The Churches of Paris Part 6

"This vnction being thus ordered, the tyinges of the King's garments _were let loose both before and behinde_, by the Cardinall and the two Bishops; after which his Maiestie kneeled down in his oratorie, and the Cardinall with him, to crave the a.s.sistance of G.o.d for the preseruation of France. The Lettanie being sung, the Cardinall stoode up, to saye certaine praiers ouer the King, who was yet kneelinge. Then the Cardinall sett him downe, as in the consecration of a Bishop, and holding in his hand _the patenne_ whereon the _heavenlie oyle_ was layd, he beganne, with his right _thumbe_, to anoynte the King, in divers places, _viz._, on the crowne of the head, on the stomacke, betwixte his shouldere blades, on bothe shoulderes, and on the bendinges of his armes. The consecration praiers being ended, the Cardinall, with the two Bishops, closed vp his shirte, waistecoate, and other garmentes, in reverence of the sacred Vnction. Then the high Chamberlaine presented the three habitts accustomed to be worne, in the lyke ceremonies, viz., a long jackett, representinge a Sub-Deacon, a surplis for a Deacon, and a _royall cloake_, insteade of a coape, representinge a Prieste; which ended, the Cardinall _anoynted the palmes of his handes_, and then put him on _thin_ gloues, lest, peradventure, hee should touche anie thinge with his bare handes, for reverence of the vnction, which gloues he blest, and sprinkled with holie water; the royall ringe being alsoe blest by the Cardinall (a symbole of loue, whereby the King was wedded untoe his realme), he put it on the fourthe fingere of his Maiesties right hande, with all the accustomed ceremonie. This done, hee tooke the sceptere from the altar, and put it intoe his right hande, for a mark of the Soueraigne power: then he tooke the hande of Justice, which hee put into his lefte hande, it being a wande, hauing, on the top thereof, a hande of mylke white iuorie.

"Then the Chancelloure of France came vp, with his face towarde the King, and, with a stoute voyce, did call vp the Peeres, according to their dignities, to a.s.sist at the coronation. When as, this ceremonie being ended, the Cardinall took _the great crowne_ from the altar, and lifting it with bothe his handes, did poise it over the King's heade; the Peeres did then come to support them, and the Cardinall blest it; and then he alone sett the crowne upon the King's heade, whereuntoe all the Peeres did incontinentlie put their handes. The Cardinall then said manie praiers, and blest the King; the which being ended, _hee took him bie the right sleeve_, and conducted him to his royall throne, the which was builded on high at the bottome of the quier, forasmuch as that he might be seene of all the people, holdinge still in his handes the royall sceptere and rod of Justice. The Queen Regent, the whilst she beheld all these ceremonies, was sorely disquieted, not being able to endure, with patience, to see his Maiestie _bare headed_, vnder the crowne, havinge his capp taken from him; which shewes that crownes and greatness have their discomodities, as well as the most ordinarie thinges, and the poorest cottages. The King being come to his royall throwne, attended bie the Princes, Peeres, and Officers, according to their degrees, the Cardinall, holding him by the hande, caused him to sit downe, and praied untoe G.o.d to confirme him in his throne, and to make him invincible and inexpugnable against his enemies. After which, having sayd a praier, being bare-headed, he made a low obeysance untoe the King, and kissed him, saying thrice, with a loude voyce, '_G.o.d save the King_'; and at the laste, he added, '_G.o.d save the King eternallie_.' All the Peeres did the lyke obeysance, one after the other, and _kist_ him, with the lyke acclamation, and then returned untoe the seates that were prepared for them on either hand."

[Ill.u.s.tration: RELIQUARY CONTAINING THE HEAD OF S. DENIS.]

The treasury of S. Denis was one of the richest in Europe. Commenced by the religious enthusiasts of the time of Charlemagne, it increased year by year, through the donations of the grateful patients who had been cured, or whose sufferings had been relieved, by the intercession of S.

