Go to the 4 chapters of the website Go to the section of the selected chapter Go to the text of the page
To the 9 parts of chapter Men and women of Saint-Denis
You are here :
Home > Men and women of Saint-Denis > Saint Denis
To know more...
Saint-Denis in picturesEarly history
-----------------------------------
The tomb of Saint Denis
-----------------------------------
Now it's your turn
Title, subtitle and main picture of the page
Saint Denis
Died circa 250
Text of the page
Saints Denis, Rusticus and Eleutherius, after an early 11th century gradual gradual
------------------------------------------------------
hymnal used in the mass. from Saint-Denis. © Bibliothèque Mazarine, ms 384 / BNF.
------------------------------------------------------
hymnal used in the mass. from Saint-Denis. © Bibliothèque Mazarine, ms 384 / BNF.
Saints Denis, Rusticus and Eleutherius being led before the Sisinnius the provost, from a capital discovered at Saint-Denis, circa 1120. © UASD / E. Jacquot.
Two sources recount the life of Denis, the bishop who converted the Parisians to Christianity and who was persecuted and beheaded by the Romans. The first account places him in the first century CE and states that his tomb is located at Catulliacus, the future Saint-Denis. It specifies that around 475, Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, had a basilica1 built over his grave. The second source, attributed to Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (538 - 594)
------------------------------------------------------
Bishop of Tours, he was the author of the Ten Books of History, better known as the History of the Franks, a major source for the history of Merovingian France. , states that Denis was one of seven missionary bishop charged with converting Gaul. The author places the martyr's death around the time of the emperor Decius (249-251).
------------------------------------------------------
Bishop of Tours, he was the author of the Ten Books of History, better known as the History of the Franks, a major source for the history of Merovingian France. , states that Denis was one of seven missionary bishop charged with converting Gaul. The author places the martyr's death around the time of the emperor Decius (249-251).
These short and contradictory pieces of information have led to a legend whose goal was to increase the saint's prestige by placing him closer to the roots of Christianity. Around 600, a martyrology martyrology
------------------------------------------------------
a liturgical book that lists the names of the saints. lists for the first time Denis' two companions, the priest Eleutherius and the deacon Rusticus. Around the same date, the first of the Lives Lives
------------------------------------------------------
Raccounts of the lives of the saints, also called hagiographies. identify Denis-the first bishop of Paris - with Dionysius the Areopagite, who was converted by the apostle Paul on the Areopagus hill in Athens, and who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Denis was sent to Paris by pope Clement I, where he built the first church. The emperor, worried by the many conversions that were taking place, ordered them to be persecuted. Denis, Rusticus and Eleutherius were arrested, extensively tortured and finally beheaded on the "Mont de Mercure"-the place that is now Montmartre. But, so the legend goes, Denis picked up his head and, guided by two angels, walked to a place where the pious woman Catulla buried him and his two companions in a field.
End of the text of the page
------------------------------------------------------
a liturgical book that lists the names of the saints. lists for the first time Denis' two companions, the priest Eleutherius and the deacon Rusticus. Around the same date, the first of the Lives Lives
------------------------------------------------------
Raccounts of the lives of the saints, also called hagiographies. identify Denis-the first bishop of Paris - with Dionysius the Areopagite, who was converted by the apostle Paul on the Areopagus hill in Athens, and who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Denis was sent to Paris by pope Clement I, where he built the first church. The emperor, worried by the many conversions that were taking place, ordered them to be persecuted. Denis, Rusticus and Eleutherius were arrested, extensively tortured and finally beheaded on the "Mont de Mercure"-the place that is now Montmartre. But, so the legend goes, Denis picked up his head and, guided by two angels, walked to a place where the pious woman Catulla buried him and his two companions in a field.
Decapitation of the three saints Denis, Rusticus and Eleutherius, from the tympanum of the basilica's northern door, circa 1170.
© UASD / E. Jacquot.
© UASD / E. Jacquot.
Decapitation of saint Denis in La Vie de
saint Denis, circa 1250 (BNF, Nouv. acq. fr. 1098 fo 44).
© BNF
© BNF
End of the text of the page
Navigation dans les 7 menus utilitaires du site