inSPIREd Sunday

Sally and Beth host inSPIREd Sunday!  

May 2019 - Paris France

This was a busy week as we ended our bus tour of France in Paris and then went on to Rome and Florence!

The Sainte-Chapelle ("Holy Chapel"), located within the Palais de Justice complex on the Ile de la Cité in the center of Paris, is a diminutive yet perfect example of the Rayonnant Style of Gothic architecture. It was erected by Louis IX, king of France, to house the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross, precious relics of the Passion. Louis had purchased these in 1239 from the Byzantine emperor Baldwin II, for the exorbitant sum of 135,000 livres (the chapel "only" cost 40,000 livres to build). Two years later, more relics were brought from Byzantium.

The structure is 36 m (118 ft) long, 17 m (56 ft) wide, and 42.5 m (139 ft) high. Fronted by a two-story porch, the Sainte-Chapelle has the emphatically vertical proportions of Gothic architecture, which had been perfected during the 12th century. The architectural model is that of a building with a single nave, culminating in a chevet with seven panels. Outside, the design concentrates on the essentials – a sober base and heavy buttresses contrasting with the soaring lightness of the upper parts. The slate roof is dominated by the spire made of cedar, 33 meters (108 ft) high, a masterpiece of finesse, made in the 19th century, but an exact replica of the 15th century spire.

French fleurs de lys on an azure background and towers of Castile alternate on the columns. The towers are an homage to Blanche of Castile, Saint Louis' mother. The vaulted ceiling is painted to resemble star-filled heavens, and the floor contains tombstones covering the sepulchres of treasurers and reverends of the Sainte-Chapelle. During the period of the monarchy, the lower chapel was reserved for palace staff.

Perceived as a symbol of both religion and royalty, the Sainte-Chapelle suffered considerable damage as a result of the French Revolution. Its furniture, stalls and choir wall disappeared; the organ built by François Henri Cliquot was transported to Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois; the spire was knocked down, the tympans damaged, and the holy relics were scattered. Most of the statues were saved by Alexandre Lenoir. Starting in 1837 under the auspices of Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, significant restoration work was undertaken by the architects Félix Duban, Jean Baptiste Lassus and Emile Boeswillwald, and by 1868 the Sainte-Chapelle was returned to its previous splendor. While some of the relics were never to be found again, others are today kept in the treasure of Notre-Dame Cathedral and at the National Library.


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