Denis 246845 223980424 2008-07-06T20:20:28Z Mboverload 49010 [[WP:AWB/T|Typo fixing]], typos fixed: to to → to using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{Infobox Saint |name=Saint Denis of Paris |birth_date=[[Third century]] |death_date=ca. [[250]], [[258]],<ref name="softheday">{{cite web | title = St. Denis and Companions | work="Saint of the Day" | url=http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1163 | accessdate = 2007-01-16}}</ref> or [[270]] |feast_day=[[9 October]] |venerated_in=[[Roman Catholicism]] |image=Saintdenis.gif |imagesize=200px |caption=Saint Denis, holding his head. Statue at the left portal of [[Notre Dame de Paris|Notre Dame]]. |birth_place=[[Italy]] |death_place=[[Montmartre]], [[Paris]], [[France]] |titles=Bishop, Martyr |canonized_date= |canonized_by= |attributes=carrying his [[decapitation|severed head]] in his hands; a bishop's [[mitre]]; city; furnace<ref name="patron">{{cite web | last = Jones | first = Terry | title = Denis | work = Patron Saints Index | url=http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/saintd03.htm | accessdate = 2007-01-16}}</ref> |patronage= [[France]]; [[Paris]]; against [[frenzy]]; against [[strife]]; [[headache]]s; [[hydrophobia]]; [[Demonic possession|possessed people]]; [[rabies]] |major_shrine=[[Abbey of Saint-Denis]], [[Saint Denis Basilica]] }} {{Other}} '''Saint Denis of Paris''' (also called '''Dionysius''', '''Dennis''', or '''Denys''') is a [[Christian]] [[martyr]] and [[saint]]. In the third century, he was [[bishop of Paris]]. He was martyred in approximately [[250]], and is venerated especially in the [[Roman Catholic Church]] as patron of [[Paris, France]] and one of the [[Fourteen Holy Helpers]]. The modern name "Denis" derives from the ancient name Dionysius, "servant of [[Dionysus]]". ==Life== [[Image:St Denis' Martyrdom.JPG|thumb|160px|left|Mural of the martyrdom of St. Denis at the [[Panthéon, Paris|Pantheon]] in [[Paris]].]] [[Gregory of Tours]]<ref>"''Beatus Dionysius Parisiorum episcopus diversis pro Christi nomine adfectus poenis praesentem vitam gladio immente finivit.''" ''History of the Franks'' I, 30.</ref> states that Denis was bishop of the [[Parisii (France)|Parisii]] and was martyred by being beheaded by a [[sword]]. The earliest document giving an account of his life and martyrdom, the ''Passio SS. Dionysii Rustici et Eleutherii'' dates from ''c.'' [[600]], is mistakenly attributed to the poet [[Venantius Fortunatus]], and is legendary. Nevertheless, it appears from the ''Passio'' that Denis was sent from [[Italy]] to convert [[Gaul]] in the [[third century]], forging a link with the "apostles to the Gauls" reputed to have been sent out under the direction of [[Pope Fabian]]. This was after the persecutions under [[Decius|Emperor Decius]] had all but dissolved the small Christian community at [[Lutetia]].<ref name="cathen">{{cite encyclopedia | title =St. Denis | encyclopedia =The Catholic Encyclopedia | volume =4 | publisher =Robert Appleton Company | date =[[1908]] | url =http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04721a.htm | accessdate =2007-01-16}}</ref> Denis, with his inseparable companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, who were martyred with him, settled on the [[Île de la Cité]] in the [[River Seine]]. [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[Paris]] lay on the higher ground of the [[Left Bank]], away from the river. ===Martyrdom=== Denis, having irritated the tempers of pagan priests for his many [[Religious conversion|conversions]], was [[capital punishment|executed]] by [[beheading]] on the highest hill in Paris (now [[Montmartre]]), which was likely to have been a [[druid]]ic holy place. The martyrdom of Denis and his companions gave it its current name, which in [[French language|Old French]] means "mountain of martyrs".<ref name="softheday"/> According to the ''[[Golden Legend]]'', after his head was chopped off, Denis picked it up and walked two miles, preaching a [[sermon]] the entire way.<ref>This is the iconographic detail by which he may be identified, whether in the thirteenth-century sculpture at the [[Musée de Cluny]] (''illustration, left'') or in the nineteenth-century figure in the portal of [[Nôtre Dame de Paris]], part of [[Viollet-le-Duc]]'s restorations (''illustration, right'').</ref> The site where he stopped preaching and actually died was made into a small shrine that developed into the [[Saint Denis Basilica]], which became the burial place for the [[list of French monarchs|kings of France]]. Another account has his corpse being thrown in the [[Seine]], but recovered and buried later that night by his converts.<ref name="patron"/> ==Veneration== [[Image:Musee du Moyen Age A01.JPG|thumb|left|Late Gothic statue of Saint Denis, limestone, formerly polychromed ([[Musée de Cluny]])]] Veneration of Saint Denis began soon after his death. The bodies of Saints Denis, Eleutherius, and Rusticus were buried on the spot of their martyrdom, where the construction of the saint's [[wiktionary:eponym|eponymous]] [[Saint Denis Basilica|basilica]] was begun by [[Genevieve|Saint Geneviève]], assisted by the people of [[Paris]].