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History Visit The Banquet Hall Information History Visit The Banquet Hall Information History Visit The Banquet Hall Information ▲ ▲ ▲ English The Banquet Hall, a centre of power Glossary palace of Tau

Archiepiscopal power Canopy: a structure made of wood and cloth mars 2015. Stipa, attached or draped like a baldachin over Archiepiscopal and royal residence

Beginning in the Middle Ages, this vast hall a throne or altar. impression of honour was used to bring together the clergy King’s banquet: meal given after the coronation. beau fixe. Roman origins and coronation under the responsibility of the Prelate. Under Wimperg: decorative gable above a bay. France’s Ancien Régime, the Church held Holy ampulla: the sovereign was anointed of the kings exclusive responsibility for teaching. In 1548, with the Holy Chrism contained in the réalisation in the twofold context of the Renaissance and Holy Ampulla which, according to the legend, There was already a palace on the site in antiquity. the Catholic Counter-Reformation, Cardinal Saint Remi miraculously received from a dove At the beginning of the 5th century, Bishop Charles de Lorraine founded a university whose at the baptism of Clovis. ADT International. Nicasius lived here and solemn sessions were held in this room until Tau: the letter T in the Greek alphabet; this had a cathedral dedicated the French Revolution. shape was also that of the first bishop’s crosier. traduction to Our Lady built here. The Palace of Tau owes its name to the two In memory of the baptism Feudal power buildings whose orientation took on the shape of Clovis in Reims, ca. 496, of this letter until the 17th century. Anders. Plein Sens, it became the tradition in After being granted the right to mint currency, the 9th century to crown the Prelate was invested with the rights Visitor information the Kings of France here, of Count over the city and lands of Reims. a tradition that was carried The archbishop of Reims, often from the upper Average length of the visit: 1 hour. conception graphique on until the coronation echelons of the aristocracy, was a high lord Guided tours. of Charles X in 1825. The palace was whose authority was not always accepted Visits adapted to disabled persons. sumptuously decorated. Its T-shaped layout Tout pour plaire. pour plaire. Tout without reserves. The medieval palace’s . gave it its name, the Palace of Tau*. defensive aspect bears witness to this situation. illustration Renaissance and classicism Royal power Gift and book shop The guide for this monument can be found in the “Itinéraires” collection Rebuilt and expanded with a chapel after and is available in two languages in the gift and book shop. Under feudal custom, the King exercised a fire in 1210, the building was rearranged Centre des monuments nationaux in flamboyant Gothic style at the end of the a right to accommodation over his vassal, Palais du Tau the archbishop-duke; he came to the palace 2 place du Cardinal Luçon 15th century and then, at the end of the 51100 Reims with part of his retinue the day before his 17th century, further work gave it its current tél. 03 26 47 84 74 classical look. Although it was nationalised coronation. After the ceremony, the King’s fax 03 26 47 85 65 banquet* was held in this room. Solemnly [email protected] during the French Revolution, it was returned to the clergy in 1823. For the coronation seated under a canopy* set up in front of www.monuments-nationaux.fr the great fireplace, the King was surrounded of Charles X, it was decorated in Neo-Gothic Bibliothèque municipale de Reims : repro J. Phillipot, Inventaire général. général. Inventaire Phillipot, J. repro de Reims : Bibliothèque municipale by the twelve peers of France and ecclesiastical style. It became State property in 1905 and, dukes and counts. after the ravages of World War I, underwent restorations until 1972. The Cathedral and crédits photos the Palace of Tau are on the Unesco World Heritage List.

*Explanations overleaf. *Explanations overleaf. palais du tau GB.qxp_tau 12/03/15 09:55 Page4

History Visit The Banquet Hall Information ▲ Ground floor First floor

5 3 8 The room dedicated to the coronation 89 of Charles X is dominated by the full-length 67 portrait of the last King of France painted 2 4 10 by Gérard. Cathedral 9 The anteroom was the first room of the apartments where the King stayed during 11 his coronation in Reims. 10 The Goliath room holds sculptures from 1 12 the middle of the 13th century placed here during the cathedral’s restoration. The largest statue, B 13 5.40 metres tall and representing Goliath, was above the large rose window on the west façade. rue du Cardinal de Lorraine rue du Cardinal 14 11 The small sculpture room presents two large A reception-tickets statues of Abraham and Aaron. A set of heads B toilets 15 A from the tympana and arch mouldings from the cathedral portals are showcased. 12 The Song of Songs room owes its name to the four embroideries illustrating verses from the book of the Bible that sings a song of love for the beloved. Ground floor First floor 13 The square salon is decorated with tapestries woven by Daniel Pepersack in the 17th century 1 The introduction room exhibits objects 4 The Banquet Hall is where banquets where and representing episodes in the life of Christ. and films reflecting the past of the cathedral held for the coronation of the Kings of France. 14 The King of Juda room takes its name from a quarter from its origins to the 20th century. Built around 1500, this room, whose vault in statue that comes from the grand gallery above 2 The low room, rebuilt at the end of the 15th the shape of an inverted ship’s hull was restored the façade. century on the old Gallo-Roman and Carolingian after the fire of 1914, presents tapestries dedicated 15 The Coronation of the Virgin room presents foundations whose arches can be seen in the to the history of Clovis. a rare example of choir tapestries. Given masonry, was probably used as a cellar. The raised 5 The Palatine chapel, reserved to the archbishop, to the cathedral in 1530, it tells the story arches at the entrance to the room are reminiscent dates from the first third of the 13th century. of the Virgin Mary. The room takes its name of the galleries of the old canonical cloister. Its style features inside buttresses hollowed out from the original wimperg* on the cathedral’s 3 The low chapel is reached through a door in a “Champenois passageway”. central portal, inspired by the Apocalypse. crowned with a tympanum from the 14th century 6 The treasury of the cathedral is one of the The six statues of kings are from the tabernacles representing the Madonna and Child. The chapel largest treasuries in France. It contains remarkable of the walls of the two semitransepts. was built at the start of the 13th century and, objects, such as Charlemagne’s talisman, since 1919, it houses a stone depositary notably the chalice of the Kings of France, the Holy including fragments of the cathedral’s rood screen Thorn reliquary, the Resurrection reliquary dating from the 15th century. and the nave of Saint Ursula. 7 The treasury also holds a group of silver-gilt pieces produced for the coronation of Charles X, including the precious Holy Ampulla* reliquary.*

*Explanations overleaf.