Suger of Saint-Denis on a medieval window

Suger (c. 1081 – January 13, 1151) was one of the last French abbot-statesmen, a historian and the influential first patron of Gothic architecture. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (367x700, 373 KB) Abbot Suger of St. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (367x700, 373 KB) Abbot Suger of St. ... Events Corfu taken from Byzantine Empire by Robert Guiscard, Italy Byzantine emperor Nicephorus III is overthrown by Alexius I Comnenus, ending the Middle Byzantine period and beginning the Comnenan dynasty Alexius I helps defend Albania from the Normans (the first recorded mention of Albania), but is defeated at the Battle... January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Ghazni is burned by the princes of Ghur Geoffrey of Anjou dies, and succeeded by his son Henry, aged 18. ... Interior of Cologne Cathedral Gothic architecture is a style of architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, which flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. ...

Suger was born into a poor family and in 1091 was brought to the nearby abbey of Saint-Denis for education. He trained at the priory of Saint-Denis de l'Estrée, and there first met the future king King Louis VI the Fat. From 1104 to 1106 Suger attended another school, perhaps that attached to the abbey of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire. In 1106 he became secretary to the abbot of Saint-Denis. In the following year he became provost of Berneval in Normandy, and in 1109 of Toury. In 1118 Louis VI sent Suger to the court of Pope Gelasius II at Maguelonne, and he lived from 1121 to 1122 at the court of Gelasius's successor, Calixtus II. West façade of Saint Denis Depiction of the Trinity over the main entrance The Basilica of Saint Denis (French: Basilique de Saint-Denis, or simply Basilique Saint-Denis) is the famous burial site of the French monarchs, comparable to Westminster Abbey in England. ... Louis VI the Fat (French: Louis VI le Gros) (December 1, 1081 – August 1, 1137) was King of France from 1108 to 1137. ... Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire is a commune of the Loiret département, in France. ... Abbots coat of arms The word abbot, meaning father, has been used as a Christian clerical title in various, mainly monastic, meanings. ... Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ... Gelasius II (died January 29, 1119), born Giovanni Coniulo, was Pope from January 24, 1118 to January 29, 1119. ... Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone is a village and commune of the Hérault département, in southern France. ... Callixtus II, né Guido of Vienne (d. ...

On his return from Italy Suger became abbot of St-Denis. Until 1127 he occupied himself at court mainly with the temporal affairs of the kingdom, while during the following decade he devoted himself to the reorganization and reform of St-Denis. In 1137 he accompanied the future king, Louis VII, into Aquitaine on the occasion of that prince's marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, and during the Second Crusade served as one of the regents of the kingdom (1147 - 1149). He bitterly opposed the king's divorce, having himself advised the marriage. Although he disapproved of the Second Crusade, he himself, at the time of his death, had started preaching a new crusade. // Groups BL1137 is the (now defunct) Unix group at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, NJ where Unix and C were invented. ... Louis VII the Younger (French: Louis VII le Jeune) (1120 – September 18, 1180) was King of France from 1137 to 1180. ... Location Administration Capital Bordeaux Regional President Alain Rousset (PS) (since 1998) Départements Dordogne Gironde Landes Lot-et-Garonne Pyrénées-Atlantiques Arrondissements 18 Cantons 235 Communes 2,296 Statistics Land area1 41,309 km² Population (Ranked 6th)  - January 1, 2005 est. ... Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine (Aliénor dAquitaine in French), Duchess of Aquitaine and Gascony and Countess of Poitou (1122[1] –April 1, 1204) was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe during the High Middle Ages. ... The fall of Edessa, seen here on the right of this map (c. ... The fall of Edessa, seen here on the right of this map (c. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ...

Suger served as the friend and counsellor both of Louis VI and Louis VII. He urged the king to destroy the feudal bandits, was responsible for the royal tactics in dealing with the communal movements, and endeavoured to regularize the administration of justice. He left his abbey, which possessed considerable property, enriched and embellished by the construction of a new church built in the nascent Gothic style. West façade of Saint Denis Depiction of the Trinity over the main entrance The Basilica of Saint Denis (French: Basilique de Saint-Denis, or simply Basilique Saint-Denis) is the famous burial site of the French monarchs, comparable to Westminster Abbey in England. ... Interior of Cologne Cathedral Gothic architecture is a style of architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, which flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. ...

Suger became the foremost historian of his time. He wrote a panegyric on Louis VI (Vita Ludovici regis), and collaborated in writing the perhaps more impartial history of Louis VII (Historia gloriosi regis Ludovici). In his Liber de rebus in administratione sua gestis, and its supplement Libellus de consecratione ecclesiae S. Dionysii, he treats of the improvements he had made to St Denis, describes the treasure of the church, and gives an account of the rebuilding. Suger's works served to imbue the monks of St Denis with a taste for history, and called forth a long series of quasi-official chronicles.

References

• "Suger", Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911
• "Suger", The Middle Ages, A Concise Encyclopedia, H.R. Loyn Editor, 1989 (ISBN 0-500-27645-5)
• Abbott Suger of St. Denis: Church and State in Early Twelfth-Century France. Grant, Lindy. Essex, UK: Addison Wesley & the Medieval Concept of Order (Third Edition), Simson, Otto Van. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1988. Bollingen Series XLVIII. (ISBN 0-691-01867-7)
• The World, A History Volume One - to 1500, Filepe Fernandez Armesto. (ISBN 0-13-177764-5)

External links

• Gothic Art and Abbe Suger

Further reading

• Suger, Abbot of Saint Denis,. The Deeds of Louis the Fat. Translated with introduction and notes by Richard Cusimano and John Moorhead. Washington, DC : Catholic University of America Press,1992. (ISBN 0-8132-0758-4)
• Suger, Abbot of Saint Denis,. The Deeds of Louis the Fat. Translated by Jean Dunbabin (Free, but has no annotations)