Denis and his companions. For every wax arm or leg, which we see hanging up in bunches at the side of a shrine in these days, the ages of Faith could have produced a valuable plaque, gem, cross, reliquary, or altar vessel. Thankfulness was then more costly in its expression. Doubtless poor offerings were also made, but the richness of the churches and their contents, as compared with the difficulty of obtaining a few thousands at the present day, shows that grat.i.tude was more practical than in modern times. Charles le Chauve was a great donor to the monastery. It was he who gave the magnificent _ante-pendium_, besides some jewelled Gospels and altar-vessels. Philippe-Auguste bequeathed all his jewels to the abbey, including a cross of gold valued at 400 livres, this benefaction being for the maintenance of twenty additional monks; but his son, Louis, repurchased some of the valuables at the estimated price of 11,600 _livres_, a little business transaction which was not unprofitable to the convent. Louis le Gros established the custom of leaving the royal ornaments to the abbey at the decease of the kings.

Matthieu de Vendome, one of the regular abbots, gave the marvellous _chef_ of S. Denis, a gold reliquary in the form of a head, with a jewelled mitre, and silver-gilt supporting Angels, and a young Child-angel holding another reliquary containing a portion of the Saint's shoulder-blade. Gilles de Pontoise, another abbot, presented a beautiful reliquary, containing the under-jaw of S. Louis--a marvel of goldsmithy in the form of statuettes of gold, jewelled and enamelled.

The great Suger gave a number of magnificent objects of all kinds; the huge gold cross, six feet in height, placed over the altar, and another which stood upon the _grille_ dividing the choir from the nave. These probably were made at S. Denis, as Suger set up a great school for the fashioning of gold and silver, as well as for writing and painting; and so famous did it become, that brethren from other monasteries flocked to the monks of S. Denis to perfect themselves in these arts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE "Ma.s.s OF S. GILES" (FRAGMENT).]

There is a representation of Charles le Chauve's _ante-pendium_ in the picture formerly in the Dudley collection, and now in the possession of Mr. Edward Steinkopff, and generally known as the "Ma.s.s of S. Giles."

The altar stands as at present; on the right we see a portion of the tomb of Dagobert; and behind are the windows of the apsidal clerestory.

The only difference in the sculptures, as represented in the picture, and the actual monument, is that the head of Nantilde is bent in the modern statue, but is erect in the old one; and the feet of Dagobert seem to have nothing to rest upon. A priest is before the altar; on his left is a king; behind are some a.s.sistants, one holding a tall candle; and above is an Angel bearing a paper, alluding to the legend, that as S. Giles was once saying ma.s.s before a king with some hidden sin he dare not confess, an Angel descended with a written pardon. The question is, Who is the king? May it not be Charles le Chauve, the donor of the retable? Charles was abbot of S. Denis; and his devotion to the Saint was so great that he attended the offices of the church on all solemn days, and pa.s.sed the rest of the time in pious conversation with the monks. The crown the king wears is of the time of Charles V., but it has upon it the Imperial circle, which seems to point to Charles the Bald; and the later style of the crown may be accounted for, as it has evidently been copied from one in the treasury of S. Denis (see Felibien). Moreover, it very much resembles the one worn by Charles le Chauve in a miniature of a Latin Bible in the Bibliotheque; on the other hand, the king wears a moustache in the latter, whereas in the picture he is bearded.

Another question is this, Does the picture represent a ma.s.s? It probably has gained its t.i.tle as much from being the companion _volet_ to Lord Northbrook's S. Giles as to the incident of the scroll-bearing Angel.

