MAN

THE PALATINE CHAPEL AN ESSENTIAL WORK OF FLAMBOYANT GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

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Louis IX (future Saint Louis: 1214-1270) funded the chapel from 1234 to 1238 yet it was refurbished by his grand-father Philippe-Auguste. His first objective was to conserve the relics of the Passion of Christ there, acquired in 1237 from Baudouin II, Emperor of Constantinople. His anonymous master-mason, designer in 1231 of the abbey church and royal burial place of Saint-Denis (present Seine-Saint-Denis cathedral) was one of the geniuses of the Gothic period. He developed the "glass cage", specific to the "flamboyant" style. The wall is split, to arrange the glazing in the form of an external partition replacing the walls as far as their upper corners. The building takes on the aspect of a gigantic shrine. The ceiling vaults are only supported by arches and slender clusters of internal columns. The external buttresses are traversed by a gallery which completes the internal passage, above the blind arcade detached from the wall. Thanks to prefabrication in the quarry, the structure represents the ultimate in terms of lightness, the precision of its design and the balance of its elements. This palatine chapel foreshadows Sainte-Chapelle, built from 1244 to 1248 in the capital, for its ostentation and the worship of "Holy Relics" as guarantors of the sacred foundation of royal power.

The chapel of the royal château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, or palatine chapel, measures 27 m long (overall measurement), 16.40 m in height under the vaults and 11.20 m wide from centre to centre of its walls.

Damaged in the Hundred Years War (fire of 1346), it was disfigured by work carried out in the time of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, including the installation of high side-galleries and a new main altar.

Looted during the Revolution, it was re-consecrated as a church for prisoners held in the château, which was used as a military penitentiary from 1836 to 1860.

It was repaired between 1874 and 1908, following plans prepared by the architect Eugene Millet, commissioned by Napoleon III with the restoration of the château, begun in 1855. The restoration of the lower parts left the vaulted ceilings and upper parts untouched, with their painted polychrome decor dating from the 17th century. The lower parts, the windows and external masonry were restored in total keeping with their 13th century condition.

Various fragments of stonework – capitals, shafts, arch stones, gargoyles, portions of windows – found in the excavations and remains of the stripping carried out in the 19th century, attest to the accuracy of the restoration work. These fragments retain remnants of their former colouring.

The stone bench under the blind arcade was used by the sovereign's relatives and château staff when they attended religious services, said daily by a chaplain paid for by the king.

Behind the blind arcade, the sovereign's stalls, on both sides, precede the sanctuary installed in the apse, which accommodated the altar and shrines for the relics.

Louis IX is there as bust on a vault keystone in the apse. He is looking at the great rose window and faces the portraits of his wife Marguerite of Provence and his mother Blanche of Castille, and his sister and four brothers, corresponding to the seven heads on the other vault keystones.

The cast bust of the future Saint Louis allows you to see the only reliable life-size portrait of the king. The deformation of his neck can be seen, due to muscle atrophy from birth.

Nothing remains of the old furniture, nor of the ornamentation of the 13th century stained glass windows, which in the past combined major personalities and various scenes with grisailles in the side and central bays, supplemented by a major group (Image of the world, Redemption or Christ in Majesty) in the rose window with a diameter of 10.20 m.

This large rose window, completely refurbished from 1895 to 1899, is the sister of the south rose window in Saint-Denis. Originally glazed, it had been hidden since 1539 by the guard room (current comparative archaeology room).

A door on the north side allowed private access to the chapel, via the courtyard. Another, opposite, restored in 1899, was perhaps intended as a processional route crossing the moat via a drawbridge.

The consecration crosses, in very light bas-relief, and the remains of painted decoration from the 13th century are visible in the two sections of the apse wall, enclosed by the south wing of the renaissance château and not affected by the restorations.