicts the fall of Jerusalem and the book of Tobias is an enlightening story that seemed of particular importance to Louis.
12. Judith/Job* – Judith tells the story of this Jewish widow who saved the town of Bethulia from the siege of the Assyrians by beheading their general. Job tells the story of how his faith never wavered when tempted by Satan. (*The Book of Judith doesn't appear in most common translations of the Holy Bible.)
13. Esther – Esther’s story is featured above the niche where Queen Blanche of Castille, Louis's mother, used to sit, drawing parallels between the two heroines.
14. Kings – Depicts the scenes from Kings I and II and Samuel I and II, which tell the story of the Kings of Israel, particularly Saul, David and Solomon.
15. The Story of the relics of the passion – This window continues the theme to show Louis as the legitimate successor to the Biblical kings. It depicts the finding of the relics and the true cross in Jerusalem by St Helena, their journey to Byzantium, their purchase by Louis and their final resting place in Sainte-Chapelle.
16. St John’s vision of the Apocalypse – This is depicted on the rose window facing West in line with the setting of the sun.

The window wasn't added until 1490, designed in the Flamboyant (or flame-like) style and has 87 "petals".

From the French Revolution and onwards.......

 

Sainte-Chapelle was fairly well preserved during the French Revolution as it had been used for administrative offices. Luckily, the windows were blocked by huge filing cabinets which helped  to protect them during the Revolution. Unfortunately, most of Louis' collection of holy relics were either lost or destroyed. The few pieces that had been found after the Revolution were brought to the treasury of Notre-Dame Cathedral. Architects Felix Duban and Jean-Baptiste Lassus began restoration of the chapel some time after 1803. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was commissioned to rebuild the spire atop the chapel using his own design, as the original one had been removed during the revolution. The restoration was completed in 1836 by Emile Boeswillwald.

Since then, Sainte-Chapelle has been in  various stages of restoration. The ravages of modern life such as air pollution, the elements and the large number of visitors caused damage to the stained glass windows. In 1945, in an effort to preserve the stained glass, a layer of external varnish had been applied to protect them from the dust and scratches of wartime bombing. Unfortunately, the varnish had gradually darkened the images and the windows themselves, making the already fading images even harder to see.

In 2008, a broad seven-year plan for restoration was begun. Its purpose was to clean and preserve all the stained glass, clean the facade stonework and conserve and repair some of the sculptures. Also included in the restoration plan and budget was a new thermoformed glass layer that would be applied to the exterior of the stained glass windows, giving them further protection. That project was completed in 2015, in time for the 800th anniversary of the birth of Louis IX, who had ordered the construction of the church.

 Footnotes:

1. https://ahlstromappraisals.com/art-history-blog/sainte-chapelle-a-chapel-fit-for-a-king