<ref name="art">{{cite web | last =Vadnal | first =Jane | title =Images of Medieval Art and Architecture: Saint Denis | work =Excerpt from "Sacred and Legendary Art" by Anna Jameson, 1911 | date =[[June 1998]] | url =http://vrcoll.fa.pitt.edu/medart/texts/saints/Jameson/AJ-SLA-Denis.html | accessdate =2007-01-16}}</ref> Her ''Vita Sanctae Genovefae'' attests the presence of a shrine near the present basilica by the close of the fifth century, though the names of Rusticus and Eleutherius are non-historical. The successor church was erected by [[Fulrad]], who became abbot in 749/50 and was closely linked with the accession of the Carolingians to the Merovingian throne. In time, the ''"Saint Denis"'', often combined as ''"Montjoie! Saint Denis!"'' became the [[war-cry]] of the French armies. The [[oriflamme]], which became the [[flag|standard]] of France, was the banner consecrated upon his tomb. His veneration spread beyond France when, in [[754]], [[Pope Stephen II]], who was French, brought veneration of Saint Denis to [[Rome]]. Soon his ''[[cultus]]'' was prevalent throughout [[Europe]].<ref name="art"/> [[Abbot Suger]] removed the relics of Denis, and those associated with Rustique and Eleuthére, from the crypt to reside under the high altar of the Saint-Denis he rebuilt, 1140-44.<ref>Suger, ''De rebus in administratione sua gestis'', xxxi, and ''De Consecratione'', v.</ref> The feast of Saint Denis was added to the [[Calendar of Saints|Roman Calendar]] in [[1568]] by [[Pope Pius V]], though it had been celebrated since at least [[800]]. Denis' feast day is [[October 9]].<ref name="patron"/> In traditional Catholic practice, Saint Denis is honored as one of the [[Fourteen Holy Helpers]]. Specifically, Denis is invoked against [[demonic possession|diabolical possession]] and [[headache]]s.<ref name="cathculture">{{cite web | last =Miller | first =Jennifer | title =Fourteen Holy Helpers | url =http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=886 | accessdate =2007-01-16}}</ref> ==Companions== [[Image:Henri Bellechose 001.jpg|thumb|right|''Last Communion and Martyrdom of Saint Denis'', by [[Henri Bellechose]], [[1416]], which shows the martyrdom of both Denis and his companions]] [[9 October]] is celebrated as the feast of Saint Denis and also of his companions, a [[priest]] named Rusticus and a [[deacon]], Eleutherius, who were martyred alongside him and buried with him. ==Confusion with Dionysus the Areopagite== Since at least the ninth century, the legends of [[Dionysus the Areopagite]] and Denis of Paris have been often confused. Circa [[814]], [[Louis the Pious]] brought certain writings attributed to Dionysus the Areopagite to France, and since then it became common among the French legendary writers to prove that Denis of Paris was the same Dionysus who was a famous convert and disciple of [[Paul of Tarsus|Saint Paul]].<ref name="art"/> The confusion of the personalities of Saint Denis, Dionysus the Areopagite, and [[pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite]], the author of the writings ascribed to Dionysius brought to France by Louis, was initiated through an ''Areopagitica'' written in [[836]] by [[Hilduin]], Abbot of Saint-Denis, at the request of [[Louis the Pious]]. "Hilduin was anxious to promote the dignity of his church, and it is to him that that the quite unfounded identification of the patron saint with Dionysius the Areopagite and his consequent connexion<!--connexion in original--> with the apostolic age are due."<ref>A. Hamilton Thompson, reviewing Sumner McKnight Crosby, ''The Abbey of Saint-Denis, 475-1122''. Vol. I, in ''The English Historical Review'' '''58''' No. 231 (July 1943:357-359) p 358.</ref> Scholars might still argue for an Eastern origin of the Basilica of Saint-Denis in the sixteenth century: one was Godefroi Tillman's long preface to a paraphrase of the ''Letters'' of the Areopagite, printed in Paris in 1538 by Charlotte Guillard.<ref>''Georgii Pachymerae... Paraphrasis in decem Epistolas B. Dionysii Arepagitae''; see Beatrice Beech, "Charlotte Guillard: A Sixteenth-Century Business Woman", ''Renaissance Quarterly'' '''36'''.3 (Autumn 1983:345-367) p. 349. </ref> Historiographers of the present day<ref name="note1">Note that the source for this statement is not contemporary, but is derived from the [[1908]] [[Catholic Encyclopedia]].</ref> do not dispute this point.<ref name="cathen"/><!--unnecessary: this point is contested by no one--> ==Depiction in art== Denis' headless walk has led to his being depicted in art decapitated and dressed as a [[bishop]], holding his own [[mitre]]d [[cephalophore|head in his hands]].<ref name="art"/> Handling the [[halo (religious symbol)|halo]] in this circumstance offers a unique challenge for the artist. Some put the halo where the head used to be; others have Saint Denis carrying the halo along with the head. ==Notes== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== {{Commonscat|Denis de Paris}} *[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04721a.htm St. Denis] at [[Catholic Encyclopedia]] *[http://www.tntt.org/vni/tlieu/saints/St1009.htm St. Denis and Companions] provides information about their feast on [[October 9]] <br> {{Fourteen Holy Helpers}} [[Category:250 deaths]] [[Category:Christian martyrs of the Roman era]] [[Category:French saints]] [[Category:3rd century bishops]] [[Category:Fourteen Holy Helpers]] [[Category:Ancient Roman saints]] [[cs:Svatý Denis]] [[de:Dionysius von Paris]] [[et:Denis]] [[es:Dionisio de París]] [[eo:Denizo de Parizo]] [[fr:Denis de Paris]] [[ko:파리의 디오니시우스]] [[id:Denis]] [[it:San Dionigi di Parigi]] [[he:דיוניסיוס הקדוש]] [[nl:Dionysius van Parijs]] [[ja:パリのディオニュシウス]] [[pl:Święty Dionizy]] [[ru:Дионисий Парижский]] [[simple:Saint Denis]] [[sv:Sankt Dionysius]] [[tr:Denis]]