The Churches of Paris, from Clovis to Charles XBeale, Sophia
History
The Churches of Paris, from Clovis to Charles X
Beale, Sophia
Church buildings -- France -- Paris; Paris (France) -- Buildings, structures, etc.
S. Louis ordained, in his foundation charters, that the offerings
received by the priests at the altar should be devoted to the reparation
of the glass, and that if it should be insufficient, the necessary funds
should be taken from the Royal Treasury deposited at the Temple. The
restoration of the windows is now complete, this being the work of MM.
Steinheil and Lusson. These artists have done their work so well, and
matched the colours so perfectly, that it is difficult to distinguish
the new from the old. The rose-window is of the 15th century, the others
of the 13th century. The subjects are from the Old and New Testament,
and from the life of S. Louis. Some of these latter are original, and,
as it is probable that the artists assisted at the ceremonies held in
the chapel, it is also probable that the pictures may be true portraits
of the personages represented. The subjects of the rose-window are all
taken from the Apocalypse.
Such is the chapel which was so dear to the King that he felt a
"_malaise_" when he heard divine service elsewhere, and of which the
troubadour Rutebeuf sings the praises in a poem written after the death
of the Saint, entitled, _Les Regrès au roys Loeys_:
Chapèle de Paris! bien ères maintenue
La mort, ce m'est aduis, t'a fet desconvenue
Du miex de tes amys, t'a laissée toute nue
De la mort, sont plaintifs et grant gent et menue."--
(_MS. Bibliothèque Nationale._)
SAINT-DENIS.
Although the Benedictine abbey church of S. Denis is some miles from
Paris, it is so mixed up with the history of the capital that it ought
not to be omitted in a series of "Paris Churches." Moreover, as it is by
far the finest church in, or near, the metropolis, and one of the
grandest examples of French 13th century architecture, no one ought to
grudge the tiresome journey by train or tram in order to see it, even if
his stay in Paris be limited to a few days. The only thing required to
make it perfectly beautiful is new stained glass in the windows of the
clerestory to replace that put up during the early years of this
century, a horrible example of the execrable taste of the period.
[Illustration: THE ABBEY CHURCH FROM THE GRANDE PLACE.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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