Saint Denis

Just north of Paris, Saint Denis is the burial place of scores of kings and queens beginning with Clovis (died 511). Louis XVIII ordered scattered royal remains and funeral monuments brought to Saint Denis in the early 19th century. Loose bones were deposited in an ossuary in the crypt and funeral monuments abound in the ambulatory. Notable monuments are Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Catherine de Medici and Henry II, Pepin, Francis I. Abbot Suger (died 1151] was the genius behind the construction of what is considered the first French gothic cathedral. Today was a bright, sunny day, which made the stained glass sparkle. Some walls appear to be nothing but stained glass. A remarkable contemporary installation near the high altar is a Jacob’s ladder of colored glass, that also reflects the stained glass. This is one of three posts today; the others are Odds and Ends, Saint Eustache. Tomorrow, Spain.