Sainte-Chapelle (Vincennes)

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Sainte-Chapelle
West facade
inner space

The Sainte-Chapelle ( Holy Chapel ) is the palace chapel of the castle of Vincennes , a city ​​in the east of Paris in the Val-de-Marne department in the French region of Île-de-France . The church was begun in the late 14th century in the Flamboyant Gothic style and completed in the mid-16th century. In the choir extraordinary are stained glass windows from the Renaissance received. In 1853, the church dedicated to Mary and the Trinity was added to the list of architectural monuments in France as Monument historique .

history

In the last years of his life, the French King Charles V (1338-1380) had a chapel built on the enclosed area of ​​his castle complex in Vincennes, opposite the donjon . Similar to the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, relics of the Passion were to be kept here. Under the successor Charles VI. (1368–1422) the work was continued, but this was followed by a longer interruption due to the Hundred Years War . The church was only completed in 1552 by King Henry II (1519–1559), who moved the seat of the Order of St. Michael to the Sainte-Chapelle. In 1548 he commissioned the architect Philibert de l'Orme with the vaulting of the nave. Charles Carmoy was entrusted with the painting of the vault ribs and the keystones . Scibec de Carpi was commissioned to design the portal and the choir stalls . The large stained glass windows in the choir were made by the glass painter Nicolas Beaurain .

architecture

Exterior construction

The exterior is structured by strong buttresses decorated with pinnacles . The walls of the nave and the choir are broken through by high tracery windows. The ogival archivolts of the windows have crabs occupied and finials crowned pediment mounted in the middle of quatrefoil are sculpted -Ornamente. In the north and south of the choir there are two oratorios that are accessible from the outside.

A large rose window and a multi-tiered portal in the Flamboyant Gothic style are cut into the west facade, which is flanked by two dainty corner towers with stone spikes . The rosette and portal are crowned by filigree openwork eyelashes .

inner space

console
Keystone

In contrast to most palace chapels, the Sainte-Chapelle in Vincennes consists of a room that is not divided into two floors. The oratorios accessible from outside are also unusual.

The nave is 33 meters long. At ten meters wide and 20 meters high, it is twice as high as it is wide. The interior has a single nave and ends in a choir closed on five sides in the east. The sacristy , on the upper floor of which was the treasury, is connected to the northern oratory . The two oratorios were reserved for the king (in the north) and the queen (in the south). The king's oratory now houses the grave of the Duke of Enghien , whom Napoleon had executed in the castle moat in 1804. Tympana carved with angels and coats of arms are placed above the doors that lead from the choir into the oratorios . In the west, two narrow spiral staircases lead to a gallery .

The lavishly designed consoles with figural scenes and the surrounding frieze date from the 15th century. The keystones of the vault are decorated with royal emblems and monograms . The crescent moon or the three intertwined crescent moons are reminiscent of the motto of Henry II donec totum impleat orbem (until the world is filled with my fame). In addition to the letter H for Heinrich II. There are the letters K for Katharina von Medici , his wife, the combination of the letters H and C (for Heinrich and Katharina) and the letters IX for the later King Karl IX. , the son of the two.

Henry II

Leaded glass window

Choir window
Chain of the Order of Michael

The leaded glass windows in the choir were created in the 1550s by the glass painter Nicolas Beaurain . The unusually large representations relate to the Revelation of John . The artist who created the boxes is not known.

Five windows consist of two lancets each. Scenes of the apocalypse are depicted on two levels, which are framed by architectural elements in grisaille technique. They are decorated with crescent moons and the monograms of Heinrich II and Catherine de Medici. Coats of arms and trophies are shown in the lower fields . Of the original five portraits in the lower fields, only the portrait of Heinrich II remains on site. The portrait of King Francis I is in the Musée national de la Renaissance in Écouen , the other portraits depicting Anne de Montmorency , the Governor of Vincennes, the Duke of Guise and his brother Charles , Cardinal of Lorraine no longer received. The figures are shown in a similar way, kneeling in front of a prayer book and as members of the Order of Michael, dressed in the religious costume, around their necks a chain studded with shells, on which a medallion with the relief of the Archangel Michael hangs.