But there is not the slightest resemblance between the hunting personage in Lord Northbrook's picture and the king in the "Ma.s.s." In the former, the kneeling hunter appears in a cap, and has no beard; may not this be Charles Martel? We are told in the legend of S. Giles that the king of France was one day hunting in the South, near Nismes, when, in the pursuit of a hind, the hunters came upon S. Giles living hermit-wise in a cave. Charles Martel was never actually sovereign, although governing the kingdom; therefore a cap would be an appropriate head covering for the Maire du Palais. And the dates correspond. S. Giles died in 725; Charles Martel in 741. Is there any evidence that the S. Denis picture represents the S. Giles legend? There is no reason why each _volet_ of a triptich should be decorated with incidents in the life of the same saint. Again, does the picture represent a ma.s.s? There are no lights upon the altar, which is contrary to the almost invariable custom of the church from all time. Two lights were used from the earliest period; whereas a single light, either taper, torch, or lantern, borne by an a.s.sistant kneeling behind the celebrant, generally denotes a communion of the faithful, after, or out of, ma.s.s. It is true there is a picture by van der Weyden in the National Gallery of the "Ma.s.s of S. Hubert,"

with no lights, and there is no doubt about the subject, as the vessels requisite for a ma.s.s are visible upon the altar; but in the "Ma.s.s of S.

Giles" there are no evidences of the celebration of ma.s.s, except that the priest is elevating the Host while facing the altar, and reading from a book placed thereon; whereas at a communion the celebrant turns his back to the altar when elevating the consecrated wafer. Now may not the picture represent either the communion of Charles le Chauve, or his induction as abbot, or his presentation of the retable? I have not lost sight of the difficulty of the Angel. But if it be really the sin-forgiven scroll which he holds, there is no reason why this particular king should not have had a hidden sin, pious man though he may have been; indeed, that would be a reason for his thinking ill of himself. And must the subject be necessarily that incident, when we know that in Mediaeval times Angels were constantly in the habit of flying about with all kinds of objects of celestial manufacture--stoles, girdles, chalices, crowns, palms, &c. (In van der Weyden's picture, mentioned above, an Angel is descending with a stole).

These are merely suggestions of a theory, which others, more qualified than myself, may be able to solve. Suger is said to have added to the _ante-pendium_ given by Charles le Chauve, and placed it over the altar as a retable;[55] therefore there would be nothing extraordinary in the 15th-century artist placing Charles kneeling as the original donor, and Suger celebrating, as the founder of the new altar, or reredos. Has the abbot Giles de Pontoise, who died in 1325, caused any confusion in naming this picture? There is another curious resemblance in the crowns borne by the Angels upon the retable, and the crowns of Guarrazar in the Hotel Cluny. The latter are supposed to be of Byzantine workmanship, the largest bearing the name of Reccesvinthus, king of the Visigoths, who reigned from 649 to 672. Charles le Chauve died in 823; but, according to Gregoire de Tours, when Childebert returned from a campaign against the Visigoths in Spain, he brought away divers gold and silver treasures, including a gold cross from Toledo; therefore there must have been an extensive school of goldsmithy in Spain at that time, and Toledo is the very spot near which the Guarrazar spoils were discovered. Were they made there some 100 years or so after Childebert's death? Gregoire de Tours also speaks of the king setting up workshops in the Parvis Notre-Dame, doubtless in imitation of the Spanish school; and in his _Notice de l'Orfevrerie_, M. Alfred Darcel points out a similarity between the Merovingian and the Spanish style of work. "Ce qui ressort de la plupart des pa.s.sages que nous venons de citer, c'est que l'orfevrerie merovingienne a pour princ.i.p.al caractere l'alliance des pierreries aux metaux precieux. Ce caractere se retrouve dans l'ornamentation des couronnes de Guarrazar ... et dans l'orfevrerie Byzantine." Is it possible, then, that the _ante-pendium_ presented by Charles le Chauve to S. Denis was made at the workshops set up by Childebert in the Parvis Notre-Dame, in imitation of those he had seen at Toledo; and that the workmanship was also an imitation of the Spanish goldsmithy of a hundred years earlier?

But of all this beauty, of all this wealth, what have we now?

