The artistic patronage of John Stuart, Duke of Albany, 1520–30

Vic-le-Comte, the last Sainte-Chapelle

Bryony Coombs (Author)


Keywords:
Church, Reliquary church, Chapel, Reliquary
Location(s):
L'eglise Saint-Pierre; Vic-le-Comte; Puy-de-Dôme; Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes; France
Period(s):
Tudor, Medieval

Abstract


The Sainte-Chapelle at Vic-le-Comte is one of the most important religious buildings surviving from the 16th century in the Auvergne. It was the last of ten French royal and ducal chapels founded, broadly following the precedent set by Louis IX’s foundation of the Parisian Sainte-Chapelle in 1248. The primary function of this, and the other Saintes-Chapelles, was to provide a dignified structure within which to house fragments of the Passion relics inherited from Louis IX. For their patrons, such foundations served as important public expressions of piety, advertised the patrons’ connections to the French crown, and simultaneously functioned as valuable diplomatic tools, encouraging important guests to venerate their relics. The Sainte-Chapelle at Vic-le-Comte has received limited scholarly attention, particularly in relation to its patron John Stuart, Duke of Albany, and his position as Regent of Scotland. This paper examines this foundation and its ambitious programme of decoration in relation to the aims and ambitions of its founder. The motivations behind the project are analysed in relation to Albany’s position in Scotland, his growing prominence in France, and his strengthening ties to the Florentine Medici family. Investigated in relation to other examples of his patronage, Albany’s foundation demonstrates how issues of ancient lineage, sacred kingship, and dynastic commemoration were of central importance.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

