Chapter 14

Of his solemn elevation to the throne

Prince Louis, who had in youth earned the friendship of the church by his liberal defence of its rights, had aided the poor and the orphaned, and had subdued tyrants by his might[1], with God’s assistance was elevated to the kingdom by the vows of good men, though had it been possible, he would have been excluded by the machinations of evil and impious men.[2]

After reflection it was decided, principally on the advice of the venerable and very wise bishop of Chartres, Yvo, that there should be an immediate assembly at Orleans to foil the plot of those impious men, and to accelerate his elevation to the throne. So Daimbert, archbishop of Sens, who had been invited, came with his provincials, Galon bishop of Paris, Manasses of Meaux, John of Orleans, Yvo of Chartres, Hugh of Nevers and Humbaud of Auxerre[3]. On the feast of the invention of the holy protomartyr Stephen, the archbishop anointed Louis with the most holy oil of unction[4]. After a mass of thanksgiving, the archbishop took off his sword of secular chivalry and replaced it with the church’s sword for the punishment of evil-doers, crowned him most willingly with the royal diadem, and with great devotion bestowed on him the sceptre and rod as a sign that he must defend the church and the poor, and various other royal insignia, to the delight of the clergy and people. 

Louis had just taken off his festive ornaments after the ceremonies, when suddenly bearers of evil news arrived from the church at Reims, carrying letters of protest and had they but arrived in time would have prevented the royal unction from taking place by papal authority. For they declared that the first fruits of the royal coronations belonged totally by right to the church of Reims, and that St. Remigius had obtained this prerogative, entire and uncontested, from the first king of the Franks, Clovis, when he baptised him. Anyone who dared rashly to violate this would be struck by perpetual anathema[5]. Their archbishop, the venerable and elderly man Ralph the Green, had incurred the king’s acute and dangerous displeasure because he had been elected and enthroned without the royal assent[6]. Therefore they hoped either to make his peace with the king or to put off the coronation. Since they arrived too late, they held their peace at Orleans, though they had much to say when they returned home but what they said achieved nothing.[7]

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[1] Suger pauses, at this important point in his narrative to reiterate what is by now a familiar theme, a variant of which occurs at the beginning of the next chapter. He is a firm believer in repetition.

[2] Ivo of Chartres drew up, following the practice of the pope and bishops, a written justification for the speed of the coronation away from Reims. He pointed out that there were precedents for coronations in cities other than Reims, that there was a need for haste because of the state of the kingdom and the peace of the church and suggested that a ‘disturbers of the kingdom’ sought to push aside Louis in favour of Philip de Mantes, son of Bertrade de Montfort. Although Suger’s account suggests that the succession was relatively straightforward, Louis did appear to have certain problems. Although he had been linked with his father in kingship, he had not been consecrated and this appears to have encouraged some unrest. Ibid, La Chronique de Saint-Pierre-le-Vif de Sens, pp. 148-149 said that the duke of Normandy, count of Poitiers, the duke of Burgundy and many other counts refused to do homage to the new king in an unverifiable account. Henry I of England refused to do homage for Normandy though this was less a denial of Louis’ right to the French throne than an attempt to remove himself and Normandy from a vassal relationship. The resolution of Louis’ problems appears to have come not from his consecration as king but his energetic military campaigns against those who opposed him.

[3] Daimbert, archbishop of Sens from 1098 to 1122; Galon, bishop of Paris from 1104 to 1116; Manasses, bishop of Meaux from 1103 to 1120; Jean II, bishop of Orleans 1096 to 1135; Yvo, bishop of Chartres from 1091 to 1116; Herveus (Hugh IV did not succeed him until 1110), bishop of Nevers from 1099 to 1110; Humbaud, bishop of Auxerre from 1095 to 1115.

[4] Louis was anointed crowned on Monday 3^rd August 1108, in Orleans on the feast of the discovery of the relics of St Stephen less than a week after his father’s death on 29^th July.

[5] Coronations of Capetian monarchs normally took place in Reims as in the case of Henry I in 1027, Philip I in 1059, Louis’ own sons Philip and Louis in 1129 and 1131 respectively and Philip II in 1179. Reims claimed not only the right to crown kings but the subordination of the abbot of St-Denis as well. It was believed, accurately that the baptism of Clovis occurred at Reims and when Louis’ father Philip had become king, the archbishop of Reims had claimed the right to ‘elect’ and consecrate him: see Lewis, Andrew W., Royal Succession in Capetian France, Cambridge, Mass., 1981, pp. 46, 52-54.

[6] There is a further possible reason for the coronation being held away from Reims. On the death of archbishop Manasses in 1106, Ralph the Green, treasurer or provost of the cathedral of Reims, had been elected by the majority of the cathedral chapter in 1106. However, the king and especially Louis, who had not been consulted, held this election was invalid and supported another candidate, Gervaise de Rethel, elected by some of the canons. However, Gervaise was rejected by the Council of Troyes on 23 May 1107 and ended up leaving the church to succeed his father as count de Rethel. In these circumstances, a coronation there would have been difficult for Louis. Ivo of Chartres and Lambert of Arras interceded for their episcopal colleague and at Christmas 1108 Ralph, contrary to the teachings of church reformers, swore fealty to Louis; he died in 1124.