Marvellously little; still, considering the robbers, royal and plebeian, the fires, the wars, and the undisciplined mobs, we ought to be thankful that so much has been preserved. That even the great churchmen were not above suspicion we see by the account of the coronation of Louis XIII.; the cardinal being obliged "to binde himself" to restore the "holy oyle"

before the monks would let him take it into his hands; and the Prior of S. Remy, who had the custody of it, standing by and "looking sharplie to the holie oyle."

Of the few things which remain from the wreck, the following will be found in the Louvre and the Bibliotheque Nationale, commencing with the former.[56]

The beautiful Egyptian Amphora of porphyry transformed by Abbot Suger[57] into an eagle for service as an altar vessel. It is silver-gilt, and bears an inscription round the bird's neck: _Includi Gemmis lapis ista meretur et auro--marmor erat sed in his marmore carior est._[58] Suger himself thus describes it: "Un vase de porphyre, chef-d'uvre de taille et de sculpture; depuis longues annees il etait sans emploi dans l'ecrin; d'amph.o.r.e qu'il etait, nous l'avons transforme en un aigle, au moyen de l'or et de l'argent, nous l'avons adapte au service de l'autel, et sur ce vase nous avons fait inscrire les vers qui suivent."

Another antique sardonyx[59] set by Suger, with a mounting of silver-gilt filagree and precious stones ornamenting it. Suger's account of this vase is as follows: "Nous avons achete, pour le service du meme autel, un calice precieux de sardonyx; nous y avons joint, en guise d'amph.o.r.e, un autre vase de la meme matiere, mais de forme differente, sur lequel sont ces vers: _Dum libare Deo gemmis debemus et auro--Hoc ego Sugerius offero vas Domino._".... "Il etait de ce sentiment que l'on doit employer a la decoration des autels tout ce que l'on a de plus precieux; il disait que si les juifs se sont servis dans l'ancienne loi de vases et de fioles d'or, pour rama.s.ser le sang des animaux, a plus forte raison doit-on moins epargner, dans la nouvelle, l'or et les pierreries pour tout ce qui a rapport au saint sacrifice du corps et du sang de Jesus Christ." Twenty-four _plaques_ which decorated a book of the Gospels, in _cloisonne_ enamel, are of the 9th century. Some of them are ornamented with foliage, others with the four Evangelists. They belonged to the gold book-cover bearing the legend: _Beatrix me in honore Dei omnipotentis et omnium sanctorum eius fieri precepit_; which probably refers to Beatrix, grand-daughter of Hugues Capet and sister of Robert, king of France, wife of Ebles I., count of Reims.

A 13th century reliquary in _champleve_ enamel.

The psalter of Charles le Chauve.

[Ill.u.s.tration: VASE DE SUGER.]

The beautiful antique rock-crystal vase, bearing the name of Alienor d'Aquitaine. It was given by her to Louis VII., who presented it to Suger, who, in his turn, offered it to the Saints, as saith the inscription upon the foot: "_This vase was given by Alienor to Louis, her husband. Mitadol gave it to her grandfather, and the King to me, Suger; and I, Suger, to SS. Rusticus and Eleutherius._"

The paten belonging to Suger's lost chalice. It is a serpentine disc incrusted with golden fishes.

A rectangular plaque of gold, _repoussee_ and gilt, bearing inscriptions in Greek.

A statuette of the Blessed Virgin, in silver, _repoussee_, chased, and parcel gilt and enamelled. The Virgin holds a _fleur-de-lys_, enriched with precious stones, in her right hand. It was given to the abbey by Jehanne d'Evreux, in 1334.

A sceptre with a statuette of Charlemagne upon a lily, of the reign of Charles V.

Another statuette of the Blessed Virgin in silver _repoussee_ and parcel gilt; with a little rock-crystal reliquary enclosing a piece of the swaddling clothes.

