The Sainte-Chapelle and the Construction of Sacral Monarchy: Royal Architecture in Thirteenth-Century Paris
2016; Oxford University Press; Volume: 30; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/fh/crw068
ISSN1477-4542
Autores Tópico(s)Historical and Religious Studies of Rome
ResumoThe phrases composing the title of Meredith Cohen’s slim volume offer a monographic study of the construction and decoration of the Sainte-Chapelle, an investigation into the development of the medieval concept of sacral monarchy and a survey of the French kings’ building projects in their capital city in one of its most heady periods. A tall order indeed. These topics are organised in five chapters framed by an introduction and conclusion, supplemented with four appendices. The first chapter records that Philip Augustus (d. 1223) paved the streets, built city walls and constructed the Louvre beyond them to the west. The discussion then spreads to architectural projects by others, to the end of the century and beyond. Many of these reappear in the final chapter on Louis IX’s post-crusade architectural patronage. Chapter 2 treats the Sainte-Chapelle’s architecture and sculpture, attempting to dislodge the general opinion of specialists that it was old-fashioned by 1245. Whether or not that is true for the structure, it is unquestionably so for what might be called the Sainte-Chapelle’s most memorable feature, its stained glass—which indeed is hardly mentioned. The third chapter discusses previous, possible models for the Sainte-Chapelle, including those at Constantinople, Aachen, Oviedo, Palermo and the other chapels (now lost) connected to the king’s palace on the Ile de la Cité. Cohen’s conclusion—rather unsurprisingly—identifies the most influential prototypes as the extant royal chapel at Saint-Germain-en-Laye (founded by Louis IX in 1238, preceding the Sainte-Chapelle of 1239–48) and bishops’ chapels, particularly those with two disconnected stories (as Inge Hacker-Sück established in 1962). The nearest example to the Sainte-Chapelle was the bishop’s chapel at Notre-Dame.
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