Royal Tombs of France
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The Royal Tombs of France
 
Anyone interested in the splendid gisants or Royal Tombs of France? Sadly most of them are empty having been desecrated by...
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An Ard Ri

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The Royal Tombs of France

Anyone interested in the splendid gisants or Royal Tombs of France? Sadly most of them are empty having been desecrated by either the Huguenots or by mobs from 1792 onwards.

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Aren't some French royals buried in cathedrals like King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette whom are buried at the basilica St Denis where their statues kneel side by side in a prayer.

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I'm very interested. We are planning a trip to Fontevraud in the near future. St. Denis is fascinating, even including the desecration - the memorial where the bones were reinterred is one of the most moving places I've ever seen, really lingered there. But the mana of the royals still cling to those amazing tombs (there are royal/aristocratic tombs in the Louvre, too).

Hard to wrap my head around tomb desecration and that level of discontent with one's monarchs - but it happened, so people were indeed extremely unhappy with their government during the Revolution. (Beheading royals to make sure they did not rule again makes more sense, politically, than tomb desecration - although I suppose people were looting, right?)

Both practices (beheading, looting tombs) sound so...medieval, but not sure the Middle Ages had an event as bloody as the French Revolution. They sure had their share of mass executions in the Middle Ages, of course - but sheer population numbers weren't enough to compete with the late 18th century.

Looting of royal tombs, though, is not unheard of - I just have to remember there are people who will do that sort of thing. I find it hard to call them persons.

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The french monarchy also had the tradition of keeping the heart of a king on display except the only one to not have his heart out was King Louis XV and even the son of King Louis XVI, Louis Charles the proclaimed Louis XVII heart in a Case like that of his ancestors, to me it's weird but it's their tradition.

Here is the heart of Louis XVII

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Aren't some French royals buried in cathedrals like King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette whom are buried at the basilica St Denis where their statues kneel side by side in a prayer.

Most French Monarchs & Consorts as well as other royal Prince & Princesses were originally buried at the Royal Abbey (now Basilca/Cathedral) of St. Denis outside Paris.

In 1793,following the abolition of the Monarchy the royal tombs at St Denis & other churches were desecrated by revolutionary mobs.Tombs were smashed,coffins broken open & plundered.Most of the royal remains were dragged from their coffins & dumped into a mass pit outside the Abbey.The remains of some Kings & Queens miraculously survived or escaped the attention of the revolutionaries (Louise of Lorraine,Clementia of Hungary,Isabelle de Hainaut & Philippe I of France).

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St Denis

A few years ago when I visited St Denis, I noticed that there were three rooms in the crypt. I think two were where the remains were reinterred, as it had the names of the royals carved on the walls, please correct me if I am wrong. The third was a dark room. I put my camera, I don't know why, through the small barred window and snapped. When I looked at the result, it showed caskets and urns in the room. Does anyone know for certain why they would be in this room and to whom did they belong?

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A few years ago when I visited St Denis, I noticed that there were three rooms in the crypt. I think two were where the remains were reinterred, as it had the names of the royals carved on the walls, please correct me if I am wrong. The third was a dark room. I put my camera, I don't know why, through the small barred window and snapped. When I looked at the result, it showed caskets and urns in the room. Does anyone know for certain why they would be in this room and to whom did they belong?

Possibly this part of the vault contained the mumified hearts of The Kings of France which were placed in urns,sadly most of them are now empty.

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The head of Henri IV has yet to be reburied at Saint Denis.

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Burial sites of The Kings of France,i'm starting this list with Hugh Capet.

Hugh Capet, King : 987-996

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

Robert II, : King 996-1031

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

Henri I,King : 1031-1060

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

Philippe I,King : 1060-1108

Buried at the Benedictine Fleury Abbey

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Louis VI,King of France (1108-1137)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

Louis VII,King of France (1137-1180)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

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Philippe II Auguste,King of France (1180-1223)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

Louis VIII,King of France (1223-1226)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

Louis IX,Saint & King of France (1226-1270)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris (Tomb destroyed)

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The parents of King Francois I:

Une cérémonie à cathédrale d'Angoulême pour les parents de François Ier

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His father and grandparents,their remains were rediscovered The remains are believed to be those of,Charles d'Orléans, Count of Angoulême (French royal Prince & father of François Ier who died in 1496) & his parents,Jean d'd'Orléans (d.1467), Count of Angoulême & Marguerite de Rohan (d.1496).

