Just a few short blocks from the Church of Saint-Séverin, is a museum I have long wanted to visit. This is the Musée du Moyen Age or the Musée de Cluny. The land upon which the museum now stands was central to the Roman city of Lutetia. A complex of cold, partially-heated and fully-heated rooms for bathing as well as outdoor areas for exercising was built in the 1st century at this location and was in use for about two centuries.
The Cluny mansion was built in the 15th century next to the largest remaining structure of the Roman Bath, the Frigidarium. The Cluny is the only surviving private mansion in Paris featuring a courtyard in the front and a garden in the back. It was built in what is known as the flamboyant Gothic style.
In 1843, the museum was founded using the collection of the mansion’s then owner, Alexandre Du Sommerard (1779-1842). In the 19th century a building was constructed to link the antique thermal baths with the medieval mansion and, in the 21st century, a new building was built to be a Visitor’s Center.
Once you buy your ticket, you are given a map of the building. The self-guided tour begins in the Frigidarium. My oh my, but this is an impressive building. I have seen many a Roman bath all over Europe and the Middle East. But they are usually archaeological excavations. This room is completely intact. It has walls and a roof. It no longer has its painted frescoes. But here and there remain traces of what once was. I did not anticipate the size of it. The ceiling soars to over 14 metres in height (over 46 feet) and the dimensions of the room are enormous.
One of the two important pieces displayed in the Frigidarium is the Pillar of the Boatmen, which was discovered beneath the Parvis in front of Notre Dame de Paris and moved here. The pieces of that pillar were created in the 1st century. The other is the Saint Landry Pillar, which dates from the 2nd century. They are right next to each other. I have included a photo here with the Saint Landry Pillar on the right and some fragments of the Pillar of the Boatmen on the left.
From here the tour continues in chronological order, starting in the early Middle Ages. Room 2 includes the votive Visigoth crowns from the Treasure of Guarrazar. Room 3 holds the Capitals from Saint-Germain-des-Pres, which were damaged during the French Revolution. Room 4 consists of the portal of the Virgin also from Saint-Germain-des-Pres.
During the French Revolution, the heads of the statues on the western front of the exterior of Notre Dame de Paris were lopped off. This was because the people who did the beheading mistakenly thought that the statues were of the Kings of France. They were actually of the Kings of Judah. After the Revolution, the statues on the cathedral were given new heads. The damaged originals were not discovered until 1977 and were given to the Cluny. They are displayed in Room 5 along with the statue of Adam, who used to stand just inside of the south entrance of Notre Dame with Eve (who is missing).
Room 6 contains several examples of medieval Limoges Enamel. It also has what has been referred to as the Treasure of the Three Kings. These items date from the 12th century and therefore have no connection to the Magi (which would have been 1st century). Whoever did own these objects would have been quite wealthy.
We sort of zipped through Room 7 (with items from other parts of France around 1200) and headed straight for Room 8. This room held several items from Sainte Chapelle, which had been removed and/or damaged during the Revolution. There were three very well preserved apostles plus some other more fragmentary statuary and some panels of stained glass windows. All date from the 13th century.
Unfortunately, ignorance and violence often go hand in hand, destroying people, buildings, tombs, books and art. During the French Revolution, not only were statues and windows destroyed in the churches, chapels and cathedrals but, in some cases the entire building. This happened with the church of Saint-Louis-de-Poissy.
This was the priory church of the monastery of Poissy which King Philip IV (also known as Philip the Fair) founded in honor of his grandfather, King Louis IX, who was canonized in 1297. The monastery was located directly opposite the church in which Saint Louis was baptized. The angels on display here in Room 9 are 13th century and pretty much all that remain from that church.
The following Room 10, contains art in France during the reign of Philip the Fair and his sons. This includes an intricately carved ivory case (or casket) titled “Attack on the Castle of Love”, created in the 14th century.
The stairs to go up to the 1st floor were blocked off. Rooms 11 through 16 were closed. These were all in the 15th century portion of the building. It wasn’t possible to view, much less go into, the courtyard either. I was very disappointed as the building itself had as much interest for me as the art it contained. Room 16 was the chapel and was still decorated as such. Instead we needed to retrace our steps back all the way through Room 2 to get an elevator to rooms 17 through 21. We would end up seeing these rooms backwards. For continuity I am talking about them in the correct chronological order.
Room 17 included the Cross of Pietro Vannini. He was an Italian goldsmith who created the unusual bi-face cross in the 15th century. Although my photo doesn’t quite convey it, the cross is quite stunning on both sides. From Room 17, we could also look down into Room 3 with the Capitals from Saint-Germain-des-Pres.
Room 17 encircled Room 18, which held what they referred to as “arts of combat”. I have a small collection of a few swords, daggers, plus a pistol or two (flint lock) and have a fascination with antique arms and armor. Whenever I am in a place that has historic weaponry, I always check it out. Such items tend to bring history to life. Rooms 19a, 19b and 19c were dedicated to daily life.
Then came Room 20. This room held the six The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. Five are dedicated to the senses touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight. The sixth tapestry is titled “To my only desire”.
I have a large needlepoint version of the tapestry dedicated to the sense of smell. It is unfinished as of yet. The originals date from roughly 1500 and are quite intricate. They had nice cushioned benches in the center of the room so we could sit down and gaze upon them all. I have included a photo of the room which shows how they are displayed and gives a decent indication of their size.
The last room contained religious furnishings from north of the Alps in the late Middle Ages. It was a very large room filled with a lot of interesting stuff. One item of interest was a group of stalls from Saint-Lucien-de-Beauvais Abbey. They were commissioned in 1492. The monks and canons, who had to stand for most of the services, were able to lean back on the small ledges on the underside of the folding seats to ease their legs. The ledges are called misericords, or mercy seats, because rest was considered to be a great mercy granted by God.
Some of the tapestries of the story of Saint Etienne (Saint Stephen) hang on the wall above the stalls. From his election to the deacons to his burial in Rome, the story of St Etienne’s life is recounted in great detail and annotated with captions for each scene.
Once we had seen everything we could see, we looked at each other and said, “taxi”. We had walked from the hotel to Notre Dame. Then visited the Archaeological Crypt, had lunch, visited the Square René Viviani and Saint Julien le Pauvre, then the Church of Saint-Séverin, and finally the Musée Cluny. None of us relished the idea of walking all the way back to the hotel. So we walked over to the Boulevard Saint Michel (Saint Michael) and up to the corner of that street and Boulevard Saint Germain and hailed a cab.
Back at the hotel, we rested up a bit and dressed up for dinner. We ate at the very nice French restaurant in the hotel. For my main course, I had a Seafood Salad, which consisted of Scottish smoked salmon, shrimp, avocado, and citrus fruits on a bed of greens. For starters, I had Chestnut Soup. We all had wine with dinner.
Next time –Musée d’Orsay