Window 0: Fifth and Sixth Trumpets

Locust plague
Angel of revenge
  • Above: Plague of locusts (Fifth Trumpet, Rev 9: 1-12)

“The fifth angel blew his trumpet. Then I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth; he was given the key to the shaft that leads into the abyss. And he opened the pit of the abyss. Then smoke rose from the shaft, as if from a large stove, and the sun and air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft. Locusts came over the earth from the smoke and were given strength just as scorpions have on earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, the green plants, and the trees, but only to those who do not have God's seal on their foreheads. They were ordered not to kill the people but only to torture them for five months. And the pain they inflict is as intense as when a scorpio stings a person. In those days people will seek death but not find it; they will want to die, but death will flee from them. And the locusts look like horses prepared for battle; on their heads they wear something that resembles shimmering gold wreaths, and their faces are like human faces, their hair is like women's hair, their teeth like a lion's bite, their chest like iron armor; and the rustle of their wings is like the roar of chariots, of horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails is the force with which they harm people for five months. As king you have the angel of the abyss over you; it is called in Hebrew Abaddon, in Greek Apollyon. The first woe is over. The woe will come twice more . "

  • below: angel of vengeance (sixth trumpet, Rev 9: 13-21)

“The sixth angel blew his trumpet: then I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that stands before God. The voice said to the sixth angel, who is holding the trumpet: Untie the four angels who are tied to the great river, the Eufrat. Then the four angels were released, who stood ready for the year and month, day and hour to kill a third of humanity. And the number of the horsemen of this army was many thousand times a thousand; I heard that number. And this is what the horses and riders looked like in the vision: They wore fire-red, smoke-blue and sulfur-yellow armor. The horses 'heads were like lions' heads, and fire, smoke, and brimstone pounded out of their mouths. A third of the people were killed by these three plagues, fire, smoke, and brimstone that came out of their mouths. For the deadly power of horses was in their mouths and in their tails. Their tails were like snakes that have heads that they can use to cause harm. But the rest of the people who had not perished as a result of these plagues did not turn away from the work of their hands: They did not cease to prostrate themselves before their demons, before their idols made of gold, silver, ore, stone and wood, the idols who can neither see nor hear nor walk. They did not give up murder and sorcery, fornication and theft. "

Window 1: Third and Fourth Trumpets

The water becomes bitter
Darkening of the stars
  • above: The water becomes bitter (Third Trumpet, Rev 8: 10-11)

“The third angel blew his trumpet. Then a great star fell from the sky; it blazed like a torch and fell on a third of the rivers and springs. The name of the star is wormwood . A third of the water became bitter and many people died from the water because it had become bitter. "

  • below: Darkening of the stars (fourth trumpet, Rev 8: 12-13)

“And the fourth angel blew his trumpet; and the third part of the sun and the third part of the moon and the third part of the stars were struck, so that their third part was darkened and the light did not shine for the third part of the day, and likewise in the night. And I saw and heard how an eagle flew through the middle of the sky and said in a big voice: Woe, woe, woe to those who live on earth because of the other trumpets of the three angels, which are still to blow! "

Window 2: First and Second Trumpets

Burn trees and plants
The sea turns to blood
  • above: burning trees and plants (first trumpet, Rev 8,7)

“Then the seven angels got ready to blow the seven trumpets. The first angel blew his trumpet. Then hail and fire, mixed with blood, fell on the land. It burned a third of the land, a third of the trees and all the green grass. "

  • below: The sea becomes blood (Second Trumpet, Rev 8: 8-9)

“The second angel blew his trumpet. Something resembling a great burning mountain was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood. And a third of the creatures that live in the sea perished and a third of the ships were destroyed. "

Window 3

Angel appears to John
Testimony of the two prophets
  • above: The angel and the little book (Rev 10: 1–11)

“And I saw: Another mighty angel came down out of heaven; he was covered by a cloud and the rainbow was over his head. His face was like the sun and his legs were like pillars of fire. In his hand he was holding a small, open book. He put his right foot on the sea, his left foot on the land and called out like a lion roars. After he called, the seven thunders raised their voices. When the seven thunders spoke, I wanted to write it down. Then I heard a voice calling out from heaven: Keep secret what the seven thunders have spoken; don't write it down! And the angel, whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land, raised his right hand to heaven. He swore by him who lives forever, who created the heavens and what is in it, the earth and what is on it, and the sea and what is in it: There will be no more time, except in the days when the seventh Angel raises his voice and blows his trumpet, the mystery of God will also be completed; so he had announced it to his servants, the prophets. And the voice from heaven that I had heard said to me once more: Go, take the book that the angel who stands on the sea and on the land is holding open in his hand. And I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. He said to me: take and eat it! It will be bitter in your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth. So I took the little book from the angel's hand and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I ate it, my stomach became bitter. And I was told: You must prophesy once again about many peoples and nations with their languages ​​and kings. "

  • below: The testimony of the two prophets (Rev 11: 3-14)