REFERENCES: MANUSCRIPTS
Archives nationales, paris
Minutier Centrale, CXXII, 15; 23 August 1529.
Papal Bull of Pope Leo X, Rome, 21 June, 1520. J/1130, no. 25.
Papal Bull of Pope Clement VII, Rome, 30 May, 1524. J/1141, no. 7.
Bibliothèque nationale de france, paris
Ballade Faicte pour la venue du duc d’Albanie en Ecosse translatée d’escocois en Francoys selon la lettre. MS fr 20055, f 73v.
Couteau, Jean Histoire généalogique des comtes d’Auvergne et de Boulogne. MS fr 5227.
Est engrave en une plaque de-fonte au milieu du maistre autel du ceste eglise comme sensuit. MS Baluze 208, f 230v.
Généalogie fabuleuse d’Anne de la Tour, comtesse de Boulogne, femme de Jean Stuart, duc d’Albany. MS fr 20209.
Inventaire des titres et chartes de la maison de Boulogne, avec les armoires trouvées au chasteau de Vic. MS fr 4652.
Obits des anciens comtes d’Auvergne. MS Baluze 208, f 229r–230r.
Recueil de documents pour servir à l’histoire des maisons de Poitiers, Boulogne et Blois. MS fr 4653.
Registre d’armes ou armorial d’Auvergne, dédié par le hérault Guillaume Revel au roi Charles VII. MS fr 22297.
Revenus du comté d’Auvergne, avec les revenus particuliers et les portraits des châteaux. Ars MS 4264.
Bibliothèque sainte-geneviève, paris
Chronique d’Écosse & généalogie des rois d’Écosse. MS 936.
Sacramentaire de Senlis. MS 126.
British Library
Sommaire de l’origine description et merveilles d’Escosse (1538) by Jehan dit Le-Fresne Des-Montiers, G.5441.
koninklijke bibliotheek, the hague
Généalogie de Madame Anne de la Tour, princesse de l’Écosse. KB, 74 G 11.
National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh
Bull of Pope Leo X, taking James V and his Kingdom under his Protection and Affirming the Authority of John, Duke of Albany as Tutor of the King and Governor of the Kingdom, 13 July, 1520. CH7/46.
REFERENCES: PUBLISHED TEXTS
Baluze, E 1708 Histoire généalogique de la maison d’Auvergne, 2 vols. Paris: Antoine Dezallier.
Bapst, E 1889 Les Mariages de Jacques V. Paris: Librairie Plon.
Beaune, C & Lequain, É 2005 ‘Histoire et mythe familiaux chez les Boulogne Auvergne’,
Colloque Ecritures de l’histoire (XIV è – XVI è s.), Actes du congrès de Bordeaux, Université Michel de Montaine, 385–417. Paris-Genève: Droz.
Bentley-Cranch, D & Marshall, R K 2003 ‘John Stewart, Duke of Albany, Lord Governor of Scotland, and his Political Role in 16th-century France: a Reassessment in the Light of New Information’, Proc Soc Antiq Scot 133: 293–313.
Bergenroth, G A (ed.) 1866 Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 2, 1509–1525. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Bernage, G, Courtillé, A & Mégemont, M 2002 La Basse Auvergne médiévale. Nonette: Creer.
Bielawski, J B M 1888 Récits d’un touriste auvergnat. Yssoire: Claudes Caffard.
Billot, C 1987 ‘Les Saintes-Chapelles, XIII–XVI Siecles. Approche comparée de fondations dynastiques’, Revue d’histoire de l’eglise de France 73: 229–48.
Billot, C 1998 Les Saintes Chapelles, royales et princières. Paris: Èditions du patrimoine.
Blakeway, A 2015 Regency in Sixteenth Century Scotland. Woodbridge: Boydell Press.
Bonner, E 2004 ‘Stewart, John, Second Duke of Albany (c 1482–1536)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bouillet, J-B 1842 ‘Papier, des conseils et ordonnances de la ville concernans la venue du Roy François Premier de ce nom que fust faicte dans Clermont le jeudi dixiesme juillet l’an mil cinq cent trente et troys’, Tablettes historiques de l’Auvergne 3: 48–73.
Brantôme, P de B 1864–82 (Lalanne, L (ed.)) Mémoires, 11 vols. Paris.
Brewer, J (ed.) 1920 Calendar of State Papers, Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, 21 vols. London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Brown, K M et al (eds) 2007–17 The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, A1516/7/1. St Andrews: University of St Andrews Press.
Burke, P 2016 Hybrid Renaissance: Culture, Language, Architecture. Budapest: Central European University Press.
Chassaing, A 1818 Le Livre de Podio: ou Chroniques d’Etienne Médicis, Bourgeois du Puy, I. Puy-en-Velay: M P Marchessou.
Cohen, G 1944 Geoffrey Tory and Catherine de Medici. An Unpublished Manuscript of Geoffrey Tory of the Genealogy of the Counts of Boulogne Concerning the French Ancestry of Catherine de Medici, Queen of France. New York: H P Krauss.
Cohen, M 2015 The Sainte-Chapelle and the Construction of Sacral Monarchy: Royal Architecture in Thirteenth-Century Paris. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Coombs, B 2013 ‘“Distantia Jungit”: Scots Patronage of the Visual Arts in France, c.1445 – c.1545’, unpublished PhD dissertation, Edinburgh University. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/11726. Accessed 7 June 2018.
Coombs, B 2014 ‘The Artistic Patronage of John Stuart, Duke of Albany 1518–19: The “Discovery” of the Artist and Author, Bremond Domat’, Proc Soc Antiq Scot 144: 277–309.
Deshoulières, F 1925 ‘Vic-le-Comte’, Congrès Archéologique de France, Clermont-Ferrand. Paris: Société Française d’Archéologie.
Dickson, T (ed.) 1877–1905 Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, 13 vols. Edinburgh: HM General Register House.
Dulaure, J A 1789 Description des principaux lieux de France, VI vols. Paris: Lejay.
