Louis IX went to extreme measures to have the Sainte-Chapelle accurately display his royalty. The King insisted the chapel to be a sacred place to hold some of the original relics of Christ and he underwent a sacred journey to collect one of the significant relics, the Crown of thorns. “Louis stripped to the waist and took off his shoes before carrying the Crown into Sens. A week later, on 19 August 1239, after the Crown had traveled by river to Paris, Louis and his brother Robert carried the Crown into Notre-Dame where it was placed in the royal chapel.” (Freeman 133) To buy the crown of thorns, “Louis IX had paid the sum of 135,000 livres for it, more than half his entire annual budget.” (Freeman 132) The Crown along with other relics were placed in the Saint-Chapelle after its completion in 1248. The chapel housed the original Crown of thorns, “...Christ’s swaddling clothes, the towel with which he washed the feet of the disciples, and a stone from the Sepulchre. There was even blood that had seeped out from an image of Christ when a pagan had struck it.” (Freeman 136) Louis’ architectural vision for the Sainte-Chapelle is a two-layered, grand building with a beautifully and artistically adorned interior, which displayed his royalty and made it a proper place for holding such important relics.

References

Freeman, Charles. Holy Bones, Holy Dust: How Relics Shaped the History of Medieval Europe, Yale University Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central.

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Wojazer, Philippe. Jesus’ Crown of Thorns. Paris, France, 21 Mar. 2014.