Gilberto Natalini @gnatalini - Twitter Profile

about 20 hours ago

Sainte Chapelle, built on Ile de la Cité in heart of Paris, France 🇫🇷 Sainte-Chapelle de Paris (Sainte-Chapelle du Palais) was specially built to house Christian artefacts like Crown of Thorns and piece of True Cross as well as other relics related to crucifixion of Christ. At beginning of 13th Century CE, Emperor Baudouin II de Courtenay, last Emperor of Constantinople urgently needs money and in order to get it, he offers to sell his most precious religious artefact: Crown of Thorns, placed on Jesus’ head before crucifixion. In 1237, Emperor leaves for a European voyage hoping to find a buyer and an ally to join him in his latest crusade. He meets with French king Louis IX. While king is not interested in joining Emperor’s crusade, he is interested in Crown of Thorns and other relics for sale in Venice. For 135000 pounds, Crown of Thorns is brought to France, arriving in Paris in 1239. Day after arrival of Crown in Paris, a great ceremony is organized, during which relic is placed in Chapel of Saint-Nicolas de la Cité. Three years later, two new artefacts sold by Emperor arrive in Paris: Relics of Passion of Christ and part of the True Cross (on which Jesus was crucified). These were considered to be direct proof of story of Jesus and his crucifixion. These three relics, now owned by king, are particularly important to Christians. Louis IX decides to place these precious items in a more prestigious location than little Saint-Nicolas Chapel. Thus, king calls for construction of a new chapel within old Palais Royal de l’Ile de la Cité, specially designed to house these sacred items. While name of original architect of Sainte-Chapelle de Paris remains unconfirmed to this day, some texts have mentioned the name Pierre de Montreuil. At start of project in 1240 CE, architect of Sainte-Chapelle must already have been a man of a certain age, who possessed quite a bit of favour with king. Thus in 1242, construction work begins. Project is completed in 1248, an impressive accomplishment considering complex gothic architecture of chapel. It's a architectural masterpiece combining fine workmanship and precision. Entirely dedicated to Virgin Mary, lower chapel of Sainte-Chapelle was once reserved for members of court. Lower chapel is notable for lack of lighting, lending it an almost mystical quality. Lack of light is due to its unusually small windows and lower ceilings. Located above lower chapel, upper chapel is dedicated to relics of Crucifixion and is directly connected to first floor of Palais Royal by a small door. Thus, access to upper chapel was, at time, exclusively reserved for members of royal family. A massive rosette dominates entryway and bathes chapel’s floors, walls and sculptures in light. Atmosphere, lofty architecture, massive stained glass windows and warmly coloured light of this room are in stark contrast to darkness of lower chapel. A true symbol of monarchy, Sainte-Chapelle was one of first targets of French Revolutionaries in 1789. While two-thirds of its stained glass windows are original, different restorations throughout chapel’s history have removed some of its panels. Similarly, among 12 statues of apostles located at base of ogive arches, only those that adorn stage in front of apse are genuine. Other statues are replicas of originals, which were badly damaged during French Revolution and now stored at Cluny Museum. Furniture, stalls, rood screen and all regalia were also destroyed during Revolution. At this time, reliquaries and boxes were sent to mint to be melted down. Only Crown of Thorns was saved from destruction. In order to accommodate shelving, 2m of stained glass was removed from upper chapel and it was temporarily converted into archival storage. Removed stained glass windows were, for most part sold to England. Between 1840-1868, Chapel finally underwent works to restore it to its authentic original appearance and preserve its historical value for future generations. #archaeohistories