Sign In

- Or use -
Forgot Password Create Account
This item has been sold, but you can enter your email address to be notified if another example becomes available.
Description

Manuscript Surveys Showing the Lands Given to the Abbey of Ste. Genevieve by Clovis I, Prior to its Reconstruction and Designation as the Pantheon

An incomparable archive of watercolor and ink hand-drawn surveys of blocks in the 5th arrondissement of Paris produced in 1739. These surveys preserve the medieval layout of the streets of this area, before the major processes of urban renewal undertaken in the 18th and 19th centuries.

These surveys show stunning detail, mapping every house, garden, building, and street in the area. Some contain even more information: for example, 74511 names every single resident in a block. Many of the other maps included in the collection name major institutions and ascribe numbers to specific areas to denote ownership or property extent.

These pieces were produced as part of a "plan-terrier" survey that sought to provide a full accounting of the lands belonging to the Abbey of Ste. Genevieve, the predecessor church to the Pantheon. These lands were under the direct control of the Abbey, as gifted by Clovis, the first true king of France. The verso of some of the maps are signed (74560) and dated (74518 and 74548), which show that the survey was conducted by Pierre Jubert de Basseville, King's Engineer, at the order of the canon regular of the Abbey. This work was commissioned by Pierre Sutaine, the Abbott of Saint-Genevieve in 1739.

When overlain, the sheets combine to form a mostly continuous manuscript map of several dozen blocks between the Seine River and the Square Saint-Médard in the Quartier Latin of the Fifth Arrondissement. Each individual piece varies in scope, with some showing a single block (74554) and others showing several (74518). In addition, they vary in refinement, from very detailed finished surveys (74512) to rudimentary sketches (74557). The scales used for each sheet vary from approximately 1/400 to 1/700, with a scale bar provided on nearly every sheet.

These maps were created through extremely detailed and precise surveying. In many of the pieces which possess more sketch-like qualities, radial lines and other remnants of the methods used to accurately measure and depict the area are preserved. 

The two additional images presented here help to place the survey in a historical context. The first image, a photofacsimile of a 1739 map by Basseville, was produced using the information collected on this map. The second image, a mid-17th-century manuscript map housed in the National Archives of France, shows that this survey was part of a series of surveys that sought to document the Abbey's lands late in its existence.

L'Ancienne Abbaie de Ste. Genevieve and the 1739 Survey

The abbey, located at the heart of the Fifth Arrondissement, was founded by Clovis I and Clothilde (the first true King and Queen of France) and originally dedicated to Peter and Paul. Sainte Genevieve, future patron saint of Paris, would be buried under the church in 512, and the church would soon after be rededicated in her honor.

The abbey would be important throughout the middle ages as a center of scholarship. The chapel would undergo various reforms, with Canon regulars and abbots in commendam both being in charge at various points, reflecting variances between a more frugal, Augustinian way of life and a more wealthy way of life.

By the 17th-century, canons regular (described by Erasmus as a "median point" between monks and secular clergy) would be back in charge, and pencil writing on the verso of 74560 refers to a "Chanoine regulier" (canon regular). The abbey was extremely important at this point in its history, with over one hundred other abbeys and priories answering to the church's Abbot.

By 1739, the Abbey would undertake an effort to make an extremely detailed survey of the lands they owned, as shown in the present collection. These lands were gifted to the Abbey in its 5th-century founding by Clovis I. We were able to locate another collection related to this survey, a group of 44 manuscript sheets housed in the French National Archives (reference: CP/N/IV/SEINE/4). Additionally, there is a 1905 reproduction of an 18th-century manuscript map showing the completed survey, which appears in a research text by Ernest Coyecque. This facsimile explicitly purports to show the lands outlined by the abbey and also credits the work done to Pierre Jubert de Basseville. We were unable to locate any originals of the engraving.

The present manuscripts show the portion of the area shown in the Coyecque facsimile. These maps contain detail not present on the facsimile, including information about residents of each building and increased information on the names of streets.

This survey likely functioned primarily as an accounting tool for the abbey, particularly at a time when much was changing in the Quartier Latin. The commissioner of the police had recently renamed many of the streets in 1729, ten years prior to the survey, which would have required updates of previous maps in and of itself. Further, the Jardin des Plantes, at the eastern edge of the Abbey's land, was expanding. Finally, and most importantly, successive kings, starting with Louis XIV, had promised to upgrade and expand the Abbey. These reasons likely necessitated an accounting of the land and wealth pertaining to the abbey.

Louis XV would finally undertake the task of rebuilding the Abbey's main church starting in 1755, hiring Jacques-Germain Sufflot to design the building. Having studied architecture in Rome, he would create one of the most famous neoclassical buildings in existence. The building wouldn't be completed until 1790, in the midst of the Revolution. When finally completed, it would be rechristened the Pantheon and dedicated as a temple to freedom.

Pierre Jubert de Basseville

Jubert de Basseville, Ingenieur du Roi, is credited with producing several manuscript surveys of areas in and around Paris, with his works appearing both in the BNF and the French National Archives. His other manuscripts deal with the areas surrounding the Champs-Elysees, Saint-Denis, and Montmartre and were produced between 1732 and 1742.

As a King's Engineer, Basseville was also in charge of overseeing the construction and upkeep of military fortifications and of land belonging to the king. It is unclear if this presented survey was undertaken under royal decree or as a separate service to the Abbey.

