Twelfth century Paris, a centre for illuminated manuscripts and trade, was newly fortified and paved by the Capetian Philippe-August (1179-1223). Its great cathedral of Notre Dame was begun in 1163, the University was founded in 1215, followed by the Sorbonne in 1253.
The city's religious status was elevated to one of huge importance in the West by the procurement of the most Holy Relic of the Crown of Thorns from Emperor Baudouin II of Constantinople by Louis IX in 1239. Its reliquary shrine took the form of a two tiered architectural jewel box of iconographically cohesive stained glass, sculpture, and paintings which we know as Sainte Chapelle.
Within the complex of the Palais Royale - residence of the Kings of France until Charles V moved to the Louvre in 1358 and now the Palais de Justice - its upper chapel, the display case for the relics, is a symphony of light and colour. Its lower chapel, dedicated to the Virgin, was the parish church of the Palais Royale.
The tour is based in Paris with visits to Dijon and Beaune. A full itinerary will be provided before departure.
Notre Dame, interior and exterior
Ile De La Cite: Sainte Chapelle, Musee de Cluny, St. Severin Musee du Louvre St. Denis
Dijon is major artistic centre reflecting the splendour of the Burgundian Court. The Palais des Ducs, in the elegant Place de la Liberation, was largely rebuilt in 17th. century and now houses a prestigious art collection including the mausoleums of the Dukes of Burgundy sculpted by Claus Sluter [c 1345 - 1405] and important retables by Hans Memlinc and Roger van der Weyden. We will visit the Chartreuse de Champmol, originally the site of a family tomb of Philip the Bold and now a psychiatric hospital. All that remains, after disastrous destruction during the Revolution, is the original portal of the mausoleum with sculptures by Claus Sluter and the base of what was a huge calvary often referred to as The Well of Moses. Now protected from the elements by a small modern building, are the six exquisitely realistic and over life sized prophets also by Claus Sluter. The Musee Archeologique contains the Sluter head of Christ, also from the "Well of Moses".
The Hotel Dieu at Beaune was founded by Chancellor Nicolas Rolin and his wife in 1443, largely as a response to the poverty and famine endured by the inhabitants of the city during the Hundred Year's War. Here we will see many original features of the hospice including Rogier van der Weyden's Last Judgement.
On Christmas Day 800 at St Peter's in Rome, Charles, son of Pepin the Frank was crowned with the title of Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III. The dynasty founded by his father did not prosper. In 885 the Vikings pillaged Paris and by 912 they had settled in Rouen, carving out the Duchy of Normandy for themselves and using it as a base to invade England in 1066.
In 910 the Benedictine Abbey at Cluny was founded and in 967 a supporter of the Cluniac reforms, Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, was elected King of the Franks, founding the Capetian dynasty which made the Ile de France the centre of their royal domain. With the Normans distracted in England, Paris grew and prospered; in the 12th century the Hanse Parisienne, a league of merchants, was established, marking the foundation of the municipality. From 1122 Abbot Suger sowed the seeds of Gothic architecture at St. Denis; in 1163 the foundation stone of Notre Dame was laid; Philippe-Auguste, who succeeded in 1180, began the construction of the Louvre.
His grandson, Louis IX (ruled 1226-1270 and canonised in 1297 as Saint Louis), was a great Crusader, supporting the disastrous and short-lived Latin Empire of Byzantium. He redeemed the Crown of Thorns from the Venetians, to whom it had been pledged as surety by the bankrupt Latin Emperor Baudouin II, and built the Sainte Chapelle to house the precious relic.
With the extinction of the Capetian line, the throne was claimed by Philippe of Valois and contested by Edward III of England, who invaded France precipitating the Hundred Years War. The war, and the onset of the Black Death in 1348, led to political violence and popular uprisings. In January 1357, Étienne Marcel, the Provost of Paris, led a merchants' revolt in a bid to curb the power of the monarchy and obtain privileges for the city. After initial concessions by the Crown, the city was retaken by royalist forces in 1358 and Marcel and his followers were killed.
In the aftermath of the revolt, Charles V built the fortress of the Bastille. Another revolt broke out in 1382 under Charles VI (Charles the Mad) but was quickly and violently suppressed. Civil war broke out after the assassination of Louis of Valois, Duke of Orleans by the Burgundian John the Fearless. Louis of Valois, acting as regent to his unstable brother, was the son-in-law of Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan. His rival for the regency, John, Duke of Burgundy, controlled Flanders; his brother, the Duke of Brabant (which included Antwerp), was killed at Agincourt.
In the ensuing chaos, Henry V of England captured Paris in 1420. Despite an attack by Joan of Arc in 1429, the English held Paris until it was recaptured by Charles VII in 1436. In 1430, Henry VI of England was crowned King of France at Notre-Dame.
With England occupied by the Wars of the Roses, Louis XI, the son of Charles VII, siezed his chance to crush his Burgundian rivals, defeating Charles the Bold of Burgundy at Nancy in 1477. Charles had married Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV of England; as Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, she commissioned an enormous number of magnificent illuminated manuscripts, many displayed in the Royal Academy exhibition of Flemish manuscripts in 2004.
