Paris in the Middle Ages

In the 10th century Paris was a provincial cathedral city of little political or economic significance, but under the kings of the Capetian dynasty who ruled France between 987 and 1328, it developed into an important commercial and religious center and the seat of the royal administration of the country.

Due to its position at the confluence of the Seine and the rivers Oise, Marne and Yerres, the city was abundantly supplied with food from the surrounding region, which was rich in grain fields and vineyards.

During the Merovingian era of Frankish rule (481–751 AD), the Île de la Cité had ramparts, and some of the monasteries and churches were protected by wooden stockades walls, but the residents of the Left and Right Banks were largely undefended.

[13] The palace complex included the residence of the king, with a private chapel, or oratory; a building for the law courts; a large hall for ceremonies; and a donjon, or tower, which was still standing in the mid-19th century.

The presence of the nobles in Paris created a large market for luxury goods, such as furs, silks, armor and weapons, causing the merchants of the Right Bank to thrive.

[14] Between 1361 and 1364, Charles V, distrustful of the turbulent Parisians and offended by the foul air and smells of the medieval city, decided to move his residence permanently from the Île de la Cité to a safer and healthier location.

The Catholic Church played a prominent role in the city throughout the Middle Ages; it owned a large part of the land and wealth, was the creator of the University of Paris and was closely linked to the king and the government.

Clerics also made up a significant part of the population; in 1300, the Bishop of Paris was assisted by 51 chanoines (canons), and each of the thirty-three parish churches had its own curé (curate), vicar, and chaplains.

[19] The first monasteries appeared in Paris during the Merovingian Dynasty (481–731 AD) and were mostly located around the Mountain of Sainte-Geneviève on the Left Bank, where the old Roman city of Lutetia was situated.

[20] In the later Middle Ages, important positions in the church were given more and more often to members of the aristocracy of wealthy families who had provided services to the Court; abbots were assured of a large income.

One of the greatest benefits was to receive one of the twenty-seven houses that surrounded the cloister of Notre Dame, located northeast of the cathedral at the end of the Île de la Cité.

The Franciscan Order came in 1217–1219 and established chapters at Saint Denis, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, and, with the support of King Louis IX, at Saint-Germain des Prés.

[21] Another important religious order arrived in Paris in the mid-12th century: the Knights Templar, who established their headquarters at the Old Temple on the Right Bank next to the Seine near the churches of Saint-Gervais and Saint-Jean-en-Grève.

As the century advanced, the intellectual center moved from Notre Dame to the Left Bank, where the monasteries, which were independent of the Bishop of Paris, began to establish their own schools.

Dissection of corpses was forbidden in the medical school long after it became common practice at other universities, and unorthodox ideas were regularly condemned by the faculty; individuals viewed as heretics were punished.

In 1121, during the reign of Louis VI, the king accorded to the league of boatmen of Paris a fee of sixty centimes for each boatload of wine that arrived in the city during the harvest.

After the Grève, the second-largest port was by the church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerois, where ships unloaded fish from the coast, wood from the forests along the Aisne and Oise Rivers, hay from the Valley of the Seine, and cider from Normandy.

In January 1357, Étienne Marcel led a merchants' revolt in a bid to curb the power of the monarchy and obtain privileges for the city and the Estates General, which had met for the first time in Paris in 1347.

This night watch was insufficient to maintain security in such a large city, so a second force of guardians was formed whose members were permanently stationed at key points around Paris.

It was largely the result of the strict code of honor in effect in the Middle Ages; an insult, such as throwing a person's hat in the mud, required a response, which often led to a death.

Beginning in about 1314, a large gibet was built on a hill outside of Paris, near the modern Parc des Buttes Chaumont, where the bodies of executed criminals were displayed.

[47] Royal justice was administered by the Provost of Paris, who had his office and his own prison in the Grand Châtelet fortress on the Right Bank at the end of the Pont de la Cité.

The diets of the rich Parisians in the late Middle Ages were exotic and varied; they were supplied with olive oil and citrus fruits from the Mediterranean Basin, cinnamon from Egypt, and saffron and sugar from Italy and Spain.

[53] Official news and announcements were made to the Parisians by the guild of town criers, who were first chartered by the king, and then put under the authority of the League of River Merchants.

