Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs Church, Paris
| Church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs | |
|---|---|
 Western façade of Saint-Séverin Church, where the portal of Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs was reassembled in 1839. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Governing body | Archdiocese of Paris |
| Location | |
| Location | Paris |
| State | Île-de-France |
| Country |  France |
  Location in Paris | |
 | |
| Geographic coordinates | 48°51′14″N 2°20′56″E / 48.853889°N 2.348889°E |
The Church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs was a former church in Paris, situated on the Île de la Cité, near the Notre-Dame Cathedral, in what is now Rue d'Arcole.
History
[edit]The origins of Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs date back to a foundation in 925 by the Count of Paris at the Abbey of Saint-Maur.[1] Its name is believed to derive from a butchers' market located nearby. A local legend recounts that during a procession of the Blessed Sacrament from the church, all passersby knelt in reverence. Remarkably, two oxen being led to the slaughterhouse also knelt, an event commemorated by the carving of two ox heads on the church's façade.[2]
The parish was established in the 12th century. Like other parishes on the Île de la Cité, it was relatively small, encompassing the Rue Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs, Rue des Deux-Hermites, Rue Cocatrix, Rue de Perpignan, and Rue des Trois-Canettes, with a population of approximately 1,000 residents.[3]
Church of clandestine marriages
[edit]During the Ancien Régime, Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs was one of the few parishes in Paris where couples could secretly marry without parental consent. Notable marriages included that of Louis de Buade de Frontenac (1622–1698), future governor of New France, to Anne de La Grange-Trianon (1632–1707) on October 28, 1648,[4] and the philosopher Denis Diderot (1713–1784) to Anne-Toinette Champion on November 6, 1743.[5]
The poet Nicolas Gilbert (1750–1780), originally from Fontenoy-le-Château, was buried in the church's large crypt on November 17, 1780.[4]
- Historical images
-
Sketch of Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs -
Saint-Pierre aux Boeufs church, drawing.
Demolition and legacy
[edit]In 1790, Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs was one of the 52 urban parishes in the diocese of Paris. Its priest since 1769, Abbé Julien Brière,[6] refused to take the constitutional oath and was automatically removed from his position in January 1791.[7][8]
In February 1791, following decrees by the National Constituent Assembly proposed by the Paris municipality, Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs and nine other churches on the Île de la Cité lost their parish status in favor of Notre-Dame Cathedral.[9] Located at No. 7 Rue Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs, the church was declared national property in 1790 and sold on 8 Fructidor, Year IV (August 25, 1796),[10] to a cooper who converted it into a warehouse around 1812.[11]
During the demolition, the church's portal was preserved and relocated in 1839 by architect Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus to the western façade of the Church of Saint-Séverin, where it remains today. In 1914, excavations on the parvis in front of Notre-Dame uncovered the church's foundations, and sculpted stones recovered from the site were transferred to the Musée Carnavalet.[12]
- Demolition and relics
-
Tympan of the portal reassembled at Saint-Séverin -
Demolition of the interior of Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs church in 1837. -
Reassembled portal tympanum on the Saint-Séverin church.
See also
[edit]- Île de la Cité
- Notre-Dame de Paris
- Hôtel-Dieu de Paris
- Saint-Séverin, Paris
- History of Paris
- Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus
- Musée Carnavalet
References
[edit]- ^ Friedmann, Adrien (1959). Paris, ses rues, ses paroisses du moyen âge à la Révolution: origine et évolution des circonscriptions paroissiales [Paris, its streets, its parishes from the Middle Ages to the Revolution: origins and evolution of parish districts] (in French). Librairie Plon. p. 61.
- ^ Hillairet, Jacques (1979). Connaissance du vieux Paris [Knowledge of Old Paris] (in French). Vol. Rive gauche et les îles. Paris: Éditions Princesse. p. 15.
- ^ Géraud, Hercule (1837). Paris sous Philippe le Bel d'après des documents originaux et notamment d'après un manuscrit [Paris Under Philip the Fair Based on Original Documents and Notably a Manuscript] (in French). Paris: Crapelet. p. 419.
- ^ a b Jal, Auguste (1872). Dictionnaire critique de biographie et d'histoire [Critical Dictionary of Biography and History] (in French). Paris: Henri Plon. p. 622.
- ^ Jal (1872, p. 495)
- ^ Debure (1789). Almanach Royal pour l'année 1789 [Royal Almanac for the Year 1789] (in French). Paris: Imprimerie Veuve d'Houry. p. 103.
- ^ Delarc, Abbé (c. 1900). "Chapitre VII". L'Église de Paris pendant la Révolution Française, 1789-1801 [The Church of Paris During the French Revolution, 1789–1801] (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: Desclées de Brouwer. pp. 298–299.
- ^ Bossard, Clément (1791). Histoire du serment à Paris, suivi de la liste de ceux qui ne l'ont pas prêté [History of the Oath in Paris, Followed by a List of Those Who Did Not Take It] (in French). Paris: Chez tous les marchands de nouveautés. p. 211.
- ^ Pisani, P. (1908–1911). L'Église de Paris et la Révolution [The Church of Paris and the Revolution] (in French). Vol. 1 (1789–1792). Paris: Al. Picard. pp. 202–205.
- ^ Lazare, Félix; Lazare, Louis (1844). Dictionnaire administratif et historique des rues de Paris et de ses monuments [Administrative and Historical Dictionary of the Streets of Paris and Its Monuments] (in French). Paris: Félix Lazare. p. 31.
- ^ De La Tynna, J. (1812). Dictionnaire topographique, étymologique et historique des rues de Paris... accompagné d'un plan de Paris [Topographic, Etymological, and Historical Dictionary of the Streets of Paris... Accompanied by a Map of Paris] (in French). Paris: Chez J. de la Tynna. p. 371.
- ^ Hasquenoph, Bernard (February 8, 2021). "Les métamorphoses du parvis Notre-Dame de Paris" [The Metamorphoses of the Notre-Dame Parvis]. louvrepourtous.fr (in French). Retrieved October 7, 2021.
