The church
and monastery which possest the actual body of the first bishop and great
martyr of Paris formed naturally the holiest site in the neighborhood of
the city; and even before Paris became the capital of a kingdom, the
abbots were persons of great importance in the Frankish state.
The desire to repose close to the grave of a saint was habitual in early
times, and even (with the obvious alteration of words) ante-dated
Christianity--every wealthy Egyptian desiring in the same way to "sleep
with Osiris." Dagobert himself was buried in the church he founded, beside
the holy martyr; and in later times this very sacred spot became for the
same reason the recognized burial place of the French kings. Dagobert's
fane was actually consecrated by the Redeemer Himself, who descended for
the purpose by night, with a great multitude of saints and angels.
The existing Basilica, tho of far later date, is the oldest church of any
importance in the neighborhood of Paris. It was begun by Suger, abbot of
the monastery, and sagacious minister of Louis VI. and VII., in 1121.
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