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Ch. 7: Sacred Use of Gems

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SACRED USES OF PRECIOUS STONES.                    121
Churches and Other Religious Buildings. — Pagan temples,
with all their opulence in works of art and precious jewels,
were equalled, if not surpassed, by the churches and convents
of mediaeval times in munificent donations and rich ornaments. Princes, nobles, and prelates, vied with one another in
their voluntary offerings to these institutions. Constantine
the Great signalized his reign by his generous gifts both to
Roman and Byzantine churches — an example followed by his
successors. King Dagobert of France, in the seventh century,
and Charlemagne in the ninth, liberally endowed many of the
ecclesiastical institutions of their times with costly treasures in.
jewels and precious stones. Mme. Barrera says that vast stores
of gems and other valuables were poured into the churches and
monasteries during the period succeeding the reign of Charlemagne, in consequence of a prevailing belief that the end of
the world was near at hand ; therefore, these luxuries would
be no longer needed by the owners. How the churches,
in such an event, should find a use for them, is not
apparent ; but, having once passed into their possession,
there was no possibility of recalling them. The Church
of St. Denis seems to have been a favorite among princes,
since so many of them contributed to fill its treasury with a
vast accumulation of consecrated jewels. The abbey connected
with this church contained one of the richest collections of
gems gathered from different sources — from the cabinets of
the early kings, from conquests, and from foreign princes,
as offerings to the patron saint. The church, named for St.
Denis, who, according to tradition, was buried here, is about
six miles north of Paris, and subsequently became the mausoleum of thirty-five kings and nineteen queens of France, whose
combined reigns extended from the time of Dagobert to the
eighteenth century. Here were deposited the ring and staff of
Ch. 7: Sacred Use of Gems Page of 401 Ch. 7: Sacred Use of Gems
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