Paris (Paris, France) - Sainte-Chapelle
- Disclaimer
The dating found here is based on the work of John James, and is meant on this site to serve as a starting point. James' dating is derived from a system that uses his interpretation of the development of capitals over time as the basis for chronology, among other factors. His goal is to refine the dating to within years rather than decades. I have not fully embraced James' methodology, and will be developing this page from its current state to one which is admittedly more conservative. The relative expenditure values found in the Timeline are also based on James' work, and I believe these to be reasonably reliable. They are intended only to give a sense of the amount of work involved in each decade.
I have added the idea of the "project" as a way of separating work in buildings. In my mind, a "project" is a discrete section of work in a building that resulted from the one-time acquisition of funding. "Projects" are generally separated by at least a decade where no work was being done. It is my view that it would have been unwise to start a "project" that could not be finished and protected from the elements, and as such a "project" usually involved a wing or multiple wings of a building, from floor to roof. Rural churches, which could only secure small amounts of funding at irregular intervals, often were the result of many small projects, while the great churches, which benefitted from relatively consistent funding, may have involved only a few large projects.
I have added the idea of the "project" as a way of separating work in buildings. In my mind, a "project" is a discrete section of work in a building that resulted from the one-time acquisition of funding. "Projects" are generally separated by at least a decade where no work was being done. It is my view that it would have been unwise to start a "project" that could not be finished and protected from the elements, and as such a "project" usually involved a wing or multiple wings of a building, from floor to roof. Rural churches, which could only secure small amounts of funding at irregular intervals, often were the result of many small projects, while the great churches, which benefitted from relatively consistent funding, may have involved only a few large projects.
- Timeline with Relative Expenditure (if available, in building units)
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- Project A - 1240s - Phase 1 - chapel, lower
Lower chapel
- Project A - 1240s - Phase 2 - chapel, upper (d)
Upper chapel dado arcade
- Project A - 1240s - Phase 3 - chapel, upper (c)
Upper chapel clerestory
- Primary Sources for Dating
1244 - PARIS-SC
Work in progress
Work in progress
It has come to our attention that it is your intention to build at your own expense, a chapel inside the walls of the royal house of Paris, the work surpassing the materials, where the aforementioned most sacred crown and other precious relics such as the wood of the cross and other sacred things will be displayed, under your protection,…
1246, January - PARIS-SC
College of canons established.
College of canons established.
The First Foundation of the Sainte-Chapelle Louis, by the grace of God king of France…in honor of almighty God, and the sacrosanct crown of thorns of our lord Jesus Christ, founded and built within our seven houses in Paris, given by the lord, a chapel, in which the sacred crown of the Lord, the Holy Cross, and all of the other precious relics to be contained there,…in this chapel will be five pricipal priests, or master chaplains,…in the year of our lord 1245, month of January, the twentieth year of our reign…
1248, 26 April - PARIS-SC
Dedication
Dedication
The Second Foundation of the Sainte-Chapelle Louis, by the grace of God king of France…in honor of almighty God, and the sacrosanct crown of thorns of our lord Jesus Christ, founded and built within our seven houses in Paris, given by the lord, a chapel, in which the sacred crown of the Lord, the Holy Cross, and all of the other precious relics to be contained there,…in this chapel will be five pricipal priests, or master chaplains,…in the year 1248, month of August, the 22nd year of our reign…