In the Bibliotheque:

A cameo (sardonyx) head of Augustus, formerly one of the gems of the reliquary containing the skull of S. Hilary. The reliquary was in the form of a mitred head, after the manner of that of S. Denis. The shoulders were vested in a cope, and this cameo set in the centre of the orphrey. The reliquary was made during the administration of Jerome de Chambellan, grand prior from 1583 to 1606, but part of the mounting holding the pearls and stones seems to be of earlier date. There are three sapphires and three imitation rubies, separated by six bouquets composed of three pearls.[60]

A little chalcedony bust of Annius Verus as Bacchus, inscribed: _Verinus consulis probat tempora._ The bust bears a striking likeness to some medals and coins of the little son of Marcus Aurelius. It was the custom of the Roman consuls to send presents upon their appointments; thus, in sending this bust to a friend, some consul engraved the inscription, which signifies: _The little Verus will remind you of my consulate._ In the list by Dom Felibien of the treasury at S. Denis, this is called: _Tete d'un enfant faite d'une agate orientale._

One of the most precious of the treasures was the Bacchic cantharus, called the Cup of the Ptolomies. It is a sardonyx cup upon a pedestal, with handles of vine stalks, and covered with bas-reliefs. It is supposed to have gained its name from having belonged to Ptolomy XI., the husband of Cleopatra, who bore the surname of Dionysos or Bacchus.

From the subjects of the bas-reliefs, it was undoubtedly consecrated to Bacchus. It has also been called the Cup of Mithridates, as having perhaps belonged to the celebrated collection of vases formed by the famous King. Singular though it may appear, this cup dedicated to Bacchus was given to S. Denis by one of the Carlovingian Kings; was it some blundering over the names, Dionysos and Dionysius? The gold foot was added to give it the form of a chalice, says Tristran de Saint-Amant, and the "grossier distique latin," placed upon this foot, "etait profondement grave sur l'or et la gravure remplie d'email de couleur d'acier braze." The following inscription is easily read in the engraving in Felibien's history, but not the date: _Hoc vas Christe tibi mente dicavit tertius in Francos regmine Karlus._[61]

It has been thought that it was Charles the Simple who made the donation, but Felibien remarks that Charles le Gros as well as Charles le Chauve were also designated Charles III. In any case, it is known to have been in the treasury as early as the 9th century. In 1790, it was placed in the Cabinet de Medailles, but some years after it was stolen with the great cameo and other valuables. The thieves were arrested in Holland, and the cup and the cameo restored to the Bibliotheque; but the mounting of the latter and the foot of the cup had been melted up.

According to a tradition referred to by Marion de Mersan, the queens of France drank consecrated wine from this cup upon their coronation day.

Another tradition a.s.serts that Henri III., in direful need of money, borrowed the cup, and p.a.w.ned it to the Jews of Metz for a million of _livres tournois_.

A beautiful aqua-marine bust is the authentic portrait of the daughter of t.i.tus, wife of Flavius Sabinus. It is signed Evodus, the name of a Greek artist known by two other signed gems. It formed part of the reliquary known as _escrain_ or _oratoire de Charlemagne_. Felibien speaks of it thus: "Ce reliquaire n'est qu'or, perles et pierreries. Sur le haut est representee une princesse que quelques uns estiment etre ou Cleopatre, ou Julie, fille de l'empereur t.i.tus." Some of the stones are gone, but one of the remaining sapphires is an antique intaglio representing upon one side a dauphin, and upon the other a monogram surmounted by a cross of the 5th or 6th century. The letters of the monogram are ??T?, possibly the initials of the owner, or the designation of the Virgin: ????? ????? T??? (_Marie, mere de Dieu_).

[Ill.u.s.tration: STEPS LEADING TO THE APSE.]

The Coupe de Chrosroes I., King of Persia, of the dynasty of the Sa.s.sanides (531-579) is of transparent rock-crystal, engraved with a representation of the King sitting upon his throne. In the history of the abbey, published in 1625, by F. I. Doublet, we find this cup mentioned as having been in the treasury, under the name of Solomon's cup, for more than ten centuries, "et donnee par l'Empereur et Roy de France Charles le Chauve." How it got into the hands of the King is not known. Chrosroes was defeated by Justinian, general of Tiberius Constantine, Emperor of the East; so that possibly the cup found its way to Constantinople after the battle. Felibien's description of it is: "Espece de sous-couppe d'or ornee de crystaux de differentes sortes de couleurs. Au milieu l'on y voit un Roy a.s.sis dans son trone."

