Paris and northern France :: :: University of Virginia Library

This collection of Roman and Mediaeval Antiquities, entrance
Rue des Mathurins 14, is open to the public on Sundays and
holidays from 11 to 4, and daily (except Monday from 11 to 4)
to strangers provided with a passport (or visiting-card), on Mondays,
Tuesdays and Saturdays for students only. The catalogue,
which may be purchased at the door for 2 fr., is indispensable
for those who desire to make themselves acquainted with all the
objects of interest in this splendid collection.

The Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus, who resided in Gaul
from 292 to 306, is believed to have been the founder of the
palace, of which the baths (Thermes) still existing formed a
portion. It is an historical fact that Julian was here proclaimed
emperor by his soldiers in 360; the early Franconian monarchs
also resided here.

At the close of the 15th cent. the abbots of the wealthy Benedictine
Abbey of Cluny in Southern Burgundy, who possessed
property of considerable extent in Paris, but no suitable residence,
caused a small mansion, the Hôtel de Cluny of the present
day, to be erected on the site of the ancient Roman palace.
This edifice still retains its mediæval exterior, and is a fine specimen
of the style of the transition from Gothic to Renaissance.
The abbots, who seldom resided in Paris, placed their mansion
at the disposal of the monarchs of France, and we accordingly
find that it was occupied in 1515, soon after its completion, by
Mary, sister of Henry VIII. of England and widow of Louis XII.
Her apartment is still termed la Chambre de la Reine blanche,
it having been the custom of the queens of France to wear white
mourning. On Jan. 1st, 1537, the nuptials of James V. of Scotland
with Madeleine, daughter of Francis I., were here celebrated.

The revolution converted this ecclesiastical estate into national
property, and in 1833 the Hôtel de Cluny fell into the hands
of M. Du Sommerard, an enthusiastic collector of mediæval curiosities;
at his death the edifice with its collections was purchased
by government and united with the Roman Baths which
had hitherto appertained to the municipality of Paris.

The Collection of Mediaeval Curiosities, belonging principally
to the 14th—16th cent, and exceeding 3000 in number, is of
such an extent as to defy enumeration. It consists of reliefs,
carving, ecclesiastical decorations and vestments, furniture, tapestry,
weapons, carved ivory, musical instruments, missals, stained
glass, pictures etc. The large hall contains some interesting remnants
of episcopal robes and a crozier of the 12th cent., discovered
at Bayonne in 1853. The three lower rooms contain
objects of less interest than the upper.

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2nd Room: 532. Bench of a refectory of the 15th cent.; 537.
Another of the 16th cent.; 612. Press of the 15th cent.; 104.
Statuette of Diana of Poitiers as Diana; r., by the window keys
of various periods.

3rd Room: 558. Press from a sacristy, 15th cent.; 588. Press,
17th cent.; 590. Another. Then a room containing a number of
sumptuous carriages and sledges; on the walls ecclesiastical vestments,
of which the most interesting is No. 2422. Remnants of
episcopal robes and crozier of the 12th cent., found at Bayonne
in 1853; then ancient weapons, carved ivory, missals, musical
instruments, stained glass, ancient pictures, specimens of early
printing etc.

The stair leads first to a corridor with weapons, with some of
which interesting reminiscences are connected, as the labels
indicate.

To the r. are two rooms containing articles in fayence from
Italy, Spain, Germany etc.

In the room opposite: 541. State-bed of the time of Francis I.;
then miniatures etc.

Next a room containing the bust of M. Du Sommerard. Also
No. 1744. Chess-board of rock-crystal, formerly the property of
the crown, "que le vieil de la Montagne (Old Man of the Mountain),
prince des Béduens, envoya à St. Louis," as the chronicle
records; chimney-pieces; goblets. No. 1399. Portrait of Francis I.
No. 1009. A miniature enamelled altar, bearing the name and
titles of Henry II. and Catharine de Médicis, dating from the
16th cent. No. 1743. Two lion's heads of rock-crystal, found
together with the figure No. 384 in a tomb near the Rhine,
dating from the 3rd or 4th cent. No. 399. Casket for relics in carved
ivory, with figures of 42 saints, of the 12th cent. Nos. 404, 419. Similar
objects of the 14th cent. No. 610. Cupboard, sumptuously
decorated with mosaics and precious stones, executed at Florence
in the 17th cent.