Erlande-Brandenburg, A 2012 ‘The Ste Chapelle (Paris-Buildings)’, in Hourihane, C P (ed.) The Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture, 447–8 Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fleming, J A & Miller, J H (eds) 1908 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, 1424–1567. Edinburgh: His Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Fouilhoux, Abbé J B 1898 Histoire religieuse de Vic-le-Comte. Clermont-Ferrand: Louis Bellet.
Fouilhoux, Abbé J B 1926 Fiefs et chateaux- forts relevant de la Comté d’Auvergne (Capitale Vic-le-Comte). Clermont-Ferrand: G De Bussac.
Fournier, G 1973 Chateaux, villages et villes d’Auvergne au Xve siècle, d’après l’Armorial de Guillaume Revel. Geneva: Droz.
Frommel, C L & Adams, N 1994 The Architectural Drawings of Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and His Circle, Vol. 1 Fortifications, Machines, and Festive Architecture. New York: MIT Press.
Gatouillat, F & Hérold, M 2011 Les Vitraux d’Auvergne et du Limousin. Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes.
Geddes, W D & Duguid, P 1888 Lacunar basilicae Sancti Macarii Aberdonensis. The Heraldic Ceiling of the Cathedral Church of St Machar, Old Aberdeen. Aberdeen: The New Spalding Club.
Grodecki, L 1979 Sainte-Chapelle. Paris: Caisse nationale des monuments historiques et des sites.
Hannay, R K (ed.) 1954 Letters of James V, 1513–1542. Edinburgh: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Jordan, A A 2002 Visualizing Kingship in the Windows of the Sainte-Chapelle. Turnhout: Brepols.
Legrand d’Aussy, P J-B 1787–8 Voyage fait en 1787 et 1788, dans la ci-devant Haute et Basse Auvergne. vol 1. Paris: le directeur de l’Imprimerie des sciences et arts.
Leproux, G-M 2004 ‘Le collège apostolique de la Sainte-Chapelle de Vic-le-Comte, première oeuvre française de Giovanni Francesco Rustici?’, Researches en Histoire de l’Art 3: 75–91.
Luneau, J-F 1995 ‘Les Vitraux de la Sainte-Chapelle de Vic-le Comte: un Programme Typologique Original’, Revue de l’Art 107: 17–26.
Luneau, J-F 1996a ‘L’Arbre de Jessé de Vic-le-Comte, un vitrail de Grasset et Gaudin’, Histoire de L’Art No. 3, 33/34: 55–65.
Luneau, J-F 1996b Vic-le-Comte, Les Verrières de la sainte-chapelle, Puy-de-dôme. Vic-le-Comte: Inventaire général.
McNeill, P G B 1967 ‘The Scottish Regency’, Juridical Review 12: 127–48.
Mâle, É 1972 Religious Art in France, XIII Century: A Study in Mediaeval Iconography and Its Sources of Inspiration. London: Harper & Row.
Millar, A H 1903 ‘Scotland Described for Queen Magdelene: A Curious Volume’, The Scottish Historical Review I: 27–38.
NIV (Biblica, New International Version) 2011. www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/#booklist. Accessed 12 April 2018.
Noblet, J 2005 ‘Les collégiales castrales et Saintes-Chapelles à vocation funéraire dans le royaume de France (1450–1560)’, unpublished PhD dissertation, Paris IV-Sorbonne.
Noblet, J 2009 En Perpétual Mémoire. Collégiale Castrales et Saintes-Chapelles À Vocation Funéraire en France (1450–1560). Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes.
Palustre, L 1892 L’Architecture de la Renaissance. Paris: Librairies-Imprimeries réunies.
Sénéchal, P 2007 Giovan Francesco Rustici 1475–1554. Paris: Arthena.
Shire, H M 1996 ‘The King in his House: Three Architectural Artefacts Belonging to the Reign of James V’, in Williams, J (ed.) Stewart Style 1513–1542, Essays on the Court of James V, 62–96. East Lothian: Tuckwell Press.
Sotheby’s Sale Catalogue 2012 ‘From the Collection of Prince and Princess Henry De la Tour d’Auvergne Mauraguais, 3 May, 2012’.
Stuart, M W 1940 The Scot who was a Frenchman: Being the Life of John Stewart, Duke of Albany, in Scotland, France and Italy. Edinburgh: William Hodge & Company Ltd.
Teilhard, E 1888 ‘Notes sur l’entrée de François Ier á Montferrand en 1533’, Bulletin historique et scientifique de l’Auvergne, 22–43. Clermont-Ferrand: M Bellet et Fils.
Teulet, A 1851 Papiers d’état, pièces et documents inédits ou peu connus relatifs a l’histoire de l’Ecosse, au XVI Siècle I. Paris: Typographie Plon Frères.
Thiébaut, D 2012 Attribué à Jean Malouel, Le Christ de pitié. Paris: Somogy éditions d’art.
Thomas, A 2005 Princelie Majestie: The Court of James V of Scotland, 1528–1542. Edinburgh: Birlinn.
Thomson, T (ed.) 1815 A Collection of inventories and other records of the Royal Wardrobe and Jewelhouse, and of the artillery and munitioun in some of the Royal Castles, 1488–1606. Edinburgh: HM General Register House.
Toynbee, M R 1948 ‘John Stewart, Duke of Albany and Vic-le-Comte’, The Stewarts 8: 149–55.
Wessel, R 2003 ‘Die Sainte-Chapelle in Frankreich. Genese, Funktion und Wandel eines sakralen Raumtyps’, unpublished PhD dissertation, Düsseldorf University.
Wood, M (ed.) 1933 Flodden Papers, Diplomatic Correspondence between the Courts of France and Scotland 1507–1517. Edinburgh: Scottish History Society.
Young, M L M 1952 ‘Jean des Montiers, dit le Fresse, and his account of Scotland (1538)’ French Studies VI, no. I: 1–11.
Published
21-11-2018
How to Cite
Coombs, B. (2018). The artistic patronage of John Stuart, Duke of Albany, 1520–30: Vic-le-Comte, the last Sainte-Chapelle. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 147, 175–217. https://doi.org/10.9750/PSAS.147.1251
Section
Articles