THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SAINT-DENIS BASILICA

 

THE LEGEND: THE CHURCH IS BUILT ON THE SITE WHERE SAINT DENIS* COLLAPSES AND DIES

(TOWARD 250)

   

*Christian missionary, first bishop of the Paris region, martyr 

Heights are often hallowed, and the site for beheading Denis, Paris's first bishop, and his two companions was a Roman shrine:

View of the Montmartre Hilltop (detail) by Lucien Marchais, 1902 / Sotheby's

Legend has him pick up his head and still preaching, continue along the path, a trade route:

Adapted from a Google ma

The hill appears in paintings about the event:

  The Crucifixion and Episodes of the Life of 

Saint Denis, retable of Saint Denis by 

Henri Bellechose, 1416 / zoom

He is shown holding his head in his hands:

Western tympanum, Saint-Denis basilica

Corey Frye

Facade of Notre-Dame Cathedral

Zoom (please scroll down)

Abbey of Saint-Germain, Auxerre

 Zoom

Church of the Holy Trinity, Paris 9th, 19th century

Impasse Girardon, Paris 18th (near the Basilica) / Trip Advisor

A modern statue

The trade route is one tangible aspect of the legend. Others: 

• Saint Denis preaches with his head in his hands: Decapitation is difficult and executioners might try a number of times before the head was actually severed.

• The spot where Denis is said to have collapsed was a Gallo-Roman cemetery:

Saint-Denis, une ville au Moyen Âge

Gallo-Roman tombs found near the church.

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Detour:

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