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Eglise Saint-Nicolas, Blois, July 2008
Château Royal de Blois: The Ceilings, July 2008Château Royal de Blois: The Chapel, Part II
“It is true that for a long time to come the castle of Blois was neither very safe nor very quiet; but its dangers came from within, from the evil passions of its inhabitants, and not from siege or invasion.”
— from “A Little Tour In France” 1884 by Henry James
Henri III attended a Mass of Thanksgiving at chapelle de St-Calais following the assassination of the duc de Guise, the most notorious political act in the castle’s history. This is one of those dangers arising from “evil passions” that Mr. James speaks about.
The interior decoration was restored by Félix Duban too, but bombardment during the Second World War damaged it. Uncertainties plagued Duban during his reconstruction; he gave up any attempt to recreate the chapel as it had been when Louis XI and Anne de Bretagne built the chapel in the early 1500s.
Claude de France, queen consort to François I, was laid to rest in 1524 in this chapel in, build by her parents. There are claims of miracles to have taken place around her body!
The walls, painted in bright colors, were skimmed in 1912. The vaulted ceiling (see photo #2) was painted blue and gilded in 1990. The stained glass window by Claudius Lavergne (1815-1887) did not stand up to the bombardments of 1944, and was replaced by that of Max Ingrand in 1957. Ingrand’s window (see photo #3) tells the principal historic tales of the château, including the importance of the castle to Jeanne d’Arc on 25.April.1429; here she organized her army, which would go on to liberate Orléans from the English.
