although Bishop Nicasius was martyred on the threshold of his cathedral by the Vandals
in 406/07.
In an effort to win a greater measure of security amid the political turmoil of the 5th
century, the bishops of Reims established ties to the local Frankish kings. This
rapprochement culminated with the conversion to Christianity of Clovis. His baptism at
the cathedral on Christmas day in 498 or 499 by St. Remi (459-ca. 530) became the basis
for later royal coronation rituals, beginning with that of Louis the Pious at Reims in 816
and persisting into the 19th century. Raised to the rank of archbishopric in the mid-8th
century, Reims ecclesiastics were major figures in Carolingian politics: Ebbo (r. 816–35)
backed the deposition of Louis the Pious; his successor, Hincmar (r.
Reims (Marne), Notre-Dame plan.
After Deneux
Reims, Notre-Dame, façade.
Photograph courtesy of Alinari/Art
Resources.
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