{"id":7424,"date":"2019-10-28T12:43:38","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T11:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.facsimilefinder.com\/articles\/?p=7424"},"modified":"2020-01-10T11:09:42","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T10:09:42","slug":"kneeling-before-a-holy-relic-the-royal-psalter-of-sainte-chapelle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.facsimilefinder.com\/articles\/kneeling-before-a-holy-relic-the-royal-psalter-of-sainte-chapelle\/","title":{"rendered":"Kneeling Before a Holy Relic \u2013 The Royal Psalter of Sainte Chapelle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My short but intense visit to Paris began on Tuesday night, when Charlotte Kramer<\/strong> from M\u00fcller & Schindler<\/strong>, art historian Eberhard K\u00f6nig<\/strong>, Giacomo Cecchetti<\/strong> from Pazzini Stampatore<\/strong> and I had cr\u00eapes and cider at a traditional French bistrot<\/em>. I needn\u2019t say we were quite sleepy after such a \u201clight\u201d dinner!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Early the next day, a foggy morning walk along the Seine led us to the Biblioth\u00e8que de l\u2019Arsenal<\/strong>, a section of the French national library boasting over one million historical books, prints, music sheets, and manuscripts. In the 18th century, this imposing institution obtained one of the most exquisite examples of Parisian Gothic illumination<\/strong>: the Psalter of Blanche of Castile<\/strong>, which we had come to color proof and analyze with a view to creating a new facsimile edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we even took off our coats, two of the library\u2019s curators asked us who were the \u201cchosen ones\u201d who would be touching the cherished volume<\/strong>. As soon as we shyly raised our hands we were kindly led to the nearest toilet to carefully wash our hands \u2013 no questions asked.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/span>We didn’t know the Psalter of Blanche of Castile<\/strong> is considered by the French a holy relic<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A curator stayed with us for the whole color proofing session<\/strong>, never taking their eyes off the manuscript and following our every move. I had barely opened my mouth to ask the reason for such concern, when they told us that the French consider this particular psalter a relic of St. Louis<\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s the same as touching Jesus\u2019 finger!\u201d She couldn\u2019t have made it clearer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n