Louis in 950. Although friction between the two continued until Louis’s death, Hugues
supported the succession of Louis’s young son, Lothair.
From the accession of Lothair (954) to his own death in 956, Hugues virtually ruled
France. To his title of duke of the Franks he added those of duke of Burgundy and of
Aquitaine. He left three minor sons: Hugh Capet, duke of Francia and future king, and
Otto and Eudes-Henri, successively dukes of Burgundy.
R.Thomas McDonald
[See also: LOTHAIR I (941–986)]
Flodoard. Les annales, ed. P.Lauer. Paris: Picard, 1906.
Richer. Histoire de France, ed. R.Latouche. 2 vols. Paris: Champion, 1930, Vol. 1; Les Belles
Lettres, 1937, Vol. 2.
Lauer, Philippe. Le règne de Louis IV d’Outremer. Paris: Bouillon, 1900.
HUGUES LIBERGIER
(d. 1263). Mason. Although the abbey church of Saint-Nicaise, Reims, is his only known
work, Hugues Libergier was one of the most innovative master masons in northern
France during the second third of the 13th century. Construction of the church began in
1231, and by Hugues’s death the nave, portals, and two façade towers had been
completed. While certain details, such as the use of the pilier cantonné and tracery
patterns, reveal connections to Amiens, Hugues created an original architecture marked
by contrasts of rounded and sharpened forms, of smooth mural surface and brittle
calligraphic line. The Saint-Nicaise façade, with a screen of seven gables stretched across
the portal zone, exercised a fundamental influence on succeeding designs, including the
west façade of the cathedral of Reims and the transepts of Notre-Dame in Paris. Hugues’s
tombstone, preserved at the cathedral of Reims following the abbey’s destruction, depicts
the master with the tools of his trade: the graduated rod, compass, and set-square. His
academic dress recalls the parallel drawn by Thomas Aquinas between the master mason
and the professor and testifies to the contemporary appreciation of the cerebral activity
demanded by the design process and building.
Michael T.Davis
[See also: PARIS; REIMS]
Bideault, Maryse, and Claudine Lautier. “Saint-Nicaise de Reims: chronologie et nouvelles
remarques sur l’architecture.” Bulletin monumental 135(1977):295–330.
Branner, Robert. Saint Louis and the Court Style in Gothic Architecture. London: Zwemmer, 1965.
Givelet, Charles. L’église et l’abbaye de Saint-Nicaise de Reims: notice historique et
archéologique. Reims, 1897.
Kimpel, Dieter, and Robert Suckale. Die gotische Architektur in Frankreich, 1130–1270. Munich:
Hirmer, 1985.
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