In the Middle Ages, being buried was not an easy task. When the fastest very often found themselves to be languished for eternity in stinking common pits, tight like sardines, the royal lines, they were not long in adopting a funny tradition: dispersing their remains to the four corners of the world, scattered like a puzzle.
Among these remains, a vital organ, buried apart, particularly fascinated: the heart. The fashion to separate the heart from the rest of the body during royal funeral rituals was launched by a famous 13th century queene century, before gradually winning. A way for the most powerful to do the interesting to the end? Not quite.
Towards infinity and the beyond
First of all, you should know that cutting the bodies of the powerful into small pieces was a common practice from the Carolingian era. There was then no question of properly separating the heart for we do not know what symbolic ritual. No, the objective was above all to preserve the body of sovereigns who died far from their planned burial place, especially when they succumbed to a crusader or during a military campaign.
We then prepared the remains to transport them without rotting long distances. How? They would have been evidenced, dismembered them, then made them boil in a mixture of water and wine, in order to avoid decomposition. A small medieval spa very stifling.
It will be necessary to wait for the 13the century to see an intentional burial and separate from the heart. According to historical sources, the first royal heart known to have been buried aside was that of Blanche de Castille, in 1253. After his death, the one who was a Queen of France, wife of Louis VIII and mother of Saint Louis (Louis IX) decided to entrust-Littérally-his heart to the Lys abbey, located in Dammarie-les-Lys, near Melun (Seine-et-Marne). An act which today seems a gloomy chouïa, even frankly repugnant, but which was in fact finely thought.
In the Middle Ages, a period marked by a deep Christian spirituality, the heart was considered to be the sanctuary of love, virtue, loyalty and above all … faith. Enhumer it apart returned to make it a sacred offering. A gesture of piety, to better ensure his eternal salvation, but not only.
Enhuate his heart separately also returned to multiply the burial places. And who says new burials says new tributes: religious ceremonies, processions, prayers, hot tears and all the tralala. The heart thus became a post -mortem political communication tool: it extended the symbolic presence of the sovereign in several territories, at a time when royal power sought to build its authority. Practical.
“Boss Lady” and divine sanction
The propaganda tool quickly showed its effectiveness. King Philippe III, died in 1285, decided to follow suit. His heart, bowels and body were buried in three distinct places: Paris, Narbonne and Saint-Denis. It was the beginning of a practice mixing piety, politics and symbolism, which gave rise over the centuries, until the 18the.
If many kings adopted this dynastic privilege, it is therefore a queen, white from Castile, who launched fashion. And one of the most striking examples of this practice also goes to … another queen, Anne de Bretagne, aka “Boss Lady”. When she died in 1514, the one who was twice queen of France made the choice to have her heart buried in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique), with her parents. The reliquary in gold and velvet is a jewel of the XVI goldsmitherye century. Preserved at the Dobrée museum, in the city of Nantes, it was even stolen in April 2018, then found a week later near Saint-Nazaire, before regaining its place in April 2024.
So everything was for the best in the best of worlds? Not quite. If there was an institution that this practice annoyed, it was the Catholic Church. For her, this kind of division was to be reserved for saints, whose relics had the power of divine intercession. Nothing to do with these impostors of kings and queens, who deserved the punishment of God for their vanity.
Despite his reluctance, the Pope could, from time to time, grant a derogation, just to allow the sovereigns to have the heart torn in all serenity. For what? To raise big deniers: royal relics, such as hearts, attracted the crowds of faithful to churches. And with them … donations.
