DIJON
. A small city during the Gallo-Roman epoch, Dijon (Côte-d’Or) was fortified by the
emperor Aurelian ca. 273. The dukes of Burgundy made Dijon their capital in the second
quarter of the 12th century, and it continued to be the Burgundian capital throughout the
Middle Ages. Unlike most capitals of dukes and counts, it was not a cathedral city—the
dukes may even have chosen it for this reason. Its chief church was the Benedictine
abbey of Saint-Bénigne, which had been founded as an abbey church ca. 525 upon the
presumed tomb of the saint (2nd c.). At the end of the 10th century, Saint-Bénigne was
reformed to Cluny’s ordo at the instigation of Bruno, bishop of Langres. Under the
abbacy of William of Volpiano, it became the most important 11th-century reforming
center in northern Burgundy. Saint-Bénigne became a cathedral when Dijon was made a
bishopric. In the mid-15th century, Philip the Good built a magnificent palace at Dijon,
the towers of which still stand.
Constance B.Bouchard
Destroyed by fire in 1137, the city was rebuilt by Duke Hugues II. Under Philip the
Bold (1342–1404), John the Fearless (1371–1419), and Philip the Good (1396–1467), the
splendors of the Burgundian court reached their height, but the death of Charles the Bold
at the Battle of Nancy (1476) left the Valois dukes without a male heir; and Louis XI,
who, in spite of protestations of the states of Burgundy, seized the province, set up a
parlement at Dijon, and refortified the city.
The present-day cathedral of Saint-Bénigne was restored at the end of the 9th century
but then fell into ruin. After attaching itself to the community at Cluny, the mon
Dijon (Côte d’Or), Notre-Dame, plan.
After Losowska.
astery soon became one of the strongest and most prosperous of the Cluniac houses. A
vast rotunda flanked by two towers marks the western end of this five-bayed basilica
(constructed 1002–18). The polygonally apsed choir has no ambulatory and is flanked by
two apsidioles. The crypt, circular in plan and containing the remains of the tomb of St.
Bénigne, is notable for its column capitals ornamented with geometric, Carolingian-style
motifs and schematic human silhouettes. Damaged by fires and repaired throughout the
12th and 13th centuries, the church was rebuilt 1281–1325 in Burgundian Gothic style. A
number of associated monastery buildings (11th–13th c.) survive.
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