medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> there *is,* however, a quite remarkable spot in the S.E. corner of the North
> transept (the site of the creche which is set up every december and
> just around the corner from the present chapel of N-D du Pilier).
> i've always been curious: how does this spot correspond with the location of
> the Puit des S.F., Jim?
Dear Christopher,
I am certainly interested in numinous phenomena associated with
specific locations, but the spot you mention is not above the Puits
des Saints Forts, which probably resides under the north choir arcade
somewhere. It is difficult to precis exactly what the significance
of your spot might have been during the middle ages, since all of the
minor altars in the cathedral were destroyed in the 17th century. It
seems that some amount of hostile reaction to this development was
anticipated, so the cathedral was close one night, and the next day,
when it was opened, the chapter fairies had done their work very
thoroughly. As near as I can figure it, there are two likely
associations for your spot. One is the original location of the
relic of St Anne's head, which was eventually located in an altar
against the jube. But it is not clear when it got there, or where it
might have been previously. The other possibility is an altar, I
believe, to the Virgin, one of two founded by St Louis in the north
transept in 1259: the one on the west side, I believe, was dedicated
to Angels (of some stripe) and that on the east side to the Virgin.
The reconstitution of the medieval arrangements in the cathedral
still, however, awaits, its liturgical saviour. Margot Fassler's
forthcoming study of the 12th-century liturgical texts should be
enlightening, but if they survive, the later ones should certainly be
mined.
Cheers,
Jim Bugslag
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