Monarchs of France

Today we made our third attempt to do a guided tour of the Basilica of St Denis which houses the tombs or funerary sculptures of every French king since Dagobert in the 7th century. Many of the exhibits were moved here from other places but that doesn't detract from the importance of this amazing church and its exhibition.
The basilica is named for Denis, who in turn had been named for an obscure Greek- Dionysius the Areopagite mentioned in passing in the New Testament. Denis is said to have been sent to convert the Parisians in the 3rd century, and peremptorily decapitated by the Romans ( hence his headless statues in Paris associated with a legend of him picking up his head and walking).
The basilica, now maintained by the Government as a national monument, is outside the walls of (ancient) Paris but its royal record of coronation, burial and memorial of kings and many queens is unsurpassed in the western world. Much of the credit for its position in French monarchical history is down to one man, Abbé Suger, around the early 12th century, who made it his business to increase the importance of this church. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbot_Suger

No doubt there are many strange stories attached to events surrounding the exhibits but the strangest would have to be regarding the heart of Louis XVII, son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The child died of an illness soon after being proclaimed king following the events surrounding the deaths of his parents. The attending doctor, when performing a post mortem stole a piece of the boy's heart. That piece of heart eventually turned up and was lost again until the 20th century when it was handed to the person in charge of French treasures in the 1970's. Its provenance was eventually verified by DNA testing skin and hair from Marie Antoinette and DNA from descendants of same. In 2004 there was a formal funeral and the heart was placed in a crystal urn and placed on show in the chapel of the Bourbons beneath an 18th century relief of Louis XVII. Here is the technical detail, possibly more than you want to know unless you are into forensics:
http://louis17.chez.com/english.htm

For any Paris visitor this is an exhibition well worth making an effort to see, and it is a pity that the big name tourist books don't give more prominence. For us it is the highlight of a Paris visit and we see in it nearly 1200 years of French life (650- 1820) directed by the central ideas of the resurrection of Jesus (symbolised in a variety of subtle ways now obscure but formerly obvious), and the authority of governing royalty.

Do have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_St_Denis