Tour Jean-sans-Peur
The Tour Jean-sans-Peur or Tour de Jean sans Peur (English: Tower of John the Fearless) is a defensive tower in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. Built 1409–1411 by Jean sans Peur, it is the last remaining vestige of the former Hôtel de Bourgogne (owned by the Dukes of Burgundy), which once occupied a large area of land, the boundaries of which are now marked by the rues Étienne Marcel, Montorgeuil, Saint-Saveur, and Saint-Denis. The tower itself is located at 20 rue Étienne Marcel, in the courtyard of an elementary school (école élémentaire in French).[1][2][3][4]
History
The Hôtel de Bourgogne, an hôtel particulier, was originally known as the Hôtel d'Artois, since it was established by Robert II, Count of Artois, near the end of the 13th century. It was located adjacent to the wall of Philippe Auguste. In 1369 the hôtel passed by marriage to the Bourgogne family during the reign of Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (Philip the Bold). Philip employed celebrated master builders for its further construction. After Philip's death in 1404, it became the property of Jean de Bourgogne (John of Burgundy), also known as Jean sans Peur.[2][3]
In the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) some of the area that is modern France was divided between the factions of the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. During the period of what is now often referred to as the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War (1404–1435), Jean sans Peur decided to increase the defensive fortifications of the Hôtel de Bourgogne. Although the base of the tower may have been built by his father, the upper part can with more certainty be attributed to Jean sans Peur, who added reinforcements after 1407, the year of the assassination of his rival, Louis d'Orléans.[2]
The tower is 21 metres (69 ft) high.[3] The top two floors contain fortified sleeping chambers with latrines. The upper chamber may have been used by Jean as a refuge during dangerous times. The top of the tower itself contains machicolations and was likely originally a crenelated platform. The roof seen today was added in the 18th century. The second floor is covered with a quadripartite rib vault with springing points (on the outer walls) decorated with angels carrying Jean sans Peur's coat of arms. Above the tower's main entrance is a much-eroded allegory of the "triumph of the House of Burgundy over Orléans and his clan."[1]
The Hôtel de Bourgogne was confiscated by Louis XI after the death of Jean sans Peur's grandson Charles the Bold in 1477. Eventually it was sold by Francois I and partially destroyed during the construction of the rue Françoise (named after the sovereign, but now the rue Française), which split the property in two. Only the eastern part of the hôtel (with the tower) remained intact. The new owner, Diego Mendoza, modified the interior of the tower, recovering space in the central part by adding two intermediate levels. He also had openings with pointed arches inserted in walls which were originally closed. Later the top of the tower was also much modified.[2]
In 1548, a theatre, often called simply the Hôtel de Bourgogne, was built on land on the rue Mauconseil where part of the Dukes of Burgundy's Hôtel de Bourgogne had formerly stood. It was intended for the use of the Confrérie de la Passion (Confraternity of the Passion), who had acquired a monopoly on acting in Paris. Probably the earliest theatre building in Paris, it would continue to be used until 1783,[5] after which it was replaced by a leather market in 1784.[6]
In 1868, with the construction of the rue Étienne Marcel, the remainder of the old hôtel was demolished, leaving the tower free-standing. The tower was acquired by the City of Paris in 1874 and renovated and restored by the architects Édouard Bérard (1874) and Jean Huillard (1877). The stair vault was decorated with vegetable motifs (oak, hop, hawthorn) in Neo-Gothic style. The tower was classified as a historic monument in 1884[2] and opened to the public in 1999.[1]
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Wall plaque with a plan of the tower and the wall of Philippe Auguste
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Second spiral stairs,
in the top part of the tower -
Vault over the stairs
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tour Jean Sans Peur. |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ayers 2004, p. 56 ("2.1 Tour Jean-sans-Peur").
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Ancien hôtel des ducs de Bourgogne : Tour de Jean-sans-Peur" at the Monuments historiques website.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Some of the information in this article was translated from the equivalent article in the French Wikipedia (version 16 mars 2013 à 15:44).
- ↑ Official website of the Tour Jean-sans-Peur (in French).
- ↑ Hartnoll 1983, pp. 97–98 ("Bourgogne, Théâtre de l'Hôtel de").
- ↑ The leather market was still being used in 1847 (Hervey 1847, p. 61).
Sources
- Ayers, Andrew (2004). The Architecture of Paris. Stuttgart; London: Edition Axel Menges. ISBN 9783930698967.
- Hartnoll, Phyllis, editor (1983). The Oxford Companion to the Theatre. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192115461.
- Hervey, Charles (1847). The Theatres of Paris, revised edition. Paris: Galignani. London: John Mitchell. View at Google Books.