Abstract | Keywords | Export | Availability | Bookmark

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The magnificent abbey church of St-Denis, rebuilt during the reign of King Louis IX of France, is one of the principal monuments of Gothic architecture in the thirteenth century. The reconstruction of St-Denis, initiated in 1231, brought to completion the work begun and left incomplete by Abbot Suger almost one hundred years before. While Abbot Suger's renovations have been extensively studied, the equally innovative reconstruction of the church a century later has been neglected until now. In the first complete study of the thirteenth-century church, Caroline Astrid Bruzelius analyzes its structure and chronology and places it within the larger context of Gothic and Rayonnant architecture. Bruzelius demonstrates that the thirteenth-century rebuilding of St-Denis not only preserved and harmonized with parts of Suger's earlier building program, but also comprised a number of innovations of astonishing originality. The elevation, adjusted in the east end to incorporate the older parts of the church, introduced a new approach to glass and stone. The glazing of the triforium and the expansion of the transept created a brightness throughout. The crossing, which functioned as a royal necropolis, became a memorial to the Capetian dynasty, strengthening and legitimizing the authority of king and crown. Bruzelius's analysis of the reconstruction, which incorporates both archaeological evidence and documents, has permitted a new understanding of the importance of the church at St-Denis and of Parisian architecture of this period. A central monument in the Rayonnant Gothic style, St-Denis's influence on cathedrals such as Troyes and Strasbourg clearly illustrates the contribution of Paris to the architecture of other areas and to the development of a new aesthetic.

Architecture, Gothic --- -Christian art and symbolism --- -#TCON:ICOMOS --- Art, Christian --- Art, Ecclesiastical --- Arts in the church --- Christian symbolism --- Ecclesiastical art --- Religious art, Christian --- Sacred art --- Symbolism and Christian art --- Art --- Symbolism --- Christian antiquities --- Church decoration and ornament --- Gothic architecture --- Church architecture --- Eglise abbatiale de Saint-Denis --- Saint-Denis (France) --- -Buildings, structures, etc --- Christian art and symbolism --- Eglise abbatiale de Saint-Denis (Saint-Denis, France) --- Buildings, structures, etc. --- Eglise abbatiale de Saint-Denis (Saint-Denis, France). --- #TCON:ICOMOS --- Cathédrale Saint-Denis (Saint-Denis, France) --- Basilique de Saint-Denis (Saint-Denis, France) --- Saint-Denis (Abbey church : Saint-Denis, France) --- Saint-Denis (Cathedral : Saint-Denis, France) --- Saint-Denis (Basilica : Saint-Denis, France) --- Abbey Church of Saint-Denis (Saint-Denis, France) --- St. Denys (Abbey church : Saint-Denis, France) --- Église S. Denys (Saint-Denis, France) --- Église de S. Denys (Saint-Denis, France) --- St-Denis (Abbey church : Saint-Denis, France) --- Basilique royale de Saint-Denis (Saint-Denis, France) --- Abbaye de Saint-Denis (Saint-Denis, France)