A special event in the royal family – a coronation, birth, baptism, marriage, or simply the entry of the king or queen into the city – was usually the occasion for a public celebration.

This style, later designated Gothic, was copied by other Paris churches: the Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and quickly spread to England and Germany.

[57] Beginning in the reign of Charles VI (1380–1422), French noblemen and wealthy merchants began building large townhouses, mostly in the Le Marais neighborhood that were usually surrounded by walls and often had gardens.

Among the most celebrated artists were the Limbourg Brothers, who produced the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, and Jean Fouquet, who illustrated the history of France for his royal patrons.

The king and royal government returned to the city, and the powers of the provost of the Paris merchants were drastically reduced; until the French Revolution, it became only a symbolic office.

The corporations of artisans also took sides; the butchers, one of the largest and most powerful guilds, gave their support to the Burgundians, and were rewarded with patronage, influence and large casks of Burgundy wine.

An illustration by Jean Fouquet from about 1450 that depicts the cathedral of Notre-Dame with the rest of Paris in the background
The Sainte-Chapelle was the chapel of the royal palace on the Île de la Cité , built in the 13th century
A view of Paris from Saint-Denis as depicted about 1455 by Jean Fouquet .
Paris in 1380
King Charles V enters the gates of Paris in 1358 in an illustration of ca. 1455–1460 by Jean Fouquet in the Grandes Chroniques de France
A map of Paris published in 1553 by Olivier Truschet and Germain Hoyau. It documents the growth of Paris within its medieval walls and the faubourgs beyond the walls.
The Palais de la Cité and Sainte-Chapelle as viewed from the Left Bank , from the Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (1410), month of June
The fortress of the Louvre , begun in 1190, as it appeared in 1412–1416 in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry , month of October
King Charles VI nearly burned to death in 1393 at the Bal des Ardents at the Hôtel Saint-Pol
The Cathedral of Notre-Dame in the 15th century, by Jean Froissart (National Library of France)
In an anonymous illustration of about 1500, the Bishop of Paris is depicted in front of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris with the Hôtel-Dieu in the background.
The leaders of the Knights Templar were burned at the stake on 18 March 1314 on the orders of Philip IV , shown at right
A scholar and students as depicted in a work of Gautier de Metz published in 1464
The monk and scholar Abélard and the nun Héloïse began a legendary Paris romance in about 1116. They are depicted here in a 14th-century manuscript of the Roman de la Rose
The coat of arms of the league of Paris river merchants in the Middle Ages became the emblem of the city of Paris
A Paris market as depicted in Le Chevalier Errant by Thomas de Saluces (about 1403)
The Grand Châtelet around 1800, looking south from the rue Saint-Denis
The Parlement of Paris in about 1450, by Jean Fouquet It was actually a court, rather than a legislature, and rendered justice in the king's name
The death of Étienne Marcel .
The execution of Amalrician heretics in 1210, an event witnessed by King Philip II, as depicted by Jean Fouquet, ca. 1455. The Bastille (left) and Gibbet of Montfaucon are visible the background.
The city's main prison, courts and residence of the Provost of Paris were located in the Grand Châtelet fortress, shown here as it appeared in 1800
A royal banquet, by Jean Fouquet , 1460 (French National Library)
A medieval peasant meal (French National Library)
Patients in the Hôtel Dieu in about 1500. it was common to have two, three or even four patients share a bed.
The choir of the Basilica of Saint-Denis flooded with light from stained glass windows (built 1140-1144)
The bridges of Paris in 1550
The Book of Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, by Jean Pucelle (1325–1328).
A Book of Hours from Paris (about 1410)
A sculpture from the Portal of Saint Anne of the Cathedral of Notre Dame
Stained glass in the Basilica of Saint-Denis (12th century)
A stained glass medallion from the royal chapel of the Sainte-Chapelle (before 1248)
The assassination of Étienne Marcel in 1358 by Jean Froissard
The assassination in Paris of Louis I, Duke of Orléans , in 1407 set off a civil war between Burgundians and Armagnacs
A depiction of the massacre of Parisians during the Cabochien Revolt of 1413 from Les Vigiles de Charles VII (1484)
Joan of Arc at the Siege of Paris (1429)
A page of the first book printed in France: the Epistolae ("Letters") of Gasparinus de Bergamo (Gasparino da Barzizza), published in 1470. The arrival of printing heralded the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance