Travel to France: Paris 1: Gothic: Photo 5

Gothic sculpture is said to have made its first appearance here. The jamb figures on the west front were destroyed during the Revolution, but these, on the Porte de Valois or north transept, survived enough to bear restoration. The topic in the central panel above the door is the martyrdom of St. Denis, assumed to be the first bishop of Paris. According to legend, he was beheaded at Montmartre in 251, only to walk off carrying his own head. He stopped here for burial, on the site of the Roman settlement of Catulliacus.

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Back to France: Paris 1: Gothic chapter

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