Le Quartier Latin

The surveys focus on the area known as the Quartier Latin in the Fifth Arrondissement in Paris. One of the best-known areas in Paris, and host to numerous monuments including the Pantheon (burial place of French heroes and literary figures) and the Jardin des Plantes (formerly the Jardin du Rois), this part of Paris is historically known as a center for students.

Obtaining its name from the language used by the scholars who settled in the area in the 12th century, this neighborhood hosts many of France's most important universities, including the Sorbonne. As such, the neighborhoods shown in these manuscripts would have been (and continue to be) the gathering places for students and scholars at the time this map was created.

In the mid-18th century, significant redevelopment would occur in the area, notably the construction of the New Church of Saint Genevieve (later, the Pantheon) in the west, and the expansion of the Jardin des Plantes in the east. The late 18th century and the 19th century would see the massive redevelopment of these areas, starting with the substantial development of the universities. This would culminate in the Haussmann-era reconstruction of many buildings. However, the Quartier Latin, more so than other parts of the city, would retain some of its original Medieval buildings and ancient, twisting roads. Some of the original streets shown on the map, such the Rue Mouffetard, persist to this day, but the layout of the area has, for the most part, changed greatly.

Later Manuscript Annotations

A repeated signature in a 20th-century American hand appears on the verso of nearly every map, with various states of legibility, appearing to read France (74508). This is sometimes accompanied by a number, which was likely used to catalog some of the surveys.

Contents

This collection includes 26 manuscript maps. We have here grouped the maps according to location, broken down into three portions.

From the Seine to Saint-Nicholas du Chardonnet [approximately the Boulevard Saint-Germain]

  • [Blocks bounded by Rue des Rats, Rue des Bernardins and the Seine River]: 74513
  • [Blocks surrounding Place Maubert and Rue Galande]: 74549
  • [Sketches of various blocks in the 5th arrondissement]: 74516
  • [Block bounded by Rue St. Jacques, Rue des Noyers, Rue des Anglois, Rue du Plâstre]: 74507

From the Seine to the Eglise Sainte-Geneviève [now the Panthéon]

  • [Block bounded by Rue de la Montagne Ste. Genevieve, Rue Traversine, Rue St. Nicolas, Rue St. Victor]: 74511 and 74512
  • [Block bounded by Rue Judas, Rue de la Montagne Ste. Genevieve, Rue des Noyers, Rue des Carmes]: 74510
  • [Sliver of two blocks along the Rue des Noyers near Rue des Lavandiers]: 74514
  • [Four blocks bounded by Rue St. Nicholas du Chardonnet, Rue Craverssinne, Rue de Versailles, Rue St. Victor]: 74508
  • [Block bounded by Rue des Amandiers, Rue des Sept Voies, Quarré Ste. Genevieve]: 74515
  • [Blocks bounded by Rue de la Montagne Ste. Genevieve, Rue Sordet, Rue Choppin, Rue d'Arras, Rue Traversine]: 74557
  • [Block bounded by Rue des Amandiers, Rue de la Montagne Ste. Genevieve, Rue Judas, Rue des Carmes, Rue des Sept Voies]: 74509
  • [Blocks bounded by Rue Contrescarpe, Rue des Fossées, Rue Clopin, Rue Bordet, Rue de Fourey, Petite Estrapade]: 74553
  • [Blocks along Rue Victor near Rue Bievre]: 74518

From the Eglise Sainte-Geneviève to the Rivière des Gobelins [Le Square Saint-Médard]

  • [Block bounded by Rue Contrescarpe, Rue Mouffetard, Rue Coupeau, Rue Neuve St. Etienne]: 74552
  • [Block bounded by Rue Gratieuse, Rue Coupeau, Rue Mouffetard, Rue Neuve St. Medard]: 74560
  • [Part of block bounded by Rue Gratieuse, Rue Neuve St. Medard, Rue Mouffetard, Rue de l'Epée de Bois]: 74561
  • [Block bounded by Rue du Pot de Fer, Rue Mouffetard, Rue Contrescarpe, Rue Neuve Ste. Genevieve]: 74548
  • [Blocks bounded by Rue Copeau, Rue Gratieuses, Rue d'Orlean, Rue de la Clef]: 74550
  • [Blocks bounded by Rue Coupeau, Rue de la Clef, Rue d'Orlean, Rue du Batoir]: 74555
  • [Block bounded by Rue des Postes, Rue Neuve Ste. Gennevieve, Rue du Pot de Fer, Grande Rue Mouffetard, Rue de l'Arbalêstre]: 74554
  • [Blocks near the intersection of Rue des Postes and Rue de l'Arbalêste]: 74559
  • [Block bounded by Rue d'Orlean, Vielle Rue Ntre. Dame, Rue du Pon aux Biches, Rue de la Muette, Rue du Jardin du Roy]: 74551
  • [Block bounded by Rue de la Epée de Bois, Rue Mouffetard, Rue d'Orleans, Rue du Noir]: 74558
  • [Blocks bounded by Rue Mouffetard, Rue du Pon aux Trippes, Rue Fer à Moulin, Rue du Pont aux Biches, Rue Vielle Ntre. Dame, Rue d'Orleans]: 74556
Condition Description
Collection contains 26 manuscript maps. Good to Very Good. Marginal loss and loss at intersecting in some maps.
Reference
Recueil Actes Notaires Relatifs a l'Histoire de Paris et de ses Environs au XVIe Siecle (Ernest Coyecque, 1905)