Shirt of Saint Louis

Catholic relic preserved in the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral

The shirt of Saint Louis, also known as the tunic of Saint Louis, is a relic venerated by some Catholics.

The shirt and other treasures of Saint Louis, Notre-Dame de Paris.

## Description

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It is a shirt that belonged to the King of France and Catholic Saint Louis IX and a sign of his piety.

Made of a white linen fabric with 31 warp threads per cm² for 27 weft threads, it is 43 cm wide and 111.4 cm high. One sleeve is missing, and it shows traces of blood.[1] The seams are narrow, and it was cut from narrow-woven cloth. The pattern is simple and often used to make reconstructions.[2]

A parchment from the 15th century sewn to the shirt indicates “C'est la chemise de mons. saint Louis jadis Roy de fran et nya que une manche” (in old French: "It is the shirt of lord Saint Louis once king of France and there is only one sleeve”).

## History

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The exact age of the garment is uncertain. It is said to date to the 13th century,[3] and expert analysis has not discovered any reason to doubt this.[1]

The shirt appears in the inventory of the Sainte-Chapelle from 1480 onwards; prior to that it had been listed among the contents of the French king's treasury. It was already damaged at this time.[4] It was then transferred to the Basilica of Saint-Denis on 12 March 1791, then to the Bibliothèque nationale de France on 18 November 1793.

Preserved since 1804 at Notre-Dame de Paris, the shirt has been classified as an historic monument since 11 September 1974. It was restored in 2014 by Chevalier-conservation.

It was saved from the fire of 15 April 2019, at the same time as the Holy Crown, thanks in particular to the priest Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain of the Paris fire brigade.[5][better source needed]

## References

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1. ^ a b Robin Netherton; Gale R. Owen-Crocker (2015). Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 78\. ISBN 978-1-78327-002-6.
2. ^ Jones, Heather Rose. "Another Look at St. Louis' Shirt". heatherrosejones.com. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
3. ^ Dorothy K. Burnham; Royal Ontario Museum; Royal Ontario Museum. Textile Dept (1973). Cut My Cote. Royal Ontario Museum. p. 12\. ISBN 978-0-88854-046-1.
4. ^ Robin Netherton; Gale R. Owen-Crocker (2015). Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. pp. 50–51\. ISBN 978-1-78327-002-6.
5. ^ Richard Hartley-Parkinson (16 April 2019). "Notre Dame crown of thorns and St Louis tunic saved from cathedral fire". Metro. Retrieved 21 November 2020.