Exclu CL: les squelettes exhumés à la cathédrale d'Angoulême sont ceux des aïeux de François Ier - CharenteLibre

The mother of King Francois Ier was buried at Saint Denis in 1531,her tomb was ransacked and violated with all the others in October 1793.

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Philippe III, King of France (1270-1285)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

Philippe IV le Bel,King of France (1285-1314)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

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Louis X,King of France (1314-1316),King of Navarre and Comte de Champagne (1305-1316).

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

Jean/John I,King of France,Navarre and Comte de Champagne (15 November – 20 November 1316)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

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Philippe V ,King of France and Navarre (1316-1322)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

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When Louis XVIII ascended the throne in 1815, he had the remains dumped in the pit brought back to the crypt and sealed behind the black walls. Then he had the names put on the walls. The second room contains the caskets of Louis-Philippe d'Orléans' children and grandchildren.

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A few years ago when I visited St Denis, I noticed that there were three rooms in the crypt. I think two were where the remains were reinterred, as it had the names of the royals carved on the walls, please correct me if I am wrong. The third was a dark room. I put my camera, I don't know why, through the small barred window and snapped. When I looked at the result, it showed caskets and urns in the room. Does anyone know for certain why they would be in this room and to whom did they belong?

You're right. When Louis XVIII ascended the throne in 1815, he had the remains that had been dumped in the pit in 1793 brought back to the crypt and sealed behind the black walls with their names carved in them. The third room contains the caskets of Louis-Philippe d'Orléans' children and grandchildren.

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That 3rd room also contains the coffins/remains of Louis XV 's daughters,the Princesses Marie Adélaïde de France and Victoire de France.Both of them escaped from France in 1791 and died in exile.Louis XVIII later had their remains brought back to France and buried in the Bourbon vault of St Denis.

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The french monarchy also had the tradition of keeping the heart of a king on display except the only one to not have his heart out was King Louis XV and even the son of King Louis XVI, Louis Charles the proclaimed Louis XVII heart in a Case like that of his ancestors, to me it's weird but it's their tradition.

Here is the heart of Louis XVII

Did all the French monarchs have their hearts preserved?

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Did all the French monarchs have their hearts preserved?

The majority of French King and Queen's remains were buried at Saint Denis outside Paris,whilst their hearts and entrails were buried at another Abbey or Church with a separate monument.

Example : Heart Monument of Henri II of France,commissioned in 1561 by his widow,Queen-Regent of France Catherine de Médicis.It was originally housed at the now destroyed l'église des Célestins de Paris.

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ2J0-2N327wP38QU8tZoyFclmwTomM_Uq-KxJegqT8AUIs3Fy9

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Charles IV King of France/Charles I King of Navarre (3 January 1322 – 1 February 1328)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

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Philippe VI,King of France and Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois (1 April 1328 – 22 August 1350).

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

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Jean II,King of France and Count of Auvergne and Boulogne (22 August 1350 – 8 April 1364).

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

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Charles V,King of France (8 April 1364 – 16 September 1380).

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

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Charles VI,King of France (16 September 1380 – 21 October 1422)

Buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris

Tomb of Charles VI of France.

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Charles VII,King of France (21 October 1422 – 22 July 1461)

Charles was buried at Saint Denis Basilica outside Paris,however his tomb was ransacked and destroyed in August 1793 during the French Revolution.

Now lost tomb of Charles VII and Marie d'Anjou.

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Louis XI,King of France (22 July 1461 - 30 August 1483)

Unlike other French Monarchs and Consorts,Louis XI was not buried at Saint Denis.He was buried at the Basilique Notre-Dame de Cléry-Saint-André near Orléans.His tomb suffered damaged in 1562 when the church was sacked by the Huguenots and again during the French Revolution.