“And I will tell my two witnesses to appear in repentance and speak prophetically for twelve hundred and sixty days. They are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks that stand before the Lord of the earth. If someone tries to harm them, fire strikes out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so everyone must die who wants to harm them. They have power to close the heavens so that rain will not fall in the days of their ministry as prophets. They also have power to turn the water into blood and strike the earth with all sorts of plagues as often as they want. When they have fulfilled their mission as witnesses, the beast that rises from the abyss will fight, defeat and kill them. And their corpses remain on the streets of the big city. Spiritually understood this city is called Sodom and Egypt; there her Lord was also crucified. People from all races and tribes, languages ​​and nations will see their bodies there for three and a half days; they will not allow the bodies to be buried. And the inhabitants of the earth are happy about it, congratulate one another and send gifts to one another; for the two prophets had tormented the inhabitants of the earth. But after the three and a half days, the spirit of life came again from God and they got up. Then everyone who saw them was overcome with great fear. And they heard a loud voice calling from heaven: Come up! Before the eyes of their enemies, they rose to heaven in the cloud. At that moment there was a tremendous earthquake. A tenth of the city collapsed and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were seized with horror and honored the God of heaven. The second woe is over, the third woe is coming soon. "

Window 4

Servants of God are given a seal on their foreheads
Seven trumpets
  • above: The designation of the servants of God (Rev 7: 1–17)

“Then I saw: four angels stood at the four corners of the earth. They held fast the four winds of the earth so that the wind would not blow over the land or the sea, or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east; He had the seal of the living God and called in a loud voice to the four angels who were given the power to harm the land and the sea: Do not harm the land, the sea, or the trees until we are our servants God have put the seal on their foreheads. And I learned the number of those marked with the seal. There were one hundred and forty-four thousand from all the tribes of the sons of Israel who bore the seal. "

  • below: The seventh seal and the seven angels (Rev 8: 1-5)

“When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw that seven angels stood before God; seven trumpets were given to them. "

Side choir windows

The two upper side windows consist of four lancets. Each window is dedicated to an episode from the Apocalypse.

The souls call to God
  • Window 5 (north): The fifth seal (Rev 6: 9-11)

“When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. They shouted in a loud voice: How much longer do you hesitate, Lord, you holy and true one, to keep judgment and to avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth? A white robe was given to each of them; and they were told to wait a short time until the full number was reached through the death of their fellow servants and brothers who would still have to die like them. "

  • Window 6 (south): The hour of the harvest (Rev 14: 14-20)
The Son of Man with a Sickle

“Then I saw a white cloud. On the cloud sat someone who looked like a son of man. He wore a golden wreath on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple and called out to him who was sitting on the cloud in a loud voice: Send out your sickle and reap! Because the time to harvest has come: the fruit of the earth has ripe. And he who sat on the cloud hurled his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. And another angel came out of the heavenly temple. He too had a sharp sickle. Another angel came from the altar and had power over the fire. To those who carried the sharp sickle he called out in a loud voice: Send out your sharp sickle and harvest the grapes from the vine of the earth! Its berries have ripe. Then the angel hurled his sickle on the earth, reaped the vine from the earth, and threw the grapes into the great wine press of God's wrath. The wine press was kicked outside the city and blood streamed from the wine press; it rose to the reins of the horses, one thousand six hundred stadia. "

literature

  • Louis Grodecki, Françoise Perrot, Jean Taralon (eds.): Les vitraux de Paris, de la région parisienne, de la Picardie et du Nord-Pas-de-Calais . (= Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi ). Récensement des vitraux anciens de la France. Volume 1, Éditions du Center National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris 1978, ISBN 2-222-02263-0 , pp. 112-113.
  • Jean-Marie Pérouse de Montclos (ed.): Le Guide du Patrimoine. Île-de-France . Hachette, 2nd edition, Paris 1994, ISBN 2-01-016811-9 , pp. 731-734.
  • Georges Poisson (ed.): Dictionnaire des Monuments d'Île-de-France . Éditions Hervas, Paris 2001, ISBN 2-84334-002-0 , p. 882.

Web links

Commons : Sainte-Chapelle (Vincennes)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Château de Vincennes in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  2. ↑ 9.1 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart 1980
  3. ↑ 9.13 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart 1980
  4. ↑ 8.10 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart 1980
  5. ↑ 8,12 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Catholic Bible Institute, Stuttgart 1980
  6. ↑ 8.6 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart 1980
  7. ↑ 8.8 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart 1980
  8. ↑ 10.1 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart 1980
  9. ↑ 11.3 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart 1980
  10. ↑ 7.1 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart 1980
  11. ↑ 8.1 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart 1980
  12. ↑ 6.9 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart 1980
  13. ↑ 14.14 EU Revelation of John , standard translation of the Holy Scriptures, Catholic Bible Institute, Stuttgart 1980

Coordinates: 48 ° 50 '32.5 "  N , 2 ° 26" 10.9 "  E