Ste-Genevieve

Ste-Genevieve
Holy Apostle, St-Peter, Ste-Genevieve

Basic Info
Dates	Replace by Pantheon in the nineteenth century.
Material
Significance and Basic Concepts	Many desired to be buried by Ste-Genevieve, to be buried ad sanctus. Clovis and Clotilde were buried here, although their tombs were not found.
Patron Saint	The church was first dedicated to the holy Apostles, then St. Peter, and later, Ste. Genevieve.

building

decorative program


These 11th c capitals from Ste-Genevieve use subtractive, chip, carving. They are now at the Cluny. The palmette motif can be seen here.

historical context

Clovis founded this church so that he could be buried ad sanctus, near the tomb of Sainte Genevieve. He first dedicated the church to the Holy Apostles, thereby associating Paris with Constantinople and himself with Constantine. For a time the church was dedicated to Saint Peter referencing Rome, not Constantinople. However, ultimately it was dedicated to Sainte-Genevieve.

Clovis died in 511 and was buried here along with his wife Clotilde. When excavations were carried out in 1807, prior to the raising of the church, the tombs of Clovis and Clotilde were not found. The pantheon replaced Ste-Genevieve.

related objects

Many Merovingian sarcophagi were found on the site. These sarcophagi were often made of plaster and had raised, decorative Christian elements which would have been created during the plaster casting process.

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