In the following room: Nos. 1000—1008. Figures of gods and other
personages, in enamelled copper, destined to adorn the cháteau
Madrid erected for Francis l. in the Bois de Boulogne; the enamelled
plates are said to be the largest in existence (3 ft. broad,
5 high). No. 324. Sixty diminutive wooden figures, representing
the kings of France from Clovis to Louis XIII. (d. 1643), carved
during the reign of the latter monarch.

The room before the last contains a number of very interesting
objects in gold: l. No. *1329. Episcopal crozier, richly gilded and
decorated with precious stones, pearls and light miniature shrines,
of which that in the centre contains a fragment of the "True Cross";
3123. Golden Rose of Bâle, presented by Clement V. to the
Archbischop of B˙le; *3122. Altarpiece, 3 ft. in height and 5 ft.
in width, of embossed gold, presented by the emperor Henry II.

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(d. 1024) to the cathedral of Bâle, and purchased, together with
the Rose, of the canton of B˙le-campagne in 1830.

*Nos. 3113—21. Nine Crowns of Gothic Kings of Spain, found
near Toledo, one of which bears the name of king Recesvinthus
(649—672), decorated with pearls, sapphires and other jewels.
These highly interesting relics are preserved in the glass case in
the centre.

3138. Vessel with Charles V., surrounded by the dignitaries
of his court, musicians and sailors, in gilded bronze, the emperor
of pure gold; the whole is moveable, mechanism of the 16th cent.;
3668. and 3669. Russian figures of saints, brought as trophies
from Bomarsund in 1854; 3674. Jaw-bone of Molière.

The last room contains specimens of French fayence.

From the 1st Room the visitor proceeds to the l. to the
Chambre de la Reine Blanche, containing a variety of musical
instruments, then to the sumptuous *Palace Chapel, which during
the revolution served as an assembly-hall, subsequently as a
dissecting-room, and finally as a printing-office.

The egress leads through the back-court to the lofty, vaulted
hall which constitutes the only perfect remnant of the Roman
Baths (Thermes). The columns are in different places adorned
with the figure of the prow of a vessel, which formed a prominent
portion of the arms of the ancient Lutetia Parisiorum, and
is still conspicuous in the arms of modern Paris. The fact that
this one hall, which was the Frigidarium, or apartment for cold
baths, is 60 ft. in length, 36 ft. in breadth, and 55 ft. in height,
may serve to convey some idea of the vast extent of the ancient
Roman palace. These baths and the curiosities they contain, the
sole relics of the Roman period in Paris, are of little interest to
the non-professional visitor; l. 2692. Statue of Julian, who was
here proclaimed Emperor.

The Garden contains a number of interesting mediæval
architectural fragments, many of them rescued from edifices demolished
in the course of the metropolitan improvements.

No. 3732. Cross from the Church of St. Vladimir at Sebastopol,
presented by Marshal Pélissier (Duke of Malakoff).

Ascending the street towards the S. the stranger will soon
arrive at the Sorbonne, or buildings of the university of Paris,
erected about the middle of the 17th cent. The three faculties
of theology (Rom. Cath.), science and literature have their seat
here. The lectures are open to the public.

The Sorbonne, originally a theological college only, was founded
in 1250 by Robert de Sorbon, the confessor of Louis IX., and
during the middle ages enjoyed the highest reputation. It not
unfrequently even opposed the authority of the Pope, as, for
example, when it rejected the "Unigenitus" bull. Subsequently
it became the opponent of the Jesuits, as well as of the school

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of philosophy of the 18th cent., whose sarcasms were usually
levelled at the Sorbonne.

The medical and legal faculties possess buildings of their
own, the École de Médecine in the street of the same name,
near the Hôtel de Cluny, and the École de Droit, Place du
Panthéon 8.