[7] Reims comes out badly in Suger’s telling of the story though he clearly had his own agenda.

Chapter 13

Of the death of King Philip

While the son grew daily in strength, his father King Philip[1] daily grew feebler. For after he had abducted the Countess of Anjou[2], he could achieve nothing worthy of the royal dignity; consumed by desire for the lady he had seized, he gave himself up entirely to the satisfaction of his passion. So he lost interest in the affairs of state and, relaxing too much, took no care for his body, well-made and handsome though it was. The only thing that maintained the strength of the state was the fear and love felt for his son and successor[3]. When he was almost sixty[4], he ceased to be king, breathing his last at the castle of Melun-sur-Seine[5] in the presence of the Lord Louis.

Several venerable men were present at his funeral: Galon, bishop of Paris[6], the bishops of Senlis and Orleans[7], Adam of blessed memory, abbot of St-Denis, and many other religious persons. They carried his royal body to the church of Notre Dame[8] and spent the whole night in obsequies. The next morning, his son ordered the bier to be covered with a woven pall and suitable funeral ornaments and to be borne on the shoulders of his principal servants. Then with proper filial affection, in tears he accompanied the bier, sometimes on foot, sometimes on horseback, with those barons whom he had with him. He showed great nobility in that, throughout his father’s life he took great care not to offend him, either on account of his own mother’s repudiation or of his marriage with the Countess of Anjou. Unlike other young men in similar circumstances, he chose not to upset his father’s control of the kingdom by being disloyal in any way.[9]

They carried the body in a great procession to the noble monastery of St-Benoit-sur-Loire[10], where King Philip wished to be buried[11]. There are those who say they heard from his own mouth that he deliberately chose not to be buried among his royal ancestors in the church of St. Denis (which was almost by natural law the royal mausoleum), because he had not treated that church as well as they had and because among so many noble kings his own tomb would not have counted for much. So he was laid to rest as fittingly as they could before the altar in that monastery and commending his soul to God with hymns and prayers, they covered the tomb with magnificent jewels.

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[1] Suger’s portrayal of Philip I is negative in character and this makes the contrast with Louis more effective.

[2] Bertrade, daughter of Simon I de Montford and Agnes d’Evreux had become countess of Anjou in 1088 by her marriage to Fulk Rechin. Philip I abducted her on the night of 15^th May 1092.

[3] Philip I has often been viewed unfavourably by historians, in large part because of Suger’s unfavourable portrait of him. However, Philip I did make significant territorial gains during his reign and he was the first Capetian to ensure that his lands were not bequeathed to all his children as in noble families but retained for the benefit of the eldest son. At the first marriage of his eldest daughter, Constance Philip ceded the village of Attigny as dowry to her husband, who retained it after the marriage was annulled. But her second and Cecile’s first marriages were to foreign princes and required no dowry in land. His eldest son by Bertrade was ceded Mantes in 1104, land already ceded to Louis in 1092 and their younger son Florus was bequeathed nothing that is known. Given that Philip inherited his father’s and grandfather’s acquisitions of Sens, Melun and Dreux to which he added his own of the Gâtinais, the Vexin and Bourges, his provision for his younger children was slight.

[4] Philip I was almost certainly fifty-six years old. He died on 29^th July 1108.

[5] Melun is upstream on the Seine about twenty-eight miles south-east of Paris.

[6] Galon was elected bishop of Paris about July 1104. He favoured church reform and was known to Pope Pascal II, who had sent him as legate to Poland in 1102.

[7] Hubert, bishop of Senlis from 1099 to 1115; Jean II, bishop of Orleans from 1096 to 1135

[8] The Church of Notre Dame, in the L’Ile quarter in Melun can be dated to the late tenth or eleventh century.

[9] It is important not to take this statement at face value for we know that King Philip did quarrel with his son. Philip only associated Louis with the throne around 1100 after considerable hesitation. It should not be forgotten that Suger wrote a panegyric for his royal friend.

[10] The abbey of St-Benoit-sur-Loire at Fleury is upstream on the river Loire about twenty miles east of Orleans. It had strong royal connections as it was there that Helgaud wrote his account of Robert ‘the Pious’ (996-1031). The abbey claimed to possess the relics of its patron.

[11] On 20^th May 1108, Philip had been at the monastery for the translation of the saint’ relics and had offered to the monks a box of gold decorated with previous jewels: ibid, La Chronique de Saint-Pierre-le-Vif de Sens, pp. 150-153. Also after 3^rd August 1108, Louis VI gave St-Benoit-sur-Loire a gift for the soul of his father: Prou, M. and Vidier, A., (eds.), Recueil des chartes de l’ abbaye de St-Benoit-sur-Loire, Paris, 1905, vol. 1, p. 248, n^o ciii.