Such are a few of the treasures formerly at S. Denis. The church is lovely now, garnished only with its tombs and gla.s.s; what it must have been upon a great festival a couple of hundred years ago, or still farther back, imagination must be left to picture to itself. Even now, upon the fete of the Saint (October 9th), the effect of the procession, as it winds up and down the aisles and steps, is very fine, and quaint, too; for the Suisses wear black hats and feathers, cloaks, breeches, and stockings, after the style of Lawrence's "Kemble as Hamlet"; indeed, they seem to be the Dane, according to the courtly painter, personified.

The costume of the boys, also, is different to that of the other churches. They wear violet ca.s.socks, white cottas, scarlet capes with yellow edges, and red skull caps. The whole affair, the old canons bearing the relics, the boys in their quaint attire, the old-world vergers and beadles, the lights few and far between in the great dim church, the vistas of arched aisles ending in darkness, and the spa.r.s.e congregation, give the impression of some period long before the end of this prosaic 19th century. The _cha.s.ses_ are in their old places upon the raised apse behind the altar; but they are of no artistic value. The setting of the jewels is there, but the jewels are gone. The church remains one of the grandest of its date, but its contents have been mended, patched, and re-made. Still, it is an exquisitely beautiful relic, left us by the ages of Faith.

S. Denis still goes barefoot, but not for love. Stern necessity keeps it so, or thrusts its cold feet into wooden shoes. It carries its red flag also, and waves it menacingly at all who love peace and quiet. Likewise, it perambulates in processions; but its relics are rags and hungry children. From a haven of rest, raised up with perhaps some grains of foolish superst.i.tion; from an artistic centre of all that was beautiful; from the trysting place of enthusiasts, diluted probably with a certain amount of bigotry, S. Denis has become faithless, hopeless, and restless; bigoted in its excessive Communism, unjust in its perversion of true Socialism, flaunting its Anarchic _oriflamme_ in the face of law and order. It is a strange contrast; but perhaps the cause and effect are nearer allied than is generally supposed.

SAINTE-ELIZABETH.

Situated in the Rue du Temple, the church dedicated to the great Hungarian princess formerly faced the entrance to the grim fortress of the Templars, where the poor little Dauphin sighed out his infant life.

The church was built for the nuns of the third order of S. Francis, of which S. Elizabeth was a member; and the first stone was laid in 1628 by a very different sort of Queen, Marie de' Medici. The exterior, with its Doric pilastered doorway, and the interior, with its poor gla.s.s and indifferent sculptures, are alike utterly uninteresting; but the white marble font, bearing the date of 1654, and the woodwork which ornaments the aisle of the sanctuary, are worth a visit. The latter consists of a series of little panels representing scenes from the Old and New Testament in bas-relief, of the end of the 16th century, and are said to have been originally in a church at Arras. There is nothing in the building worthy of its patron, that most perfect of saints, whether we think of her as woman, as queen, or as mother.

"AVE GEMMA SPECIOSA!

MULIERUM SYDUS, ROSA!

EX REGALI STIRPE NATA, MUNDO LICET VIRO DATA NUNC IN COELIS CORONATA; CHRISTO TAMEN DESPONSATA.

UTRIUSQUE SPONSALIA, SIMUL SERVANS ILLIBATA; SARAM SEQUENS FIDE PIA, ET REBECCAM PRUDENTIA, O DILECTA! O BEATA!

NOSTRA ESTO ADVOCATA, ELIZABETH EGREGIA![62]

SAINT-eTIENNE DU MONT.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SAINT eTIENNE DU MONT.]

Upon the summit of the hill which rises up from the Seine, opposite and on the south side of Notre-Dame, is the church of S. etienne du Mont.